For Outer Banks angler, it's all about the cobia

Most anglers are passionate about their sport.

Few, however, take their passion to the extreme that Larry Gray does.

A Southern Shores (on North Carolina's Outer Banks) resident, Gray pursues just one species - cobia.

It hasn't always been that way.

"I grew up down here fishing and surfing all the time," said Gray, 59. "I'd take my little red wagon down to the beach and fill it up with water and catch fish all day.

"I'd decide what I wanted to keep and put the rest back in the water."

Gray played basketball at the College of the Albemarle, which no longer has an athletic program. After school, Gray helped with the family business - Gray's Family Department Store. He now runs all six on the Outer Banks.

It was on the college basketball team that Gray became friends with Ronnie O'Neal, now known as Capt. R.T. O'Neal of Ocracoke.

"We fished together a lot and in the 1980s started fishing for cobia around Ocracoke Inlet," Gray said. "We fished with bait on the bottom like they do up in the Chesapeake Bay. It was good fishing for a long time, but h urricanes shoaled the inlet and the fish stopped going there."

Gray soon met Capt. Rick Caton, who had discovered the art of sight casting for schools of cobia cruising the coast. The technique is popular along the South Carolina, Georgia and Florida coasts.

"Rick is so good at doing this," Gray said. "I know a lot of other people have gotten very good at it. But I'd say unequivocally that he's the best there is. "

Gray spends between 15 and 20 days on Caton's charter boat - Free Agent.

"I'd say that one out of every three or one out of every four trips are successful," Gray said. "We spend a lot of time in the tower looking for fish."

That time has paid off. Gray said he has caught more than 250 cobia with Caton. His biggest is a 93-pounder; this year, he has already caught an 87-pounder.

"We've had some incredible days," Gray said. "Rick will fish when others won't and I think that's part of why he's so successful at sight casting for these fish. We've had more double-digit days than I can remember."

Gray said he concentrates on one species for many reasons.

"The excitement of finally finding them and casting for them," Gray said. "Hunting them down, then actually finding them is kind of a primeval thing."

Getting the often finicky cobia to bite is another challenge. Casts have to be placed well out in front of a fish as to not spook it, but close enough to see the lure as the fish swims by.

Hooking one is another big thrill.

"Bam!" Gray said. "It's amazing. There is so much adrenaline when you are watching your bait and he sees it and goes after it. It's unbelievable."

Then there is the fight.

"I don't think there is a stronger fish in the ocean," Gray said. "They compare every bit with a tuna, pound for pound.

"And when you get one in the boat, you'd better have it together. They keep fighting and they can break your ankle or hurt you bad. You've got to be very careful."

Cobia also are pretty good on the grill.

"Love it. The best fish in the world," Gray said.

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com