After the mild winter, some anglers were speculating that some southern species might creep into Northeast waters if the abnormally warm weather and water temperatures continued. It seems like some of these predictions might be right.  A couple weeks ago, Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park, NJ weighed in a 25-pound cobia, and just last Friday, another cobia was caught – out of Buzzards Bay, MA!

Dave Caruso was trolling a small swimming plug when the 8-pound “crabeater” hit. The photo, sent by Dave’s brother Paul Caruso, Senior Marine Fisheries Biologist at the Division of Marine Fisheries, left little doubt as to the ID.

Waters aren’t at their seasonal peak, which they’ll likely reach in August, so who knows what other unusual visitors we’ll see this summer. If you make any unusual catches, send the photo and report to jimmy@onthewater.com.