Best Time to Fish Venice, Louisiana: An Inshore Guide by Month
The short answer
“Spring and fall are usually the best times to fish. February-May and September-November.”
We recommend scheduling a year in advance especially for large groups.
Captain Kasye Bourn
What the fish are doing through the year
Each of these three fish keeps its own calendar. This is what Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists say they are doing, and when.
| Fish | When | What is happening |
|---|---|---|
| Speckled trout | Spring and summer | Holding in shallow bays and estuaries over oyster beds and grass beds |
| Speckled trout | April to September | Spawning between dusk and dawn in passes and channels with good tidal flow |
| Redfish | Mid-August to mid-October | Spawning near passes where the water is saltiest. Males gather and drum to draw females in |
| Speckled trout | From mid-October | Moving to deeper water as the temperature starts to fall |
| Flounder | October and November | Leaving the estuaries for the Gulf as the water cools. A strong cold front speeds it up |
| Flounder | November to January | Spawning offshore, with a peak in December |
| Flounder | January to April | Returning to the estuaries |
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries species brochures.
Redfish through the year
Young redfish live inshore all year, in estuaries over grass beds and muddy and sandy bottoms, so there are redfish in the marsh in every season.
The big change comes in late summer. From mid-August to mid-October the mature fish spawn near passes, where the water is saltiest. A female spawns about once every two to seven days through that stretch.
Speckled trout through the year
Trout follow the water temperature. In spring and summer they are in the shallow bays and estuaries, over oyster beds and grass. Around mid-October, when the water starts to cool, they move to deeper water.
In Louisiana they spawn from April to September, between dusk and dawn, in passes and channels where the tide runs well. Trout do not handle a hard freeze well, and a stretch of extreme cold can kill fish in numbers.
Flounder through the year
Flounder have the clearest calendar of the three. As the water cools in October and November the mature fish leave the estuaries for the Gulf, and a strong cold front can hurry them along. They spawn offshore from November to January, with a peak in December, and come back between January and April.
Water temperature matters for feeding too. Flounder feed the most when the water is between 61 and 77 degrees.
Venice weather, month by month
These are 30-year averages from the NOAA weather station at Boothville, next to Venice. Summer is hot and it is the wettest stretch of the year. Winter mornings are cool on a moving boat.
| Month | Average high | Average low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62°F | 48°F | 4.45 in |
| February | 65°F | 50°F | 3.00 in |
| March | 70°F | 55°F | 5.23 in |
| April | 76°F | 62°F | 4.29 in |
| May | 82°F | 70°F | 3.63 in |
| June | 87°F | 76°F | 4.60 in |
| July | 89°F | 78°F | 6.38 in |
| August | 89°F | 78°F | 7.22 in |
| September | 86°F | 76°F | 4.10 in |
| October | 79°F | 68°F | 4.05 in |
| November | 71°F | 58°F | 2.84 in |
| December | 64°F | 51°F | 4.09 in |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991 to 2020, Boothville, Louisiana. Temperatures rounded to the nearest degree.
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