Multi-species action awaits on cold days at Grand Isle
The waters around Grand Isle produce outstanding fishing action for various species, even on the coldest days. Sportsmen can take their pick of inshore, nearshore or offshore waters, theoretically all in the same day.
Inshore waters
Anglers can fish these waters all year long for various species. In the winter, anglers might not catch as many speckled trout, but they usually catch bigger ones. They just need to fish a little differently.
White shrimp exit the marshes and bays for the deep Gulf waters in the fall. Brown shrimp spend most of their time offshore, but return to the estuaries in the spring. With shrimp scarce in the winter, trout mostly prey upon finfish, such as cocahoes, mullets and pogies.
“In 2024, my average trout measured about 19 inches,” said Joey Lemoine with Cast on the Other Side Saltwater Charters (225-938-7090). “For trout in the winter, I normally fish plastics. Matrix Shad is one of my favorites. I also like a 4 Horsemen Shrimp under a popping cork. We catch big trout on finger mullets. Since bait is scarce, I trap cocahoes.”
Fish differently in February than July. In February, work any artificials very slowly. Frosty fish become lethargic and don’t want to burn too much energy. Cold trout might only feed for a short time each day. If the weather turns super cold, they might not eat at all. Moving water can stir up bait so trout become more active.
“In the winter, trout might bite for a steady hour, then stop,” said Trampus “Captain T.” Wagoner with Geaux Fishing Charters (225-715-1474, www.geauxfishing.co) in Grand Isle. “Trout hold in one spot and won’t bite much until the water starts moving.”
Looking for redfish
Cold weather doesn’t bother redfish as much. Head to the marshes and look for little drains. Lowering water levels dislodge bait from their cover. On a falling tide, redfish, trout, flounder and other fish gather at the mouths of such drains waiting for the tide to bring them something to eat.
“For redfish, I get some live cocahoes and go north to the broken marshes,” Lemoine said. “I like the Golden Meadow area or maybe run up toward Lafitte. From the island to Lafitte, it takes about 35 minutes by boat. We also catch some flounder on plastics or cocahoes. We might also catch some black drum in February.”
On cold days, don’t fish the shallow ponds. Try deeper bayous and canals. Redfish, specks, drum, sheepshead and other fish drop into deeper holes to find more comfortable temperatures.
“The colder the weather, the deeper trout go,” Wagoner said. “In those holes, fish painfully slow with a live or dead shrimp. Throw it out and leave it on the bottom. Just move it 1 inch every five to 10 seconds. I also like to throw a Marker 54 Shrimp or a Matrix Shad on a jighead. Sometimes, we barely feel the bite in cold water.”
Fishing around the rocks
Also look for hard objects, like rocks, metal or concrete pilings, oyster reefs and similar structures. Hard objects in the sun absorb solar heat and radiate some warmth into the water column. To a cold-blooded fish, water just one or two degrees warmer could make a huge difference on an icy day.
“Even if it’s cold, but the sun is out, rocks will heat up and hold bait,” Wagoner said. “If it holds bait, it holds fish. In cold weather, fish get deep into the rocks because it’s warmer there.”
Unfortunately, rocks attract tackle as much as fish. Popping corks might keep tackle out of snags. Also try a live shrimp on a free line. Don’t add any movement. Just let the shrimp swim as naturally as possible. That will provide enough enticement.
With live shrimp, anglers might catch anything that swims. Besides trout and redfish, the catch around hard structures could also include giant black drum, flounder and huge sheepshead. Sheepshead love to eat barnacles and hold tight to any hard structures.
“Fishing around the rocks in February gets hot because the sheepshead are starting to spawn,” Wagoner said. “Before spawning, they congregate in big numbers. Sheepshead are delicious and hard fighters. I’d rather eat a sheepshead than a flounder, redfish, trout or cobia.”
Sheepshead around pilings
Near Grand Isle and the Fourchon area, sportsmen can fish numerous jetties and rocked shorelines. People could also fish many petroleum structures with metal pilings in the bays and offshore. Docks also hold fish. Sheepshead regularly feed around the pilings on the bridge connecting Grand Isle to the mainland. In that deep water in the pass, sheepshead frequently rise and descend in the water column.
