Artificial Lure here with your November 7th Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana fishing report—let’s get right to what’s biting and where, to help you make the most of your time on the water.

**Today’s conditions**: Tides are on the mellow side, with Lake Charles showing a tidal coefficient of just 34—a low range, so you won’t see huge swings between high and low tide. Currents will be pretty slight, which means less moving water and subtle current lines. We’ve got about 11 hours of daylight with sunrise just before 6:30 am and sunset near 5:35 pm, so get out early if you can. Weather-wise, we’re settling into typical November—expect cooler, calm mornings, warming up slightly in the afternoon, but layers are your friend with this “cool and still” Gulf air.

**Fish activity:** According to recent angler chatter and trip reports from guides all the way from Grand Isle through the Biloxi Marsh, the bite’s been solid, especially around sunrise and sundown. Redfish and speckled trout are front and center, with some chunky ones being picked up on the flats, bayous, and outer marshes. The reds are slot-sized, but several bull reds were caught earlier this week just offshore and at the major passes. Trout have moved into deeper bayous as the water cools, but when you find a school, the numbers are good—12- to 18-inch keepers are common. Reports in from Venice and Hopedale show flounder numbers picking up along muddy drop-offs, though still spotty.

**Best lures and techniques:** This season, it’s all about matching the fall feed. Shad and mullet are everywhere, so go natural—white, chartreuse, and silver soft plastics on 1/8 to 1/4 oz jigheads have been getting bit. Popping corks with live or fresh dead shrimp remain unbeatable for trout along grass edges—just keep your shrimp lively, as CaptainExperiences.com recommends, because nothing turns a trout off quicker than limp bait. Topwaters are still working in low wind around sunrise on calm flats; think Spook Juniors and popping baits. If you’re after bass in the brackish stuff, BassForecast suggests buzzbaits and bladed jigs, with umbrella rigs and swimbaits on deck for off-shore structure. Don’t forget metal—lipless crankbaits like Rat-L-Traps in shad or chrome are tricking reds and trout, especially with an erratic retrieve—experiment with your cadence just like The Hook Up Tackle recommends, and rip-and-pause to mimic wounded bait.

**Bait report:** Shrimp is king; mullet strips and live cocahoe minnows are also working for reds and flounder. For artificial, stick to soft plastics that mimic baitfish—Matrix Shad and Vudu Shrimp are top picks. Keep a few gold spoons handy too, especially for sight-fishing reds over the grass.

**Hot spots:**
- Try the cuts and drains in Pointe aux Chenes marsh—lots of moving bait and slot reds pushing shallow.
- The rocks and oyster beds around Grand Isle’s Caminada Pass are producing numbers, especially as the outgoing tide pulls shrimp and baitfish through the gaps.
- Bayou Biloxi and Monkey Bayou just outside Hopedale have been hot for trout on moving water.

**Recent catches:** Guides are posting pictures of limits of specks and reds—Captain Experiences says redfish, speckled trout, mahi mahi, kingfish, and flounder are all coming aboard. The deeper passes south of Lafitte are seeing the occasional big drum as well as decent sheepshead action.

Remember, conservation issues are back in the news, as the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission is debating menhaden harvest buffers again. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership cautions that these changes could roll back hard-won protections for our shallow estuaries—so keep an eye on local regs and do your part to respect the habitat.

That’s your boots-on-the-ground report for the big bend of the Gulf. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure—don’t forget to subscribe, and tight lines, y’all.Back to Episodes