Louisiana. Saying it rolls off the tongue nice and slow and nearly makes you smile as you finish. Soulfulness sums up this southern state. It is a place built not for spectators, but for participants! Anglers seeking a fly fishing trip that is truly like none other, will find one here in Louisiana. Feed your angling soul on many levels and live in the moment by going on a fly fishing trip in Louisiana.
Known for many things—food, music, football, and Cajun culture—Louisiana is also nicknamed a “Sportsman’s Paradise” because of the massive fishing and hunting opportunities it holds….and for being the redfish capital of the world! The Louisiana marsh offers outstanding opportunities for the shallow-water fly angler with countless shallow bays, ponds, canals, and expansive mud flats. Well-traveled anglers will tell you that Louisiana’s Gulf Coast is home to both the largest redfish in size, as well as the largest overall population of redfish in the world.
When You’re Ready: Here are Five Reasons to Book a Louisiana Fly Fishing Trip
Food
Several years back a scientific study ranked Louisiana as the nation’s happiest state…and the study was done year-round, not just during Mardi Gras. If you’ve started your day with a fresh beignet, had a shrimp po-boy for lunch on a flats skiff while redfish tail in the distance, then ended the day with a local beer over a crawfish boil, then you know what we’re talking about. Even if that doesn’t lively-up your taste buds and make you happy, would fresh tuna—sashimi style—that you caught earlier today, do it? Even with these local options at our lodges in Louisiana, foodies desiring more can venture to New Orleans, a city renowned for world-class culinary delights.
People
The locals in Louisiana are passionate about their state. The rich history, heritage, and culture of Louisiana is deep and colorful. Because of this, it is no surprise the fishing guides and lodge operators here mirror their states vibrant and diverse history. Fishing guides here are passionate, fun, and hard-working…just like the people of Louisiana. Many of the guides have intimate knowledge that has been passed down from generations of family members. And this intimate knowledge is obvious for anyone who has spend considerable time in the marsh—getting to the flats and getting home requires first-hand and a lifetime of experience to navigate the broad backcountry marsh. A fly fishing trip in Louisiana is only made better by the enjoyable people that live in the Pelican State.
Ease of Getting Here
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has daily direct flights to nearly every major US city. Once on the ground and through baggage claim, you could be away from the crowds and be casting to a redfish in as little as 90 minutes. If you wanted offshore fishing out of Venice, then you could possibly have a tuna on the line in little less than three hours. Airport shuttles can be arranged to make travel even easier, but many anglers opt for a night in New Orleans to sample some food and engage in the place that invented Jazz. Without any lengthy international flights or customs and immigration lines, Louisiana is a close and legitimately world-class saltwater flats fly fishing destination right here in the USA.
Year-Round Flats and Offshore Fisheries
With countless shallow bays, ponds, canals, and expansive mud flats, the Louisiana marsh offers outstanding opportunities YEAR-ROUND and holds an amazingly large and healthy population of redfish. Most serious anglers will tell you that this area of the Gulf Coast is home to both very large redfish, as well as the largest overall population of redfish in the US. Redfish share these beautiful areas with abundant and diverse wildlife, including alligator, numerous species of birds, turtles, sea otters, raccoons, dolphin, and many species residing both below and above the water’s surface. It should also be noted that while stunning copper-colored redfish will be abundant, anglers will also have opportunities to catch sheepshead, black drum, jacks, and alligator gar. Louisiana is truly a year-round fisherman’s paradise and place where trophy redfish can be caught any day of the year!
Ability to Fish Inshore and Offshore
The offshore angler—or anyone who likes to explore the path a little less traveled—will find the offshore angling opportunities in Louisiana on par with their international cousins. Called the “Fishing Capitol of the World,” Venice is the place to go for offshore angling to target species such as – tuna, dolphinfish, tripletail, cobia, snapper, wahoo, more jacks, and even marlin! Plus, this eccentric fishing-focused Cajun village is surrounded by vast backcountry marshes and is close to several barrier islands offering some of the best coastal fishing anywhere in the gulf. Due to Venice’s close proximity to the gulf, it is where you go to catch big bull redfish that move into the marsh during the fall and early winter months!
