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CHARTER FISHING WITH LOUISIANA'S BEST CAPTAINS
Take Me Catchin':
Take Me Catchin':
Why Charter Fishing?
Local Experienced Guides
Many of our guides have grown up in the areas that they explore with their customers. A lifetime of experience allows them to keep their customers on the fish.
Licensed & Insured
Every guide you find listed on this website is verified to be legally licensed to offer charter fishing trips in the state of Louisiana. The state requires charter captains to provide proof of liability insurance to obtain this license.
Equipment & Techniques
While providing all of the equipment for a wonderful day of fishing, our captains also understand the importance of being flexible and adaptable to changes in conditions or the needs of their clients.
Stress Free
Nothing could be easier. Just show up, step in the boat and leave the rest to us!
WHAT'S BITING...CATCHIN' REPORTS
Dularge Sheepshead!
We had Mike and GROUP Contractors down and it was a little bumpy but not enough to keep us from doing the big sheepshead thing. Thanks Capt Marty for …
2025 Is starting off Great
2025 in Cocodrie is starting off great with plenty of trout for your enjoyment. Late winter and spring are super times for trout and larger reds and d…
TESTIMONIALS
Had a blast catching bay snappers and big red fish with Travis and the boys. The fishing spots they have down there are like no other, Makes the 10hr+ drive worth it every time!!!🎣
I have fished with Reelin Good Charters many times and always had a great time. I cannot imagine fishing with anyone else.
Tell us all about your trip. Your responses help inform our captains on how better to serve customers and improve their charter experience. Oh, and you will be entered to win a FREE Louisiana Charter Fishing trip.
King Mackerel
- Appearance
- King mackerel have two dorsal fins. The first is often folded into the back groove. They are olive-colored on the back fading to silver on the sides, and white underneath.
- Habitat
- These subtropical fish tend to stick to depths of 40 to 150 feet. Larger-sized mackerel are often seen nearshore at mouths of lagoons and harbors, or near oil platforms.
- State Record
- 82 pounds, W. D. Lamb, 1980
- Fishing Tips
- Drifting or trolling with small, stripped baits work best. King mackerels will take spoons, jigs, and casting lures as well. When trolling, chumming can help bring the fish in. Use porgies (menhaden), squid, or shrimp for bait.
Spotted Seatrout (Speckled Trout)
- Appearance
- Spotted seatrout – or speckled trout, as they’re commonly called – are a spiny-rayed fish with a silvery body, and have numerous distinct black spots on back and dorsal fins. They have well-developed canine teeth with a projected lower jaw.
- Habitat
- Found throughout the Gulf, from interior estuaries to waters approaching 30 feet offshore. Tend to shy away from hard bottoms and structure.
- Top Spots
- Venice, Grand Isle, Vermilion Bay, Lake Pontchartrain
- State Record
- 12.38 pounds, Leon Mattes, 1950
- Fishing Tips
- Larger trout are not nearly as abundant as smaller trout, but they are a much more common catch in the spring, when trout move closer to inner shores to spawn.
Black Drum
- Appearance
- Black drums have a heavy, oblong body with an elevated back.They often have 4 or 5 wide vertical black bars set against silver-gray body, though coloration differs based on habitat and age. Possess a blunt nose and whisker-like barbels under their chins.
- Habitat
- Black drum prefer sandy or muddy-bottomed waters. Larger drums are often found near oyster reefs. They swim anywhere in the Gulf, from brackish waters to near-offshore waters.
- State Record
- 79.50 pounds, Dylan Gonzales, 2007
- Fishing Tips
- When fly fishing, try to stick with gold or copper coloring in the summer time, using 2/0 hooks. Clams or crabs make good live bait.
Gag Grouper
- Appearance
- Gag groupers have a mottled gray coloration with varying patterns of box-shaped markings.
- Habitat
- Generally swim in depths between 60 and 250 feet, but they can be found as deep as 500 feet. Younger fish stick to nearshore waters and bays, while older gag groupers are more offshore, commonly found near bottom cover like rocks, reefs, and oil platforms.
