Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your coastal Louisiana fishing report for the Gulf this morning.
We’re working with a mild winter pattern: light north to northeast breeze over the nearshore Gulf and lower bays, seas running 1 to 3 feet, and cool, dry air sliding in behind a front according to the National Weather Service marine forecast out of New Orleans. That north wind is helping clean the marsh water, especially from Empire to Venice and over toward Grand Isle.
NOAA’s Port Fourchon tide table shows a modest tide range today, with a good morning fall, a softer mid‑day turn, then another push late afternoon into dark. Moving water lines up nicely with the prime solunar majors from about mid‑morning and again just after sunset, based on the Louisiana solunar forecast from FishingReminder.
Sun’s easing up just after daybreak and dropping not long after 5 in the evening along the central coast, so your best window is that first two hours of light and the last two before dark.
Speckled trout have been steady, not crazy, on the outer bays and close rigs. Out of Grand Isle and Fourchon, locals have been boxing 12–18 inch trout over oyster shell and along current seams with 1/4‑ounce jigheads and soft plastics under a popping cork. Natural colors like opening night, shrimp, and glow have outfished bright stuff in the clearer post‑front water. When the wind lays, a subtle topwater walk‑the‑dog at first light is still drawing some better fish over shell.
Redfish are the main story. From Empire Jetties down through Venice, folks are reporting solid pods of 18–27 inch reds plus the occasional bull along cuts dumping out of the marsh. A gold or copper spoon, a 3–4 inch paddle‑tail on a 1/8‑ounce head, or a live or dead shrimp under a cork will all get whacked. On a falling tide, park just off the mouth of a drain and let that cork or spoon sweep with the current; they’re sitting on the breaks.
Flounder numbers are creeping back in the bayous and along the backside of barrier islands. Slow‑rolling a small paddle‑tail or gulp shrimp right on bottom around sandy pockets and eddy lines has picked up some nice flatfish.
In the lower rivers and marsh ponds tying into the Gulf, bass and freshwater cats are active where that slightly warmer, stained water pushes out. Local reports from the Atchafalaya Basin area mention bass chasing shad and small bream in flooded woods; compact crankbaits and Texas‑rigged creatures pitched to wood are producing, with a few keeper fish coming from 3–5 feet around current breaks.
Best baits and lures right now:
- For trout: soft plastics under a popping cork, 1/4‑ounce jigheads with shrimp or baitfish patterns, plus small topwaters at daylight.
- For reds: gold spoons, spinnerbaits with white or chartreuse trailers, gulp or live shrimp under a cork, and cut mullet or crab for bulls along the jetties and deeper passes.
- For flounder: small paddle‑tails or gulp on the bottom, slow and steady.
Couple of hotspots to circle:
- Empire Jetties and nearby passes: working jetties and adjacent cuts for reds, some trout, and a few flounder when the tide’s rolling.
- South of Venice, around the passes and outer bays: redfish on points and drains, trout on shell and current lines, especially where that cleaner Gulf water pushes in.
That’s the word from the Gulf side of Louisiana today. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.
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