Black drum
Pogonias cromis
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Louisiana: check LDWF coastal finfish before you keep a drum.
Louisiana · Venice / Birdfoot
Redfish should be the day — flood the west-bank ponds, then the south passes if the bulls are in.
The Mississippi birdfoot. Passes, ponds, and river-marsh. Bull reds in the passes, school reds and trout in the ponds. Tarpon in mid-summer on the beach and the south passes. NOAA 8760721 Pilottown is the clock. Wind and river stage move more water than the printed tide.
- ⚠ This brief is for 2026-02-15, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
- Tide · modeled — NOAA 8760721 quiet
- NDBC BURL1 quiet
- Salinity probe quiet or stale
- River · USGS 07374525
- Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
- Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
- Water temp quiet
Forecast
low confidence
Forecast brief for Sunday, February 15. Back to this morning
Morning line
Venice 7.8 on Sunday, February 15. 7 mph NNW. Overcast. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
incoming · -0.26 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From NNW · gust 8
Buoy
NDBC BURL1
Quiet
Southwest Pass did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clouds
Overcast
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
3% lit
Waning crescent
spring range · 3%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 0.6 ft
incoming
-0.26 ft modeled
Coast
No live coast layer
Red-tide check failed. That is not all-clear — open the agency page before you wade.
Sargassum check failed. Not a GPS pin. Not all-clear.
Salinity / color
Black Bay near Pointe-à-la-Hache is quiet or stale. Not a color reading.
River
USGS 07374525
298,000 cfs
Mississippi River at Belle Chasse, LA
Discharge into this bay. High water stains the flat.
Wind vs table
No live gauge
—
No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.
Clock
NOAA 8760721
- LowSun 7:00 AM · -0.33
- HighSun 1:00 PM · 0.32
- LowSun 7:00 PM · -0.31
- HighMon 1:00 AM · 0.29
- LowMon 8:00 AM · -0.28
Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.
Monthly YOLO day
Wednesday, August 26
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~0.9 ft · wind to 5 mph · Thunderstorms · 30%
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
Where
This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.
- 7.8
South Pass
pass jetty · public structure · deep
Named river mouth. Bulls and summer tarpon. River stage and wind decide more than the table.
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
skiffspinfly - 7.4
Venice west-bank marsh
marsh drain · public structure · mid
Delta ponds inside the passes. School reds and trout. Your Gulf Atlas pin lives here.
- — marsh drain on a incoming tide is a workable match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
skiffkayakflyspin - 7.1
Southwest Pass
pass jetty · public structure · deep
The other throat of the birdfoot. Current, ships, and the Gulf. Not a pond.
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish.
skiffspin
When
When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. First light and last light are named when the clock is the story. Today’s ring mixes the best mark, the lead fish, and the best window, then taxes the sky. A strong incoming can sit under a weak day if the wind or the fish is off. Calendar cells are a third recipe: range, moon, and the day’s forecast.
Incoming water
9.9Sun 8:00 AM → Sun 2:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Last light · outgoing
9.6Sun 2:00 PM → Sun 9:00 PM
Last light on outgoing water.
Last light · incoming
8.6Sun 9:00 PM → Mon 3:00 AM
Last light on incoming water.
First light · outgoing
9.9Mon 3:00 AM → Mon 9:00 AM
First light on outgoing water.
Incoming water
9.9Mon 9:00 AM → Mon 4:00 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.
Venice public launches
Plaquemines Parish / LDWF ramp directory
Birdfoot door. South and Southwest Pass are the run. Confirm which ramps are open after a blow.
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 incoming (modeled — NOAA 8760721 Pilottown did not answer).
- — Overcast. Sky is workable.
- — Wind 7 mph NNW. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
- — Waning crescent moon — spring tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.
- — USGS salinity well Black Bay near Pointe-à-la-Hache is quiet or stale — not all-clear, not a color reading.
8.4
Redfish
Sciaenops ocellatus
Thermal window
—
Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
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
Thermal window
—
Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Louisiana: 15/day, 13–20 in slot, no more than two over 20. Charter captain/crew bag is zero. Verify LDWF.
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Louisiana: treat as catch-and-release.
Jack crevalle
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
—
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
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.