Louisiana Inshore Slam: Trout, Reds, and Flounder Feast This Fall

This is Artificial Lure with your Gulf of Mexico New Orleans fishing report for October 4th, 2025. Cooler October temps have set in and the inshore bite is lit up all along the southeast Louisiana coast. Water clarity is up today thanks to those steady north winds after the front, and the fish are on the chew. We had a sunrise at 6:56 AM and sunset coming at 6:42 PM tonight, so there’s still plenty of daylight to wet a line. Today's a high coefficient tidal day with strong-moving water, and the tide is currently falling – exactly what we want for some action in the marsh drains, bayous, and passes, especially with this waxy gibbous moon keeping the solunar tables active through both morning and evening windows according to data from Tides4Fishing. The marshes and outer bays are absolutely loaded with bait right now, with shrimp pouring out of the grass and every predator fish in the Gulf feasting. Louisiana Sportsman reports that the marsh drains, small bayous, and ditches are twisting with white shrimp making their fall run. That's brought in swarms of speckled trout and redfish. Specks are staging up heavy around oyster reefs and bridge pylons, especially in spots like Lake Pontchartrain, the Rigolets, and Bayou Bienvenue. Early in the morning, it’s all about topwater baits – bring your walk-the-dog and popping plugs. As the sun rises, pivot to soft plastics under a popping cork or slip cork. Redfish are running thick along the grass lines and oyster points, especially where that falling tide pulls the bait right out of the marsh. You’ll want to throw gold spoons, paddle-tail plastics, or live shrimp near drains, points, and shell banks. For the big bull reds, load up on cut mullet or blue crab and target the jetties at South Pass around Venice and Grand Isle’s Caminada Pass. In the back-bays and current-swept pockets, flounder are holding tight on the muddy bottom. Slow-rolling paddle-tails along the bottom or tipping a jig with Gulp will put a few slabs in the box. Remember to fish slow and thorough, they’re hugging structure after every weather shift. On the freshwater side, bass are pushing up on shad schools around the Atchafalaya spillways and the canals off Lake Maurepas. Lipless crankbaits and square-bills are putting up good numbers on the windblown points; finesse worms and jigs will clean up after the bite slows, reports Yardbarker’s latest crankbait rundown. A couple of absolute hot spots for today: - The Rigolets – trout and redfish are both stacked due to bait and moving water. - Chef Menteur Pass – flounder and slot reds are picking off shrimp draining out on the outgoing. - On the saltier side, Caminada Pass for the big bulls chasing mullet and crabs. - Inside, the Lake Pontchartrain–I-10 bridges early for specks, switching to the passes as the sun climbs. Best baits right now: - Live shrimp or cocahoe minnows under a cork for specks and slot reds - Gold spoons and swim baits in the marsh - Cut mullet or blu This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.