A Connecticut angler has landed a pending state-record cobia in Long Island Sound, well north of the species’ typical range.
John Bertolasio hooked the 40-pound cobia using a dead eel as bait. During the 90-minute fight, the fish sounded, snapping Bertolasio’s rod.
Connecticut Fish and Wildlife stated Thursday that the record is pending “awaiting weight on a certified scale and affidavit.”
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Connecticut currently does not list cobia in its record database, but explained that “encounters with southern species, like cobia, are becoming more and more frequent in Long Island Sound due to climate change.”
CFW added that Bertolasio thought the fish was a shark when he looked down and saw the brown fins.
“John did not know what he had caught until he sent the picture of the fish to a friend,” the agency stated. “Once he found out it was legal (and good eating), he kept it.”
According to the International Game Fish Assn., cobia are similar to sharks in appearance. But with broad, depressed heads they more strongly resemble remoras, which often attach to or swim with sharks.
The IGFA lists as the world record a 135-pound, 9-ounce cobia caught off Western Australia in 1985.
