On This Water

Louisiana · Calcasieu / Cameron

Redfish should be the day — wait; this pass wants moving water.

Southwest Louisiana. Calcasieu Lake, the pass, Cameron jetties. Same fish as the Texas border — reds, trout, fall flounder — under LDWF rules, not TPWD. NOAA 8768094 is the pass. Not Sabine Lake; the state line is west of here.

  • This brief is for 2026-04-20, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
8.0OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Monday, April 20. Back to this morning

Morning line

Calcasieu 8.0 on Monday, April 20. 6 mph N. Partly cloudy. YOLO day is Tuesday, August 25. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.0-0.10.81.72.6HLHLHLHLSun 7 PMMon 7 PMTue 7 PMWed 7 PMThu 7 PM
high slack · 2.12 ftNOAA hourly · ft MLLW

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW6MPH

From N · gust 7

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clouds

Partly cloudy

A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.

Moon

12% lit

Waxing crescent

mid range · 12%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 2.7 ft

high slack

2.12 ft MLLW

River

USGS 08015500

309 cfs

Calcasieu River near Kinder, LA

Discharge into this bay. High water stains the flat.

Wind vs table

Observed − predicted

No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.

Clock

NOAA 8768094

  • HighMon 7:25 AM · 2.14
  • LowMon 12:04 PM · 1.71
  • HighMon 3:25 PM · 1.89
  • LowTue 12:11 AM · -0.53
  • HighTue 8:58 AM · 2.07

Monthly YOLO day

Tuesday, August 25 · 8.6

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast — and it is a copper day. waxing gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.4 ft · wind to 12 mph · Clouds · 15%

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • Calcasieu Lake reefs

    oyster reef · public structure · mid

    7.8

    Big lake north of the pass. Trout on shell. Wind is the tide.

    • oyster reef on a high slack tide is a workable match.
    • In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish, Black drum.
    skiffflyspin
  • Calcasieu Pass

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    6.9

    NOAA 8768094 sits here. Current, granite, fall flounder before the LDWF close. Not Sabine Pass.

    • pass jetty on a high slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Southern flounder.
    structureskiffspinfly
  • Cameron jetties

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    6.4

    Parish granite at the pass. Midday sheep. Measure every flounder — the close is LDWF, not TPWD.

    • pass jetty on a high slack tide is a secondary match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Southern flounder.
    structurespin

When

  • Outgoing water

    9.9

    Mon 9:00 AMMon 2:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    8.6

    Mon 1:00 PMMon 5:00 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Outgoing water

    9.6

    Mon 5:00 PMTue 2:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    9.9

    Tue 1:00 AMTue 11:00 AM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Outgoing water

    9.9

    Tue 10:00 AMTue 2:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

Launch and beach access

Cited to LDWF ramp lists and Louisiana State Parks. Parish rules shift after a blow.

  • Cameron / Calcasieu Point

    Cameron Parish / LDWF

    SW Louisiana beach. Parish rules shift. Calcasieu Pass is the next throat east.

    Official source

Legal water

No-take and closed water cited to the agency that owns it. Only the Keys box is FKNMS.

No FKNMS polygon in this box. Mainland Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico, and the Bahamas are not Keys sanctuary closures.

Why — and who

  • Tide is high slack from NOAA.
  • Partly cloudy. Sky is workable.
  • Wind 6 mph N. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • Waxing crescent moon — mid tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

7.3

Thermal window

48°92°

In peak season for this water.

Louisiana: 4/day, 18–27 in slot. None over 27. No harvest in federal waters. Charter captain/crew bag is zero. Verify LDWF.

Speckled trout

Cynoscion nebulosus

7.3

Thermal window

44°90°

In peak season for this water.

Louisiana: 15/day, 13–20 in slot, no more than two over 20. Charter captain/crew bag is zero. Verify LDWF.

Black drum

Pogonias cromis

6.6

Thermal window

46°88°

Present, not peak. This tide stage (high slack) matches how they hunt.

Louisiana: check LDWF coastal finfish before you keep a drum.

Southern flounder

Paralichthys lethostigma

5.5

Thermal window

46°88°

Present, not peak.

Louisiana: typically 10/day. Recreational harvest usually closed Oct 15–Nov 30 — verify LDWF the week you keep one.

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

5.5

Thermal window

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak.

Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.

Regs citedLDWF recreational saltwater · current LDWF coastal finfish · rolls in 7 days. Louisiana flounder is typically closed Oct 15–Nov 30. Verify LDWF the week you keep one.