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Welcome to this week’s Louisiana Delta Fishing Report, the weekly local fishing report for New Orleans, Venice, Grand Isle, Shell Beach, and everywhere in between. On this episode, Andre’ Savoie talks with Capt. Christian of Bayou Obsession Charters and Capt. Rich of Blue Line Charter Service about a strong mid-April pattern across South Louisiana.
The episode highlights a standout sheepshead bite out of Lafitte, steady marsh redfish action, and an improving trout outlook as April moves along. In Venice, the conversation turns to wind-beaten but still promising spring conditions, with trout beginning to show on the coast, redfish continuing to produce, and nearshore opportunities like cobia and red snapper lining up as late spring approaches.
Conditions Recap
South Louisiana is in a classic spring transition, but recent wind has been the biggest factor shaping the bite. In Lafitte, the fishing has stayed productive with redfish, black drum, and especially oversized sheepshead keeping rods bent while anglers wait for trout to become more consistent. In Venice, the wind has interrupted what had been a very encouraging early spring run, but the overall setup still looks strong once weather settles down again.
The bigger picture is positive. Trout are beginning to show in more places, sheepshead action is still excellent in the right areas, and both captains expect more typical late-April and May patterns to take shape soon. Anglers should be ready for a continued mix of dependable inshore action now and expanding nearshore options as the month rolls on.
Lafitte Report: Capt. Christian, Bayou Obsession Charters
Capt. Christian of Bayou Obsession Charters said spring fishing out of Lafitte has been very good, especially for anglers targeting sheepshead and redfish. On fishable days, they have been running to the first sets of rigs and finding unusually big spawning sheepshead. Christian said the average fish has been around 23 inches, with many pushing the 10-pound class. That has made for some of the most exciting action of the spring, especially for customers who enjoy bringing home fish that fight hard and eat well.
Redfish have also been steady when the wind allows anglers to fish comfortably. Christian said he likes to work the marsh with a Four Horsemen popping cork and market shrimp, while other guides will target fish around rocks, walls, and deeper structure with shrimp on a jighead near the bottom. Because live bait is not readily available in his area, market shrimp remains the standard bait, and Christian said buying it in bulk and keeping it ready has been one of the simplest and most reliable ways to stay on fish.
For now, the main inshore targets remain redfish, black drum, and sheepshead. Trout have not been the main focus yet because of recent wind and temperature swings, but Christian expects that to start changing over the next few weeks. He said trout do move into the marshes and bays around Lafitte before pushing farther into the bigger bays as the weather heats up. That bite is still recovering from last year’s freeze impact, but signs are improving.
One of the big takeaways from Christian’s report is that this current offshore sheepshead push will not last forever. As the spawn winds down, those fish will begin moving off the rigs and back toward more normal marsh patterns. The redfish bite should remain fairly stable, but the sheepshead bonanza that has made this stretch so good is likely to taper off as the calendar turns deeper into late April and May.
Book a trip with Bayou Obsession Charters.
Venice Report: Capt. Rich, Blue Line Charter Service
Capt. Rich of Blue Line Charter Service said Venice had been setting up for an excellent spring before a long stretch of hard wind slowed things down. Even with that interruption, he said the overall pattern still looks very promising. Redfish have continued to produce, and before the wind took over they had already started catching quality speckled trout along the coast and around areas like Curlew Island. Rich expects that bite to keep improving once weather settles and anglers can get back to fishing the right water cleanly.
Rich explained that his trout setup is very different from a typical redfish trip. He likes fishing Breton Sound, nearby islands, wellheads, and beaches with a 3/8-ounce jighead and a Matrix Shad in the Shrimp Creole color, along with live bait when available. He will also fish a popping cork with a deeper leader, around 36 inches, when the situation calls for it. Much of that trout fishing is done near the bottom around shell pads and wellhead structure, and he said those areas should only get better from late April into May before the pattern shifts more fully into Breton Sound for summer.
Nearshore opportunities are also starting to come into view. Rich said cobia fishing was very good during the migration in February, and he expects that fishery to remain productive around rigs as the season develops. He also said anglers should be ready for a very strong red snapper opener in May. In fact, many of his first May trips are already booked around snapper, and he expects limits to come quickly before anglers move back inshore to keep catching redfish or other species. Mangrove snapper, tripletail, and other mixed-bag possibilities will also become more realistic as the late-spring pattern expands.
Another useful point from Rich’s report was his advice not to overreact to the dirty, high river. He said the wind has been a bigger problem than river stage, and that a lot of water that looks muddy on the surface can still have clean, fishable water underneath. That is especially true around some of the beach lines, where fish may still be holding even when the top layer looks ugly. His overall outlook for Venice was clear: once the wind backs off, the fishing should be in very good shape.
Book a trip with Blue Line Charter Service.
