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This week’s Louisiana Delta Fishing Report features host Andre’ Savoie with a wide-ranging early-summer report from Grand Isle, Hopedale, Lafitte, and the Barataria Basin. The episode starts with Capt. Chris Faler of Southern Outdoor Bowfishing, who shares a Grand Isle Swollfest report focused on offshore red snapper, vermilion snapper, pipeline crossings, rigs, clear water, and deep-water structure.
Andre’ then checks in with Capt. Ryan Vincent of Reel Cajun Fishing, who breaks down the Lafitte and Barataria Basin bite. Ryan says wind has made the trout fishing more challenging, but when conditions line up, anglers are finding better trout around bait, moving water, reefs, old wellhead shell pads, and deeper structure. Redfish, black drum, and the occasional cobia are also part of the summer report.
The big theme this week is adjustment. Offshore anglers around Grand Isle are finding fish by looking beyond obvious rigs, bowfishing crews around Hopedale are working cleaner pockets of water at night, and Lafitte anglers are having to get away from pressured, protected areas when the wind allows.
Conditions Recap
Across the Louisiana Delta, wind and unsettled weather have been the biggest challenges. Capt. Chris Faler says repeated storms and unusual wind patterns have dirtied the water around Hopedale, forcing bowfishing crews to work harder and move east toward cleaner water when possible. Falling tides and small clean-water pockets have been important for finding redfish, sheephead, and other bowfishing targets after dark.
Around Grand Isle, the inshore bite during Swollfest was tougher for some boats, with smaller trout and rougher conditions pushing Chris and his crew offshore. Offshore, the water was clear, visibility was strong, and red snapper and vermilion snapper were holding around rigs, wellheads, pipeline crossings, and bottom structure in roughly 200 feet of water.
In Lafitte and the Barataria Basin, Capt. Ryan Vincent says wind has made the trout bite hit-or-miss, but the fishery is showing improvement compared to recent years. Trout schools are still smaller and moving quickly, but better average-sized fish in the 14- to 16-inch range are showing up when anglers find the right water. Redfish and black drum are beginning to shift toward bigger bays, rock structure, cement walls, shorelines, and marsh edges as the summer pattern builds.
Grand Isle, Swollfest, and Offshore Snapper Fishing Report
Capt. Chris Faler fishes out of Hopedale with Southern Outdoor Bowfishing, where he offers inshore bowfishing trips along with rod-and-reel and combo trip options. This week, he also shared a Grand Isle report from Swollfest, a long-running fishing tournament and benefit event with inshore, offshore, kayak, and youth categories.
Chris says his crew chose to fish offshore because the inshore bite was slower and many trout were small. They ran roughly 35 miles to rigs, wellheads, and bottom structure, where they found strong vermilion snapper action. The crew limited out on vermilion snapper two days in a row, fishing drops around 200 to 250 feet before moving to red snapper spots and filling out the box.
One of Chris’s main offshore tips was to study maps for pipeline crossings, not just visible rigs. He says when several pipelines intersect around a rig or nearby bottom structure, it is worth scanning the area before dropping. On one stop, that approach helped his crew catch their red snapper quickly and head back in.
For deeper drops, Chris says they used electric reels, especially when fishing 200 feet or more. He also mentioned seeing crystal-clear offshore water, dolphins around the boat, and a rip line that held plenty of hardtails. While they had one mahi bait on board and tried to work the rip, the hardtails were so aggressive that it was difficult to keep them off the bait.
Swollfest also produced the kind of offshore variety Grand Isle is known for. Chris says swordfish, big snapper, grouper, snowy grouper, and other deep-water fish are common sights at the weigh-in, especially from boats making long runs and dropping in very deep water.
Hopedale Bowfishing Report
Back around Hopedale, Chris says recent storms and dirty water have forced bowfishing crews to stay flexible. Cleaner water has been more consistent farther east, toward areas near Bob’s Lake and the Biloxi Marsh side. When clean water falls out on the tide, the fish have been stacking up in small corners and pockets where bowfishing crews can get shots.
