Published: Monday, June 13th, 2022| Updated on: Friday, March 10th, 2023
Fishing in Louisiana is every angler’s dream as it is gifted with a 77,000-mile coastline, the largest manmade lake in the region, and some of the richest bayous in the world. The beautiful southern state nurtures a natural environment home to a wide array of wildlife, including diverse fish species, reptiles, and amphibians. Given all these characteristics, it is no wonder why Louisiana proclaims itself a “Sportsman’s Paradise.”
There’s no shortage of fishing when you come to Louisiana. Novice or pro, there’s a fishing opportunity waiting for you in the Bayou State. Saltwater anglers will be astonished by the sheer number of fishing spots Louisiana offers. Pick a random spot on the coastline, and you won’t be disappointed. With direct access to the Gulf of Mexico and fed by the Calcasieu, Atchafalaya, and Mississippi rivers, its waters attract a healthy population of fish both nearshore and offshore. For inshore fishing, visit Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Book overnight fishing trips to Venice or Grand Isle to target more exciting offshore species like tarpon and tuna.
Louisiana may be known for its saltwater angling opportunities, but its freshwater spots are equally excellent and benefit greatly from being easily accessible. Louisiana's bayous, backwaters, rivers, and marshes, many of them within or a few minutes outside the state’s biggest cities, are home to a wide variety of southern freshwater favorites, including channel catfish, largemouth bass, striped bass, and crappie.
There are always plenty of fish biting in Louisiana no matter what time of the year you come and no matter what type of waterbody you choose to cast a line in. As long as you have the patience and the skills to match, you’ll always come home with a catch or two.
If you’re keen to fish for freshwater fish, you don’t need to go off the beaten path. Just a few minutes outside the fascinating city of New Orleans, on Lake Pontchartrain’s north bank, you will find the Northshore. This area has many slow and scenic waterways home to channel catfish, largemouth bass, and alligator gar. Another New Orleans neighbor, Lac Des Allemands, is a productive haven for catfish.
For anglers targeting bass, Louisiana is just the place to be. It is home to many top-notch bass lakes, including Toledo Bend Reservoir, the biggest man-made reservoir in the south. The reservoir is known for its year-round largemouth bass fishery and offers equally fair spots to hook some crappie, sunfish, and catfish. Many of Louisiana’s state parks and wildlife refuges provide great fishing opportunities for redear sunfish, crappie, and hybrid striped bass. Some of the most popular include Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge in the southwest, the Kisatchie National Forest in the central area, and Chemin-A-Haut State Park in the north.
Saltwater angling is as exciting as they come in the state of Louisiana. It has in its rich waters abundant populations of red snapper, redfish, yellowfin tuna, speckled trout, black drum, amberjack, and plenty more. Venture further out, and you’ll find even bigger fish like common dolphinfish, blue marlin, sailfish, and wahoo.
If there’s any saltwater fish that embodies Louisiana, it’s the red snapper. When cooked Cajun-style, this fish is a delectable show-stopper, making it a favorite catch for locals. So when in Louisiana, do as the locals do. Head to Venice and cast a line in the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where you’re sure to hook your daily limit in under a few hours.
Keen to target speckled trout and redfish? The fishing spots on Grand Isle are teeming with these fish. Lake Pontchartrain and Calcasieu Lake are equally as productive, offering up sheepshead and the mix.
If you’re confident with your sea legs, you should venture out 40 miles offshore to get the full effect of a Louisiana deep sea fishing experience. The further out you go, the better chance you have of finding even more red snapper and some yellowfin and blackfin tuna, white and blue marlin, sailfish, and wahoo. Fifty miles off Venice’s shore, you can find the Midnight Lump, renowned for the drastic shifts in its depths that make it attractive to big fish. Target your trophy with trolling or jigging in winter, and make sure you’re prepared for the fight of your life.
Louisiana has many specific rules and regulations to maintain the health of its natural environment and the fish that swim its waters. Apart from a recreational fishing license, anglers are required to obtain certain types of permits for specific species. For example, anglers who want to possess all tuna, billfish, swordfish, grouper, snapper, cobia, wahoo, swordfish, amberjack, and dolphinfish must get a Recreational Offshore Landing Permit on top of the other required licenses. So before heading out to any waterbody in the state, it’s good to familiarize yourself with their specific restrictions.
One way to ensure you’re in keeping with the state’s regulations is to book a local fishing charter, which won’t be hard in Louisiana. You can book Southern Access Charters for nearshore Gulf of Mexico fishing in Venice. New Orleans has its fair share of inshore fishing charters, including Speck Dat Charters and Get’N Hooked Inshore Adventures. A few minutes outside New Orleans, Saint Bernard offers productive inshore fishing that you can safely enjoy by booking Marsh Head Fishing Charters or Off the Grid Charters.
Pro anglers keen to test their mettle and push their luck will enjoy fishing in Louisiana. Its rich waters nurture and produce record-breaking monster fish, with channel catfish and largemouth bass often leading the pack. However, one record that’s yet to be broken is the world record for sheepshead caught in New Orleans in 1982. No other place has produced a sheepshead that could rival the one hooked by Wayne Desselle, so perhaps the next record-breaker is still lurking somewhere in the waters of Louisiana.