When a coast, a type of water, and a fish actually line up. If you elected Texas on the list, this page opens on Texas — Seychelles stays off the board until you ask for it. Filter by region, method or habitat, and species. The year bar is peak versus present. Limits cite TPWD and FWC — verify before you keep one.
Wind and the Mississippi move more water than the printed tide.
Venice is the birdfoot — South and Southwest Pass, ponds on the west bank, bulls in the throats, school reds and trout inside, tarpon in the heat on the south passes. Grand Isle is a different desk: one inhabited barrier island, Caminada, Barataria, a state-park surf. Calcasieu is the Texas-border cousin under LDWF rules — same fish, different bag, not Sabine Lake. Reds are 4 a day, 18–27, none over 27. Trout are a slot. Flounder typically close Oct 15–Nov 30. Do not put a Texas tag on a Cameron fish.
May. Still excellent early. Heat starts. Trout slide deeper at midday. First-light ponds.
No coast-wide harvest closure on the board. Still verify before you keep a fish.
Redfish
Sciaenops ocellatus
Peak MayLouisiana
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Thermal window
—
52–88°F · best 62–82°F
Texas and Louisiana main event. Tails in flooded grass, wakes on shell, winter schools on mud, bulls in the passes. Keys: backcountry only, not oceanside. Boca Harbor yes. Jupiter is a snook desk.
Fly. 8-weight. Crab or shrimp on bead-chain for tailers. Gold spoon when the wind wrecks the fly. 20 lb near oyster.
Spin. Weedless gold spoon, paddle, or soft plastic. Heavy spoon or big paddle for the fall jetty bulls.
Same bays as the red, a foot deeper. Birds are GPS. Heat drives them off the flat at midday. Cold drives them to guts and mud. Louisiana lives on this fish.
Fly. 7–8 wt. Baitfish and shrimp. Gurgler when they are up. Soft mouth — strip-set, do not trout-set a trout.
Spin. Topwater at dawn. Soft plastic on a light jig the rest of the day. Slow down after a front.
Fall migration to the Gulf when water drops a few degrees. Males leave first. Spring return. Texas closed Nov 1–Dec 14. Louisiana typically closed Oct 15–Nov 30 — verify LDWF.
Fly. Clouser or shrimp on the bottom. Slow. The eat is a weight, not a tap.
Spin. Gulp or soft plastic hopped on sand drains and jetty guts. Fall nights at the passes are the run.
Keys migratory peak Apr–May. Boca Grande Pass is the spring stack. Jupiter inlet and beach. Texas beach/passes mid-summer. Venice south passes in the heat. Bahamas: resident fish in bights Apr–Oct.
Fly. 10–12 wt. Cockroach, toad, or baitfish. Bow to the king on the jump. 40–60 lb shock.
Spin. Live crab or large swimbaits at passes. Texas beachfront July–early fall is a bay-boat game, not the skinny skiff.