Chris says redfish and sheephead are still around, and the fish are there when the conditions line up. The challenge is visibility. Unlike rod-and-reel fishing, bowfishing depends on being able to see the target, so dirty water can make a productive area much harder to fish.
He also shared one of the most unique stories of the episode: helping host the New Orleans Saints for a bowfishing trip out of Hopedale. Chris says 24 to 25 bowfishing boats took players, coaches, and staff into the marsh for a team outing, with boats coming from Lafitte, Empire, Grand Isle, the West Bank, the North Shore, and even Texas.
Chris had Saints head coach Kellen Moore on his boat, and he says the competitive nature of the group showed up quickly. The water was dirty and bowfishing was challenging for first-timers, but the group still shot garfish, catfish, and a few redfish. Chris says the players and coaches came back excited, showing off fish and talking about the trip, which was great exposure for bowfishing and the local fishing community.
For anglers or groups looking for a different kind of Louisiana marsh trip, Southern Outdoor Bowfishing offers a hands-on nighttime experience close to New Orleans. Chris says summer trips usually leave around 7:30 p.m., and the best window is often between 8 p.m. and midnight, when the heat backs off and fish can be easier to locate.
Lafitte and Barataria Basin Fishing Report
Capt. Ryan Vincent of Reel Cajun Fishing runs trips out of Lafitte, Louisiana, on the north end of the Barataria Basin. His area gives anglers access to marshes, bays, shorelines, reefs, rigs, and summer trout and redfish water north of Grand Isle.
Ryan says the first part of June has been windy, and that has been the main struggle. When the wind lays down, the trout bite is improving. He says the Barataria Basin is not fully back to its historic level after past storms and hard freezes, but the fishery is moving in the right direction. Schools are still smaller and moving quickly, yet the average trout size is improving, with more 14-, 15-, and 16-inch fish showing up when anglers get on the right bite.
For trout, Ryan is looking south as fish move toward bigger bays and the beach for spawning. Barataria Bay, Hackberry, Creole, outer bays, and beach areas can all come into play. Bigger trout are more likely to be found closer to the beach and surf, where mature females spend time during the summer spawning pattern.
Ryan says birds, jumping shrimp, bait activity, broken islands, points, and current lines are all worth checking. He does not pass up birds without at least giving them a few minutes, even if smaller school trout are mixed in. Fish may be tight to structure, or they may be 20 to 40 yards off the bank along a current seam.
Over the last couple of weeks, Ryan has been focusing more on deeper reefs, old wellhead sites, artificial reefs, and shell pads left behind by old oil platforms. He recommends using Google Earth historical imagery to locate old platforms that may no longer be visible but still have shell or hard bottom underneath. He says those deeper areas, often in six to eight feet of water, can produce better-quality trout.
For gear, Ryan likes tight-lining plastics such as Matrix Shad, but popping corks, live croakers, and live shrimp can all work. On one recent trip, a cobia showed up near a rig and ate a trout setup with a Four Horsemen cork and a Ghost Minnow, showing why it pays to be ready when summer fish show up unexpectedly around structure.
Lafitte Redfish, Black Drum, and Summer Patterns
Ryan says redfish are starting to work toward deeper summer areas. Lake Salvador has been strong for redfish and black drum, and the normal summer spots are beginning to produce. He recommends checking rock structures, cement walls, rock barriers, bigger bay shorelines, Little Lake, areas around Rose, canes, and marsh edges near the larger bays.
Some redfish are still deep in the marsh, but Ryan says much of his recent success has come from bigger bays or edges within a few hundred yards of those bays. He also notes that the redfish coming out of cleaner, grassy ponds often have a deeper bronze or orange color, while fish living in dirtier water may look more gray or silver.
The biggest Lafitte adjustment right now is pressure. Because the wind has kept many anglers close to protected areas, those easy-to-reach spots have been getting hit hard. Ryan says anglers may need to get farther from the marina and away from heavily pressured areas when conditions allow. If you can reach water that has not been fished hard, the bite can be much better.
Ryan also reminds anglers to sign up for the CCA STAR Tournament. He says tagged redfish are released in the Lafitte area, and anglers do not want to be the person who catches a tagged fish without being registered.
