Another First for Hunter's Haven

[Hunter's Haven]

On August 7th I fished with my buddy Mike,Topsail Angler, on his boat The Fiy Away. We were going to fish the Wild Wing Tournament but decided yesterday to fish his inner club tournament instead. We were able to catch a few pogies around figure eight but it was slow pickings. Took what we had and headed out Topsail Inlet. Set lines out right off the beach for a short while but didn't get a sniff. Decided to make the run out to the boxcars and wasn't long before it was game on. Downrigger got hit and I took the rod. Fish acted funny, like pulling against a brick wall. Slow and steady away and I couldn't turn him. Mike turned the boat toward our quarry so we could get more direct leverage. We're guessing big shark and after about 30 minutes I was able to turn the fish toward the surface. Then we see brown. A little closer inspection and I see the bars on the side. Mike plants the gaff and my first cobia is brought onboard. Honestly I was hoping it was a 50 lb. king that we could weigh in tonight at the tournament but I'm stoked with this fish. It ended up weighing 31 lbs. We moved from this spot to another pile of rocks where we picked up a small king. All in all it was a great day for us as we weren't hearing of many fish being caught. As always a day on the water with my great friend is a real blessing.