Teaser is outitted with everything for cobia action--and nothing extra to get in the way.

Bob Nichols and his 28-foot Teaser are a dangerous combination for Panhandle cobia. Not that his boat is loaded with an array of “can’t-miss” fishing gizmos; on the contrary, said Nichols, “the best way to catch cobia is to keep it simple.”

He should know. He’s been fishing the cobia migration along Panama City Beach for 45 years. It’s a passion he discovered while stationed at nearby Tyndall Air Force Base in the 1950s.

“I just couldn’t shake it; it got under my skin,” he recalled. “Of course, back then you only fished off the piers. For someone to have a boat was a rarity.”

Over that time Nichols has caught 18 cobia that crested 90 pounds, and thousands of smaller versions. He also went through half a dozen boats, but after spotting a 28-foot Topaz more than 18 years ago, nothing else would do.

Manufactured and rigged in 1979 for offshore sportfishing, much of what makes the Teaser the perfect cobia hunter today was built into the original design. Nichols was impressed by the 101⁄2-foot beam, the wide tower with controls, and just the way it looked on the water.

“If you look at it from the side it has a gorgeous sheer,” he noted.

The Panhandle cobia migration takes place every spring, with a peak some time in April. During those weeks, cobia of all sizes follow an ages-old, east-to-west migration route along the white sand beaches of the Florida Panhandle.

Anglers from Panama City to Pensacola scout for pods of the fish in the clear Gulf waters. The basic approach is to cruise in the same direction of the migration at a speed just fast enough to overtake the fish, or in the opposite direction as slow as you can move. Boats have to be small enough to work in close, but big enough to handle the seas, and sometimes the surf.

Nichols added a set of trim tabs to the Teaser to help in the battle against heavy chop.

“What happens is you decide to fish all the way to Destin, about 50 miles. You go out in the morning and the forecast is calling for 10 to 15 knots. Then they start upgrading to 15 to 20 knots, but you’re just cruising along to the west with a southeast wind—a great wind for cobia—but a tough wind to get home against.”

Drawing only 21⁄2 feet, Teaser runs shallow enough to work in close.

“The majority of the cobia anglers out of Destin catch the fish in deeper waters a half mile to a mile offshore, but near Panama City they run much closer to the beach,” Nichols explained. “There are times when the fish go into the gully, between the first sandbar and the beach. When they do, I go inshore, too, but I couldn’t do it with a deeper draft. The water gets pretty rough in April. A wave can go out, and the bottom drops out, and you can get in trouble real quick.”

Twin seats and coolers are easily removed for access to the engines. Chum grinder hangs from the tower on port side; gaffs under the starboard gunnel.

Once a fish, or its shadow, is spotted, Nichols’ “keep it simple approach” comes into play. For example, since the initial cast always comes from up top, the tower has been stripped to the bare essentials.

“It came with a Bimini top and looking like a battleship with huge outriggers and spreaders,” said Nichols. “That stuff came right off and stayed off.”

He added only a pair of drop-down antennas that can be lowered from the tower.

Teaser’s extra-wide tower can comfortably hold four anglers plus the boat driver. The base is nine feet above the deck, but it isn’t tippy, said Nichols.

“I’ve been able to stay there in 6-foot seas,” he said.

He added rocket launchers to the back rail, which on a typical trip hold four, identical Penn 320 GTI conventional reels with 40-pound test and 200 yards of line. Each is rigged with a large, feathered ling jig and no leader. The lures are reeled tight to the tip of an 8-foot fiberglass rod.

The reason for 40-pound test, which may seem high, is that it avoids the use of a leader, which again, keeps it simple and minimizes the number of things that can go wrong. He has never had a cobia gnaw through the 40-pound Ande line.

The rods are the same model that Nichols has been using since 1958. At that time, they were manufactured and sold under the name “Hurricane” rods and were popular with commercial grouper fishermen. They are hollow fiberglass with triple strong stainless steel guides and a replacement oversized carbide tip. The large tip allows him to wind the eye of the 3-ounce jig through it, which snugs the lure tight to the rodtip. This keeps the lure from flopping around while in rough seas when the chase is on. A loosely secured lure can nick the line and go undiscovered until too late.

Although Hurricane rods are no longer made, the rod blank is still available as a “Gator Glass” Model T-80H. Nichols has his rods built at Half Hitch Tackle Shop in Panama City with silicon carbide guides, Fuji reel seats and cork grips fore and aft.

The rig allows for long casts if needed, the power to drive the hook home in a tough mouth, and the muscle to bring the cobia alongside the boat.

When a cobia or a pod of cobia is sighted, it takes only a couple seconds for one or more anglers to pick up the nearest rig, push the release, and snap out a cast in one continuous motion. Multiple hookups are more common from the wide tower because there’s room for additional anglers to get in on the action.

For those long trips to Destin, Nichols also added a seat/leaning post, and a handy pair of drink holders.

In the cockpit, the two individual seats are mounted on an aluminum bar attached to the gunnel so they can swing out of the way for access to the engines. That setup inspired Nichols to add two 178-quart Gott/Rubbermaid coolers for dry storage and easy access. Teak stops keep them in place and they can be easily moved to service the engines.