She's a twin-screw diesel, with the ability to spin on a dime. Nichols believes that offers a distinct advantage in addressing oncoming fish.

The coolers hold things like billy clubs, buckets, marker buoys, a baitwell dip net, a cutting board and small hand gaffs, if needed, for handling and releasing undersized fish with minimal damage. Most of the items in the cooler are the kind that can get in the way at the worse times, or that need to be found immediately.

The coolers, like many of Nichols’ little tweaks, have a second use. In this case it’s as a much appreciated first step up to the tower ladders on either side. The same thing is true on the climb down when transferring to the back deck to fight a fish.

He also redesigned the driver’s seat to serve double duty as a leaning post so he can stand and scout the water even when conditions require driving from the lower deck. He simply added a 6-inch-high board that runs the length of the front of the seat and attaches below the seating surface. Once assembled and reupholstered, it provides a leaning post/seat combination. “No self-respecting cobia fisherman can sit while the search is on and the leaning post greatly reduces leg strain,” explained Nichols.

Even when driving from the cockpit, Nichols still scans for fish.

“Topaz was among the first boats built without a windshield, but with a raised Plexiglas lip that goes around at the base of where the windshield would be. The result is an open-air ride and clear visibility.”

In bad weather you can zip in the plastic and seal the cockpit.

A set of drink holders he mounted next to the passenger serves double duty as a display rack for a variety of ready-to-use ling jigs. He also added a tool holder for pliers and keeps gloves in a small open compartment just below. The final cockpit addition is a pair of spreader lights overhead that light up the back deck when necessary.

Electronics rarely come into play during spring cobia fishing, but for those occasional offshore trips Nichols carries two of everything—including GPS units, bottom machines and VHF radios. The idea, as he put it, is to “never have a bad day on the water because of equipment failure.”

On the wide-open back deck the original fighting chair went the way of the outriggers 18 years ago and was moved “to a permanent spot in the garage.” In its place Nichols built and installed a large multi-purpose fish box with a padded top. The box serves as a padded seat for weary anglers, a table, a lounge chair for sunbathing and a pretty good place to take a nap. But its primary purpose is to safely receive a 60- to 90-pound fish straight from the water without it dropping on the deck.

Cobia are incredibly strong, and a fish loose on the deck can create some serious havoc, especially if one or two other anglers are still fighting fish. Sixty pounds of muscle flopping around and sliming the deck can knock you right off your feet.

Smaller fish can be held next to the box for a quick comparison to the 33-inch rule painted on the edge.

Handmade gaffs (always at least two) are stored under the gunnel where Nichols has installed enlarged holders for his oversized handles. The handles are made out of 11⁄2-inch round pine stock, available in most hardware stores. The hooks are 5/0 Mustad Gaff Hooks, Model 2286TD—cadmium plated steel. Nichols usually cuts the handle to a 5- to 6-foot length. He cuts a slot for the hook and wraps it snugly with parachute chord. He then applies an epoxy sealer over the wrap.

Once gaffed, a big cobia will twist with unexpected force. “It’s essential,” said Nichols, “that you stop the twisting action. A firm grip, made possible by the oversized wooden handle, which is easier to hold on to even when wet, can save the day.”

Nichols also advises that all gaffing be done from under the fish with the gaff point up. The gaffer needs to be well braced, and should sink the hook, quickly. Then move one hand down the handle to get good leverage and lift fish smoothly over the gunnel and into the box, all in one motion—never letting the hook twist or stopping to rest on the way.

He also added a 30-gallon livewell, again out of the way between the fish box and the stern. When using eels for bait, he pulls out a small lunch cooler, which he sets near the stern. He puts in a layer of ice and on top of that places an eel already hooked on a large spinning rod. The rod sits in a holder on the back side of the tower.

When a fish is spotted, a quick jerk on the rod pops the cooler lid open and the eel comes sailing out, ready to cast.

The cabin, which is designed to sleep two, has little to do with cobia fishing, but it “has wonderful dry storage under the bunks and in the anchor locker,” said Nichols. There’s also a complete cooking facility and a refrigerator. But lunch is about the only thing that gets made, and only because sandwiches are easy to eat in the tower.

Below decks, the original 125-hp Volvo engines were replaced 18 years ago by a pair of 165-hp 6-cylinder Volvo diesels that still run clean and smooth. They give Teaser a top end of about 22 knots.

Because of maneuverability, twin engines are another cobia-catching asset, explained Nichols, especially during the return trip from the west when you meet the migrating cobia head on. When Nichols spots a fish passing off to one side, he can drop into neutral, throw one engine into reverse and the other forward so the boat pivots within its own length following the direction of the fish.

“That way, I don’t have to take my eye off the fish for even one second.”

Swinging around in a wide arc with a single engine makes it almost impossible to keep the fish in sight and is hardly worth the effort. Also, with the diesels, there’s a whole lot less noise when you turn on a fish, whereas the cavitations and racket of an outboard can easily send them off.

In fact, Nichols is sure the diesels give him a major advantage because their sound seems to attract cobia, or at least gets their attention. His theory is that the fish are already well-accustomed to associating the sound of diesels in shrimpboats with a feeding opportunity. And when you consider the hundreds of shrimpers they’re likely to encounter during their annual migrations to and from the southern Gulf, it makes some sense.

“Sometimes when the cobia are moving along close to the bottom and are hard to see, the engine noise seems to bring them up to the surface for a look. The nice mellow sound of a diesel, as compared to an outboard, also doesn’t spook the fish when you overtake them.”

When moving back east, against the direction the fish are moving, Nichols has also noticed more fish coming straight at the boat then passing on either side, as if they change direction and zero in on the noise.

“Sometimes we see four or five cobia at a time moving right dead on the bow—homing in on the same line we’re traveling.”

Now that’s a boat that can help your fishing.