Mickey Alpert of Brick is a veteran N.J. surf fisherman, but he had to be shocked at the end of July when the fish that ate his live bunker (intended for a striped bass) in the Manasquan surf turned out to be a cobia that weighed 17 pounds at Brielle Tackle. Cobia are rare in northern New Jersey, and the very few caught are almost invariably taken from boats.
