Early Thursday morning calls to downtown Cape Coral and Pineland Marina indicated that the boats ramps are open.

Matlacha Community Park didn’t respond but their website stated the park was open.

Call ahead before planning your trip in case there are changes.

D & D tackle in Matlacha also told me they were open with live bait available and waiting for “us.”

Two or three anglers making the trip in the same tow vehicle obviously is not the best plan. Arriving solo would help with the better option being fishing alone.

The best choice for everyone, especially for seniors or those with pre-existing health issues, is to not chance it and stay home.

With food and other supplies in short supply, it’s tempting to want to bring home a nice fish for dinner but breaking the law and harvesting a gamefish that’s currently closed to harvest and the resulting fines if caught certainly isn’t worth it.

If you’re on the water and a large, dark colored fish resembling a shark is swimming on the surface, maybe even swimming close to your boat, it’s probably a cobia. This is one great fighting and tasting gamefish that’s caught in several areas of the U.S. Look for them around buoys and markers as well as in the company of larger sea creatures like big sharks, sea turtles or big rays, or even inshore on the flats. My last Matlacha flats cobia was caught this time of year on a gold spoon intended for redfish.

The Canaveral area of north Florida is not only known for big trout and huge tripletail but also is spring cobia central where you’ll see tower boats searching for huge manta rays with one to a whole school of cobia riding along on top of them. A well placed cast will have several peel off the ray and race to attack your offering.

Crabs and live eels are probably the best baits for these tough fighters with a colorful bucktail jig and soft plastic eel as runner-ups. Live pinfish or white baits are readily eaten. Even a large plastic largemouth bass worm on a jighead will often do the trick.

If you are lucky enough to hook a large cobia, be careful when landing it as these are strong, powerful fish that often play opossum and explode when gaffed or netted and brought aboard.

I was on a cobia trip years ago when the mate gaffed a 60-pound class fish that was still very green and during the on-board battle the gaff ended up deeply in the mate’s leg.

I prefer to net these fish if small enough and many captains introduce them to their on-board billy clubs as soon as possible for everyone’s safety.

Cobia or Ling Gulf rules state one fish per harvester, not to exceed two per vessel with a 33-inch minimum fork length. The Atlantic side is more generous with one per harvester, not to exceed six per vessel with the same fork length requirements.

The cobia is not only a great gamefish but delicious on the grill and often served in local restaurants and highly recommended.

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An update on on-going boater fraud. Last week I mentioned that I was selling a boat online and had received a bad but very authentic looking cashier’s check. Since then I’ve “sold” the same boat 8 times to folks from Tennessee, Florida, California, Ohio and New York.

It’s the same offer each time. I like your boat and will be sending you a cashier’s check right away for the full amount plus a few thousand extra for shipping! I’ll have my shipper come to your house and pick it up. Deposit the (fake) check and send the extra funds to my shipper from your account ASAP.

If this happens to you, contact the website and provide contact info for the fraudster, then report to the FBI.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. Contact him at 239-282-9434 or captgeorget3@aol.com.