An Australian angler recently boated the largest cobia ever caught—by far. The epic catch took place on February 8.
Eighteen-year-old Koby Duncan was fishing on a Jazz Charters boat for his buddy’s birthday celebration. According to Sport Fishing, he was jigging a soft plastic shad with a leadhead in 100 feet of water near Perth, Australia, when the big fish struck. A 30-minute fight ensued.
Captain Drew Clowes initially thought the fish was a stingray—an unwanted species—because of how it stuck to the bottom and even advised Duncan to break off. “It was such a heavy fish,” he told local radio station 6PR. “It was like four bags of concrete with a tail.”
Thankfully, Duncan didn’t listen. He patiently fought the fish with just 33-pound test line. When Clowes finally saw the cobia breach the surface toward the end of the fight, he was stunned to see its massive head.
“It was exciting. I can’t lie,” he said. “I was like a little school kid at the time. It was not something you expect to see in Perth.”
Back at port, they weighed the massive cobia on a certified scale. It came in at 175.48 pounds and if confirmed, would break the existing All Tackle IGFA world record, a 135-pounder caught in 1985, by a whopping 40 pounds.
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“We all celebrated last night,” Duncan said. “I’m never going to forget it…I’m keen to put [the cobia] on a big wall and mount it.”
