The reason you'll find them riding high on a southeaster and not a southwester is all due to geography. They're heading west, so a southeaster is on their tail and helps them move. They get up into the waves and use the push. When it's a southwest it's in their face and they generally stay deep. The component of the wind coming out of the south helps push them toward the beach. North wind days when it's super flat won't net you many cobia, and westerly wind sucks!
Cloudy days increase the glare and make it harder. A good southeaster on a clear day is a Panhandle cobia fisherman's favorite weather.
I live in Austin now, actually.