Louisiana Gulf Coast Fishing Report - Light Breeze, Rising Tide, and Solid Fish Activity

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in from down on the Louisiana Gulf coast with your marsh and near‑shore fishing report. Along the lower river and central coast, we’ve got a light north to northeast breeze early, laying the seas down close to 1–2 feet inside and just a light chop outside the jetties, according to the marine forecast from the National Weather Service out of New Orleans. Air temps are starting cool, climbing into the upper 60s to low 70s this afternoon with mostly clear skies. US Harbors’ Shell Island gauge shows that classic mild winter pattern: cool morning, warm, humid afternoon, perfect for a long day on the water. Tide’s on the move, which is what we like. Tides4Fishing’s Grand Isle and Empire Jetty tables show a decent range today with a mid‑morning rising tide and good current through mid‑day, then easing off late afternoon. Down toward South Pass, Tides4Fishing shows similar timing: a morning push and enough swing to flush bait off the flats and through the drains. Sunrise along the southeast coast is right around a quarter to seven, with sunset just after five, so that first and last light combined with moving water ought to be your best window. Fish activity’s been solid this week. Louisiana Sportsman field reports have speckled trout stacked in the interior marsh and dead‑end canals, especially around Myrtle Grove and the Barataria Bay complexes. Folks are boxing 12–18 inch specks over oyster shell and along deeper canal bends, with limits coming for boats that stay on the move. Redfish are thick on the marsh edges from Empire down to Venice; anglers are reporting easy reds in the 18–27 inch slot and plenty of over‑slots in the ponds when the water’s up. Best lures right now: - For **specks**, locals are throwing 3‑ to 4‑inch soft plastics in natural shrimp and glow/chartreuse under a popping cork, plus MirrOlure‑style suspending baits over shell. Early, walk‑the‑dog topwaters are still drawing blowups on slick mornings in the bays and on the backside of Grand Isle. - For **reds**, it’s hard to beat a gold spoon or a 1/4‑ounce jighead with a paddle‑tail in purple/chartreuse or opening‑night colors. Sight‑fishermen in the cleaner ponds are doing work with weedless spoons and small chatter-style swim jigs. If you’re soaking bait, bring live shrimp and market shrimp. Guides from Venice to Fourchon are still putting most novice crews on fish with live shrimp under a cork over shell humps and bayou mouths. For bull reds around the passes and rigs in 20–40 feet, cut mullet and cracked blue crab on a Carolina rig continue to be the ticket. A couple hot spots to circle on your map: - **Empire Jetty and the nearby bayous** – With today’s rising tide pushing in cleaner Gulf water, that jetty stretch is a great bet for specks on plastics and live shrimp, plus reds around the rocks. Work the up‑current side and let your cork or jig swing naturally with the flow. - **Venice marsh and the outer bays near South Pass** – The This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.