New Orleans Fishing Forecast: Trout, Reds, and More on a Calm November Day

Artificial Lure here with your boots-on-the-ground fishing report for the greater New Orleans and Gulf of Mexico area this Sunday, November 16th, 2025. It’s a cool, calm morning kicking off around 60 degrees and expecting to top out near 72, with just a light southern breeze. The water’s got a slight chop but is plenty fishable, and the skies are mostly clear—perfect for staying on ‘em all day long, sunup to sundown. Speaking of which, sunrise cracked at 7:03 this morning, and sunset won’t roll ‘round ’til 6:28pm, giving you a nice, full window for action. The moon will be up at 12:42pm and sets at 10:44pm, lining up a solid mid-afternoon bite just as that tidal swing starts humming[1]. Today’s tides around New Canal and Shell Beach run 2:58am low (0.5ft), peaking again near 4:29pm (0.9ft), so plan to hit those moving water windows hard. With those transitions overlapping the afternoon solunar peaks, expect a good push of feeding activity. Now, let’s get to the pulling—anglers up and down the marshes and passes have been scoring *steady limits* of speckled trout and redfish. Word from Paris Road Bridge and Shell Beach: limits of school trout coming in early on popping corks set above live shrimp, but anglers throwing Matrix Shad and Vudu Shrimp in natural or chartreuse colors are matching the bite just fine. For reds, it’s gulps and gold spoons tight on the grasslines early, with bigger boys lurking in the deeper potholes and cuts as the day warms—Texas Tackle split-tail grubs and fresh market shrimp doing the work. Hot bait tip—live shrimp is the king if you can get it, but fresh pogies and dead shrimp under a cork are doing damage for slot reds and drum alike. Artificial fans are having luck on topwater walkers at daybreak, especially around the bulkheads in Lake Borgne and Bayou Bienvenue. Don’t overlook that classic chrome Rat-L-Trap if you see bait busting—plenty of fun-sized jack crevalle and the odd flounder will whack it, too. Offshore, the nearer rigs and reefs in the Gulf have been giving up a mixed bag—bull reds, sheepshead, and a handful of late-season mangrove snapper. Weather’s been cooperating for smaller craft, and as long as the winds stay down, trolling for king mackerel with stretch plugs or bucktail jigs tipped with strip bait near Breton Sound could turn up some drag-ripping runs. Best action spots today: - Paris Road Bridge for early specks and a mid-day redfish push. - Shell Beach edges and marsh mouths are holding a mix of keeper trout and reds—look for birds dipping and slicks popping, and get after it. - For a shot at something special, slip down to The Rigolets or out toward Bayou Biloxi—words out folks are still catching solid black drum and sheepshead on crabs and cut bait. Mystery Tackle Box says the saltwater box this month is loaded up with paddle tails, jerkbaits, and shrimp imitations—solid bets for our waters right now[6]. Toss ‘em on a ⅛ to ¼ ounce jighead, and work those ledges and current seams. That This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.