Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay, LA Fishing Guide

Species at Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay

• Speckled trout

  low light + moving water over the shell

  Season: Jan–Dec · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 50–88°F

• Redfish

  year-round marsh resident; bulls stack passes in fall

  Season: Jan–Dec · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 50–88°F

• Southern flounder

  fall cooling pushes them out the passes to spawn

  Season: Sep–Nov · Tide: the outgoing tide · Light: low light · Water: 60–75°F

• Sheepshead

  pre-spawn stack on hard structure in cold water

  Season: Jan–Apr, Dec · Tide: slack water · Light: bright daylight · Water: 48–68°F

• Spanish mackerel

  warm clear water and glass-minnow schools in passes

  Season: Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: bright daylight · Water: 68–84°F

• Black drum

  late-winter spawning run stacks oyster and bridge channels

  Season: Jan–Apr · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 55–72°F

• Tripletail

  hot still days, sight-fished under floating cover

  Season: May–Sep · Tide: any tide stage · Light: bright daylight · Water: 78–90°F

• Cobia (ling)

  spring migration cruising the beach, sight-cast structure

  Season: Mar–May, Sep–Oct · Tide: any tide stage · Light: bright daylight · Water: 68–80°F

• Tarpon

  summer silver kings follow pogey schools off river passes

  Season: Jun–Sep · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 78–88°F

• Jack crevalle

  warm-season bait blitzes, chaos on moving water

  Season: May–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 72–90°F

• White trout (sand seatrout)

  summer bay swarms over shell and around structure

  Season: May–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: any light · Water: 70–88°F

What's biting at Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay, month by month

Typical seasons for this stretch of coast — a warm or late year shifts them by a few weeks. The live forecast scores today's actual conditions.

Coastal runs that pass Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay

These species travel the coast with the seasons, so they show up on a schedule rather than living here year-round.

• Redfish (red drum)

  bull-red fall surf run cascades by latitude: Mid-Atl Sep–Oct → FL Oct–Nov → Gulf Nov–Dec

  Timing: southbound Sep–Nov · Driven by: falling temps trigger the nearshore spawn run · Pace: cold-front-latency tide more than fish-following-fish

• Pompano

  the strongest, cleanest cascade we have — FL Treasure Coast winter run; Gulf spring run hits Pensacola ~April

  Timing: southbound Oct–Dec · northbound Feb–May · Driven by: sand fleas & the 68–75°F edge on the move · Pace: cold-front driven; ~2–4 wk lag NC→Miami in fall

• Cobia

  E→W run (separate stock): Tampa/Charlotte Harbor (Mar) → Destin → Gulf Shores → Pensacola → MS/LA. Sight-fished at the surface

  Timing: westbound Mar–May · Driven by: warming spring temps; overwinter S.FL then push inshore + WEST along the beaches · Pace: ~6 wks; peak Gulf Shores AL mid-Mar–mid-Apr

• Spanish mackerel

  Gulf stock — E→W in spring (FL Gulf → AL/MS → TX), back E→S in fall

  Timing: westbound Feb–Jun · eastbound Sep–Nov · Driven by: warm water expanding west in spring · Pace: reaches TX late Mar–May

• King mackerel

  Gulf stock — splits in fall: eastern group back down FL, western group W down the TX coast

  Timing: northbound Mar–Sep · westbound Oct–Dec · Driven by: temp + bait near the river plume · Pace: summers in the northern Gulf near the MS Delta

How Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay fishes

Open water lies to the south of Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay. A wind out of the south is onshore here — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes stirred-up water inshore, while a north wind flattens the surface and tends to clean it up.

Tide is the clock: moving water pulls bait through the mouth, and the turns around slack are when most of the roster feeds hardest.

Tides here are read from NOAA station 8765551 at 29.5800, -92.0350 — see it on NOAA CO-OPS.

Shops & partners near Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay

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Common questions about Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay

What fish can you catch at Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay?

Speckled trout, Redfish, Southern flounder, Sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, Black drum, Tripletail, Cobia (ling), Tarpon, Jack crevalle, White trout (sand seatrout). Each has its own season, preferred tide and water-temperature window at Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay.

When is the best time to fish Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay?

September has the most species in season (9 of 11) — Speckled trout, Redfish, Southern flounder, Spanish mackerel, Tripletail, Cobia (ling), Tarpon, Jack crevalle. Seasons shift by a few weeks in a warm or late year.

What tide is best for fishing Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay?

7 of the 11 species here feed best on moving water. Moving water is what pulls bait through the mouth, so the hours either side of a tide change usually beat dead slack.

Which wind is bad for Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay?

Open water lies to the south, so a south wind is onshore — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes dirty water inshore. A north wind flattens and cleans it up.

Do migrating fish run past Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay?

Yes — Redfish (red drum) (southbound Sep–Nov); Pompano (southbound Oct–Dec · northbound Feb–May); Cobia (westbound Mar–May); Spanish mackerel (westbound Feb–Jun · eastbound Sep–Nov); King mackerel (northbound Mar–Sep · westbound Oct–Dec). These travel the coast with the seasons rather than living here year-round.

Where are the tides for Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay measured?

NOAA CO-OPS station 8765551, at 29.5800, -92.0350. What Inlet? scores the live tide, current, solunar and weather for that station.

Inlets near Southwest Pass, Vermilion Bay

• Bayou Fearman, Vermillion Bay 9 mi
• Schooner Bayou, Vermillion Bay 18 mi
• Weeks Bay 21 mi
• Cote Blanche Island, West Cote Blanche Bay 22 mi
• Eugene Island, North of, Atchafalaya Bay 42 mi
• LAWMA, Amerada Pass 43 mi
• Joseph Harbor 44 mi
• Stouts Pass at Six Mile Lake 50 mi

Fishing a different inlet today? Every one has its own species roster and bite pattern.

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