The Big Water Bite: Tides, Shrimp, and New Orleans Fishing Action

This is Artificial Lure reporting from the edge of the Gulf, bringing your local New Orleans fishing scoop for Sunday, September 7, 2025. Today we’re talking big water, tidal swings, and one heck of a shrimp season opener. Sunrise hit at 6:40am and sunset’s at 7:16pm. You’re getting twelve and a half hours of daylight, just enough to grab that early topwater bite and stick around for a golden hour closer. Tide action is jumping: the low rolled in pre-dawn around 5:42am at 0.45 feet, with the high tide peaking tonight near 7:14pm at 0.86 feet, according to Tide-Forecast.com and Tides4fishing. The tidal coefficient is high—expect strong water movement and bait on the move. Bigger swings mean predators will be lurking near points and cuts, especially as we hit those solunar windows close to sunrise and sunset. The weather’s on your side until later this evening. Winds are light at 5 knots early, seas are calm at about a foot—perfect for both inshore and nearshore runs. But a strong front is expected to move in late today, flipping the breeze to a gusty north and roughing things up into Monday, per the National Weather Service Marine Forecast. If you’re looking to sneak offshore for some snapper or hit the rigs, now’s your shot before the blow sets in. Let’s talk fish. Rojas Fishing Charters reports out of New Orleans marshes that the redfish and specks are chewing, with plenty of action for those casting around grass lines, shell points, and the edges of current rips. Most are catching and releasing, but the numbers are solid, especially on the moving tides. Bull reds are making inshore pushes—these heavyweights are bending rods everywhere from Lake Borgne to the pass entrances. Look for crashing bait and crashing birds. In the bays and Lake Pontchartrain, trout are responding best during dawn and dusk, especially around the Causeway and along the eastern shoreline. August and early September hauls have been heavy, with fish up to 22 inches reported by Louisiana Sportsman readers. Shrimp action is prime as the delayed inshore fall shrimp season just opened. This means not only can you tip your jigs with fresh shrimp, but it’s bringing all the predators in for a feast. Red drum, southern flounder, and speckled trout are dialed in on these migrating shrimp, reports the Louisiana Shrimp Association. Top baits today: nothing beats fresh shrimp under a popping cork for the inshore bite. But don’t sleep on plastics—white and chartreuse paddle tails are getting smoked. If you’re working the bridges or deeper holes, a bucktail jig bounced off the bottom remains a killer, especially when tipped with a sliver of shrimp. Topwater plugs at first light will get explosive strikes from trout and reds. Offshore folks—drop live pogies or cut mullet around the rigs for snapper and big bull reds. Best hot spots this morning: the northern shorelines of Lake Borgne, especially near the Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass, are delivering steady catches. Lake Pontchartra This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.