“Sheepshead congregate anywhere with barnacles,” Wagoner said. “A sheepshead easily crunches barnacles to eat the meat inside. For sheepshead, use a small crab or shrimp. Fiddler crabs make fantastic sheepshead baits.”
Around bridge pilings and other deep vertical structures, get as close to the pilings as possible. Then, fish vertically right next to the pilings. Fish on the downstream side. In a strong tide, cast baits past the pilings so the temptation sinks to the bottom.
“For tides, I prefer incoming for trout and falling for redfish,” Lemoine said. “We must watch the tides in the winter because we get some real super low tides at that time. Also watch the wind. I prefer a west to a southwest wind.”
Offshore opportunities
South of the island, the water depth drops off rapidly. Some platforms sit just three miles offshore. The Grand Isle 20 blocks about seven miles from the island can also provide great action. At these closer platforms, anglers might catch mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel, triggerfish, pompano and monster sheepshead. People occasionally catch cobia.
“In the winter, big mangroves come in close,” Wagoner said. “I throw a lot of chum to get mangroves to come up in a feeding frenzy. If I don’t see anything come up, I’ll move to the next rig until I find them.”
Mangroves hold tight to cover. With keen eyesight, they can spot anything that doesn’t look right. They occasionally hit lures, but prefer meat. Once frenzied fish come up, insert a small circle hook into a pogie so mangroves can’t see it. Drop it on a free line.
“In clear water, use a light leader, no bigger than 20- to 30-pound fluorocarbon at least six feet long,” Wagoner said. “If the bait doesn’t sink in a natural fashion, like chum flowing in the current, mangroves won’t eat it.”
Fish around shrimp boats
For king mackerel, look for water at least 150 feet deep. Troll around the platforms with deep-diving crankbaits. Tuna also venture closer to shore in the winter, sometimes just 18 miles from the beach. About 30 miles out, anglers might catch blackfin, cobia, mackerel, perhaps even yellowfin tuna and other fish around anchored shrimp boats.
“Around shrimp boats, we get blackfin in the 10- to 20-pound range,” Wagoner said. “We occasionally get some 40- to 80-pound yellowfin.”
Shrimpers traditionally trawl at night. At daybreak, they anchor to sort their catch and sleep. Anything they can’t sell goes over the side. This creates a feeding frenzy. As long as fish find easy food, they stay close to the shrimp boat.
Anglers often barter with shrimpers. They trade ice cream or liquid refreshments for baskets of fresh bycatch. Toss some chum in the water and slowly ease away from the shrimp boat. Fish will follow the food. Once fish get in a frenzy, tempt them with a pogie or other bait on a free line.
Farther out, the catch might include larger blackfins, big yellowfins and wahoo. Deep-droppers might catch swordfish.
“For yellowfin, we go around 80 miles offshore in the winter,” said Trey Wanko with Bentrod Fishing Charters (985-258-9278, www.bentrodcharterfishing.com) out of Grand Isle. “In 2025, we caught a yellowfin weighing 170 pounds about 30 miles out behind a shrimp boat. Before that, our biggest yellowfin during the past couple years weighed 206 pounds.”
Wahoo and swordfish
Wanko prefers live bait, usually mullets or pogies. In February, anglers sometimes struggle to find live bait. Without live bait, Wanko trolls with deep-running crankbaits, cedar plugs, Ilanders or ballyhoo.
“For wahoo, we fish a reef west of the island about 90 miles offshore,” Wanko said. “Sometimes, we catch wahoo closer to the island. For wahoo, we pull stretch baits or ballyhoo with inline weights to get the bait farther down for high-speed trolling.”
For swordfish, start looking in water from 900 out to about 2,200 feet deep. Off Grand Isle in the winter, anglers can start catching swordfish about 40 to 85 miles out.
“To catch swordfish, we’ll rig a bait with wax string and drop down some squid, eel or mahi bellies,” Wanko said. “Swordfish typically stay closer to the bottom. During the daylight hours, we’ll mark the thermocline level with the electronics and drop the bait down right below that level.”
People will find good marina facilities, lodging and other amenities on Grand Isle and in the towns of Lafitte and Barataria. For information, see visitjeffersonparish.com or townofgrandisle.com.
