Louisiana fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. September is transition month on the Louisiana coast, and this week the trout have started their move from the barrier islands and outside rigs toward the interior bays and lakes. The redfish, as always, have not gone anywhere, and the bull reds are gathering at the passes.
What’s Hitting
What’s hot this week is speckled trout on the move. Fish are still on the outside at Grand Isle, the Timbalier islands, and the nearshore rigs early, but the better numbers have been coming from the interior lakes and bays like Lake Pontchartrain’s bridges, the Biloxi Marsh, and the Hopedale and Delacroix lakes as the water starts to cool. Redfish are steady along the marsh edges and in the ponds everywhere from Cocodrie to Venice, with slot fish on the shorelines and bulls at the passes and the river mouths. Flounder are beginning to show along the bayou edges and at the passes, and tripletail are on the crab-trap floats and channel markers in Barataria and Terrebonne bays.
Where to Find Them
Trout are in the interior lakes around the bridges, oyster reefs, and points on the moving tide, and on the outside at the island passes and rigs at first light. Redfish are on the marsh shorelines and pond edges on the higher stages of the tide, and in the deeper bayous and canals as it drops. Bull reds are at the Grand Isle and Barataria passes and at the mouths of the Mississippi River passes below Venice. Tripletail are on the floats and markers in the open bays.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides this week between the moons, with a single main tidal swing and the morning falling water setting up the pass and marsh drain bite. Water is in the low to mid-80s and dropping at night. Winds have been light out of the north and east, which has cleaned up the interior water and made the marsh fishable everywhere. The Mississippi River is low, which has the water at Venice clean and salty.
Tackle & Tactics
For trout, a live shrimp or a soft plastic under a popping cork on the reefs and points, or a soft plastic on a quarter-ounce jig head fished on the bottom around the bridges. Redfish in the marsh want a gold spoon, a spinnerbait, or a soft plastic on a jig head cast to the shoreline, or a live shrimp or cut mullet under a cork. Bull reds at the passes want a cracked crab or cut mullet on a 7/0 circle hook with a Carolina rig. For tripletail, a live shrimp under a cork pitched to the float.
Local Intel This Week
The Grand Isle State Park and Bridge Side Marina ramps serve Grand Isle and the Barataria passes, with the Cocodrie and Dulac ramps covering Terrebonne, the Hopedale and Delacroix ramps covering the Biloxi Marsh, and the Venice Marina ramp serving the river passes. Shore anglers are catching trout and reds from the Grand Isle beach and the Elmer’s Island access. Fish are concentrating in the interior lakes as the water cools and at the passes on the falling tide. Check current Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries regulations and creel limits before keeping fish, especially for speckled trout.
This Week’s Tip
In the transition, let the water temperature tell you where to fish. If the morning air is cool and the water in the interior lakes has dropped a few degrees, start inside. If it is still hot and still, the trout are probably still on the outside. Checking the temperature at the ramp saves a long run in the wrong direction.
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