- State Record
- 74.43 lbs., Abel Ceja, 2013
- Fishing Tips
- Get live or dead bait down to the bottom. Jigging can produce as well.
Gray Snapper (Mangrove Snapper)
- Appearance
- Gray snappers – also called mangrove snappers - have a dark brown to gray coloration, with red-orange overtones. Prominent front canine teeth. Looks very similar to a cubera snapper, but they do not grow nearly as large.
- Habitat
- Larger snappers live in offshore waters up to 200 feet deep, often found near oil platforms, reefs, rocks, and other forms of cover.
- State Record
- 18.63 pounds, Tim Champagne, 2015
- Fishing Tips
- Chumming is an effective technique for gray snapper, though be advised that it will bring around other species as well.
Sheepshead
- Appearance
- Body has lightly colored background with vertical black bars on sides and prominent teeth, including incisors, molars and rounded grinders. Sheepshead have dorsal and anal fins with strong, sharp spines
- State Record
- 21.25 pounds, Wayne Desselle, 1982.
Wahoo
- Appearance
- Wahoo are steel-blue in color along the top, and a paler blue-silver along the sides and underbelly. They have about 25-30 irregular blackish-blue vertical stripes on the sides. Their body is elongated and streamlined, and can grow to be over seven feet in length.
- Habitat
- Wahoo can be found in blue water, around lumps, weed lines, or drop-offs.
- State Record
- 139.25 pounds, Myron Fischer, 1976.
- Fishing Tips
- You have to travel at least 15 miles from shore to catch quality wahoo. Troll lures near oil platforms and weed lines.
Tarpon
- Appearance
- A compressed, oblong body that’s covered with thick silvery scales. Their mouth is large and superior, with the lower jaw protruding out from the rest of their face. They have large eyes.
- Habitat
- Juvenile tarpon grow up closer to shore, swimming in salt marshes, rivers, or tidal pools. As they get older they move out into more open waters of the ocean, but can often be found in brackish or even freshwater environments as well.
- State Record
- 230 pounds, Thomas Gibson, 1993
- Fishing Tips
- Hook up some shrimp, crab, mullet, or pinfish bait. Anchor your boat, and then toss out your line, with a weight if tarpon are swimming deeper. Soft plastic baits work as well, as do big flies. Because tarpon must return to the surface for air, always keep an eye out for splashes.
Red Snapper
- Appearance
- Red-orange in color, fading towards the underside. Can be distinguished from similar-looking snappers by their pointy anal fin and red eyes.
- Habitat
- Can be found in depths anywhere from 30 to over 600 feet, but most commonly in between 50 and 300 feet. Small to medium-sized snappers stick to heavily-covered bottoms, like reefs, wrecks, ledges, and oil platforms. As they grow larger, they tend to prefer more open water.
- State Record
- 50.25 pounds (also an IGFA all-tackle world record), Capt. Doc Kennedy, 1996.
- Fishing Tips
- Red snappers like to feed off the bottom, so be sure to get your bait down deep enough. Minnows, sardines, and squid work best for live bait, and chunks of bonito or amberjack help as well. Chumming is a common practice to get snappers off the bottom and closer to the surface.
Bigeye Tuna
- Appearance
- Back has a dark metallic blue color while the lower sides and underbelly are white. Bigeye tunas do indeed have larger eyes than other species of tuna.
- Habitat
- Found throughout the Gulf in the open ocean. While they have been known to come closer to the surface, bigeye tuna tend to stay deeper than most other tuna species, up to 1,000 feet.
- Fishing Tips
- Finding bigeye tuna is the hard part, as unlike other tuna, they rarely show themselves at the surface, especially during the day. Trolling where they tend to swim with marlin-type lure may be your best hope to get them while they’re down deep. Midnight Lump near the Mississippi canyon is a prime fishing location for bigeye tuna
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