Gulf Coast
Fly fishing in Louisiana
Short answer
Louisiana has no trout and no cold water to hold them. What it has is the best redfish fly fishing in the world: a vast coastal marsh south and east of New Orleans where redfish are sight-fished in inches of water. A basic fishing licence is required from age 18, with a saltwater licence on top for the marsh.
What makes Louisiana different
There is no trout fishing in Louisiana and there is no point pretending otherwise. What the state has instead is something no trout state can offer: the Mississippi delta marsh, three million acres of shallow brackish water, and redfish in it that can be seen, cast to and caught in water barely deep enough to cover their backs. In winter the marsh water clears and the fish push into ponds you could wade, and a double-figure redfish tailing in eight inches of water is the single best sight-fishing opportunity in North America. The fishery is also unstable in a way worth knowing about — the marsh is disappearing at a rate of a football field every hour or two, and the water being fished today is physically different from the water of twenty years ago.
What fish are in Louisiana?
- Redfish
- The reason to come. Sight-fished in the marsh, and the best of it is in winter.
- Speckled trout
- A drum, not a trout — spotted seatrout. Abundant, and good fun on a fly.
- Black drum
- Often alongside the redfish, bigger, and considerably harder to feed.
- Largemouth bass
- The freshwater marsh and the Atchafalaya. Excellent and underfished.
- Tripletail and jack crevalle
- Nearshore in summer, and a reason to carry a heavier rod.
Where to fly fish in Louisiana
- Biloxi Marsh
- East of New Orleans. The classic winter redfish ground, poled from a skiff.
- Delacroix
- A maze of ponds and bayous, and the most-fished marsh in the state for good reason.
- Venice
- The bottom of the Mississippi. Bull redfish, and a long run to get there.
- Lafitte
- Close to New Orleans, and a straightforward place to start.
- Atchafalaya Basin
- The largest river swamp in the country. Bass, bream and no salt at all.
- Calcasieu Lake
- In the south-west. Speckled trout and redfish, and far fewer boats.
When to fly fish in Louisiana
| When | What is happening |
|---|---|
| December – February | The best weeks of the year. Cold fronts clear the water and redfish push into skinny ponds. |
| March – April | Water warming, fish spreading out, and the spring winds making poling harder. |
| May – June | Good fishing early and late. Tripletail and jacks appear nearshore. |
| July – August | Hot, humid and buggy. Fish at first light, or fish the bass water in the shade. |
| September – November | Bull redfish stage near the passes, and the marsh begins to clear again. |
Do you need a license to fly fish in Louisiana?
Yes. Licenses are issued by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
| License | Price |
|---|---|
| Resident, annual | $32 |
| Non-resident, annual | $128 |
The totals are what a marsh angler actually needs: the basic fishing licence plus the saltwater licence — $17 and $15 for residents, $68 and $60 for non-residents. Freshwater-only anglers need the basic licence alone. Licences run 365 days from purchase. Prices change — check with the agency before you buy.
Rules worth knowing before you go
- A basic fishing licence is required from age 18. Anyone 17 and under fishes without one.
- A saltwater licence is required in addition to fish the marsh and the coast, and the basic licence is a prerequisite for it.
- Licences run 365 days from the date of purchase.
- Louisiana and Texas recognise each other's resident licences on shared border waters, excluding the Gulf.
- Redfish and speckled trout carry slot limits and bag limits that have changed recently. Check the current rules.
Regulations change every year and vary water by water. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries rule book is the only authority — this page is a starting point, not a legal reference.
Flies that matter in Louisiana
Each of these is a card in the deck, and each has a full page in Our Fly-brary.
Keep reading
- Do I need a fishing license? — how licensing works across states
- How to read water — where trout hold, anywhere
- Best time of day to fly fish — the seasonal logic behind the table above
- Our Fly-brary — every fly in the deck, explained
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The deck
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