Winter Bite on the Louisiana Coastline: Trout, Reds, and More Waking Up Hungry

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in from down on the Louisiana Gulf, where winter’s got a little bite in the air but the fish are still waking up hungry. Along the lower river passes and coastal bays, we’ve got a **mild north breeze**, cool mornings in the upper 40s to low 50s, warming into the 60s by mid‑day, with high pressure keeping skies mostly clear. According to Tides4Fishing’s South Pass and Empire Jetty tables, we’re working a classic winter pattern: modest tidal range, with a mid‑morning high and an evening fall, and sunrise right around 6:45 a.m. and sunset close to 5 p.m. down the river. When that moving water lines up with first light or last light, the bite’s been turning on. Inshore, the last several days have produced **solid boxes of speckled trout and redfish** from Venice to Empire and over toward Hopedale. Guides out of Venice have been reporting 30–50 trout on good days, plus a handful of slot reds and the occasional bull working the outer bays and passes. Calcasieu Pass reports show similar action to the west, with mixed trout and reds along ship channel ledges and marsh drains. **Speckled trout** are staging in deeper winter holes: 8–15 feet over shell, bayou bends, and pipeline canals. The best producers have been **soft plastics under a popping cork**—3–4 inch paddle tails in opening night, glow/chartreuse, or purple haze—flecked 18–24 inches above a 1/4‑ounce jighead. When the water’s slick and clear, drop the cork and slow‑roll a bare jig just off bottom. A handful of anglers are still getting an early topwater bite on calm mornings around oyster reefs, but it’s short: first 30–45 minutes after dawn. **Redfish** are cruising shallow ponds and marsh edges on that falling tide. Gold spoons, 1/4‑ounce spinnerbaits with white or chartreuse grub trailers, and **live shrimp** under corks have been steady producers. Cut mullet or cracked crab on the bottom near the jetties and pass mouths is still turning up some bull reds for folks who want to tug on something heavy. Flounder numbers are spotty but improving as they trickle back; slow‑dragging a small paddle tail or Gulp! shrimp tight to the bottom around current‑swept points and weirs has put a few in the box, mostly 14–18 inches. For **live bait**, shrimp and cocahoes are still king when you can find them. Fish them: - Under a popping cork in 2–5 feet over shell and grass. - Free‑lined or on a light Carolina rig in deeper bayous and canals. Best **artificials** right now: - Soft plastics: Matrix Shad, Down South, or similar paddletails and straight tails on 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads. - Scented plastics: Gulp! shrimp in new penny or chartreuse. - Hard baits: suspending twitchbaits in natural mullet patterns around drains and points when the water’s clear. A couple of **hot spots** to consider: - **Empire Jetty / Delta duck ponds:** Work the rocks and adjacent drains on a moving tide for trout early, then slide into the ponds for reds with gold spoons and shrimp under This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.