This week in southeast Louisiana, the summer trout run is at its peak. The islands and rigs are holding schools of specks, the marsh is giving up redfish to anyone who can stand the heat, and the nearshore platforms are stacked with snapper.
What’s Hitting
Speckled trout are the main event, schooled on the barrier islands, the passes, and the nearshore rigs. Redfish are spread through the marsh ponds and along the grass shorelines, with bull reds starting to gather at the passes. Mangrove snapper are thick at the nearshore platforms, and a few tripletail are drifting the crab-trap lines.
Where to Find Them
The island surf and the first line of rigs out of the passes are holding the better trout — moving water and bait are the keys. Marsh reds are in the duck ponds and on the points early, before the sun cooks the shallows. The snapper want the legs of any platform in 20 to 60 feet.
Tides & Conditions
Modest tidal ranges this week mean you fish the wind-driven current as much as the chart. The river is in its summer slump, which cleans up the east-side water. Morning storms have been building over the Gulf and moving inland — the reverse of the usual pattern, so watch the radar both ways.
Tackle & Tactics
Trout want live shrimp under a popping cork or a chartreuse plastic on a quarter-ounce jighead. Marsh reds eat gold spoons, spinnerbaits, and cut mullet with equal enthusiasm. For the snapper, free-line a live shrimp or small croaker tight to the platform legs on 20-pound fluorocarbon.
Spots & Access This Week
Beyond the main launches, Campo’s at Shell Beach puts you on the MRGO rocks and the Biloxi Marsh line quickly, and the Leeville and Fourchon launches cover the Grand Isle-area trout water from the west side. Land-based anglers have Elmer’s Island — the surf and cuts there hold trout and reds on the green mornings — plus the rocks and beach at Grand Isle State Park on the east end. Kayak anglers are doing well launching into the Delacroix ponds early, reaching redfish the mud-boat traffic pushes off the main bayous by mid-morning. Everything outside depends on the wind laying down overnight.
Fine-Tuning the Bite
On the island trout, the difference between a pick and a box this week is bait discipline: the schools are grading small in the first hour, and the boats catching solid fish are moving on after five throwbacks instead of camping. A croaker or big live shrimp fished on the bottom through the same current line pulls the better class of trout that won’t chase a cork rig. In the marsh, the reds have been sitting tight to the drains on the falling tide — a spinnerbait worked across the mouth of a draining cut is close to automatic, and the strike usually comes in the first ten feet of the retrieve.
Local Intel This Week
The Hopedale marina complex, Venice Marina, and the Cocodrie launches are the classic jumping-off points, with Delacroix covering the mid-marsh. Fish are concentrating on the islands and first rigs outside, and in the marsh ponds early. Check current Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries regulations before keeping fish — trout limits have changed in recent seasons.
This Week’s Tip
At the rigs, the trout school stacks on the up-current side. Position the boat so your cork drifts naturally into the legs with the current — the first three casts into fresh water usually tell you if the school is home. One last note: summer heat is the real hazard out here — the marsh offers no shade, so front-load the fishing, pack double the water you think you need, and be headed in by early afternoon.