Redfish fishing in Louisiana Coast

In Louisiana Coast, redfish peak April–May and September–February and are around year-round, spawning in September–October, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. January: Clearest water of the year in the marsh ponds; sight-cast reds with a spinnerbait or a gold spoon on calm, sunny days.

1. JanuaryPeakClearest water of the year in the marsh ponds; sight-cast reds with a spinnerbait or a gold spoon on calm, sunny days.
2. FebruaryPeakStill in the interior ponds and bayous from Lafitte to Hopedale; slow down on the coldest days.
3. MarchAroundTransition month: trout start moving out. Fish the bayou mouths and the inside edges of the outer bays as salinity rises.
4. AprilPeakBack along the marsh points and broken grass edges; shrimp under a cork on the moving tide.
5. MayPeakOuter marsh shorelines and oyster reefs from Delacroix to Cocodrie; spoons and paddletails.
6. JuneAroundIsland trout and platform snapper. Live shrimp at the islands and nearshore rigs; tripletail on the crab-trap floats.
7. JulyAroundTarpon off Grand Isle; tripletail on every float. Run the crab-trap lines for tripletail; tarpon around the river passes; offshore for blues.
8. AugustAround
9. SeptemberSpawningBull reds school at the passes, the Chandeleurs and the Mississippi River mouths to spawn; cracked crab or cut mullet.
10. OctoberSpawningBulls on the outer islands and at the jetties; slot reds blow up the marsh ponds as the fronts start.
11. NovemberPeakEvery marsh drain on a north-wind falling tide; the best all-round month.
12. DecemberPeakReds move into the deep bayous and ponds; clear water returns on the calm days between fronts.

Millions of acres of marsh, ponds and bayous — Calcasieu, Barataria, Terrebonne, Lake Pontchartrain, Breton and Chandeleur sounds — fringed by barrier islands at Grand Isle, Elmer's and the Chandeleurs, the Mississippi River passes at Venice, and thousands of oil and gas platforms from the beach to blue water.

• Live shrimpUnder a popping cork or free-lined, hooked under the horn on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook; on a jig head for the bottom. The universal inshore bait.
• PinfishHooked through the back ahead of the dorsal on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook; the small ones free-lined, the big ones on a fish-finder rig.
• Finger mulletLip-hooked on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook and free-lined, or on a fish-finder rig in the surf. Cut mullet on the bottom for redfish and drum.
• Blue crabsWhole and small for permit and tarpon; halved or quartered on the bottom for black drum, redfish and cobia.
• CroakersHooked through the back on a 2/0 to 3/0 circle hook, free-lined or on a Carolina rig — big trout and redfish can't leave them alone.

• Leader20–30 lb fluorocarbon
• Hook1/0–3/0
• Jig head1/8–3/8 oz
• Braid10–20 lb

Feeds in 58–90°F water, best at 65–82°F.

All about redfish · The Louisiana Marsh, the whole year