A Year of Fishing in Cocodrie: What Changes Month by Month

Cocodrie does not have an off-season. It has twelve different versions of fishing.

Some months pull speckled trout toward the barrier islands. Others push them into deeper bayous and canals. Redfish can be found all year, but their habits and addresses change. Offshore, winter is prime time for yellowfin tuna and wahoo, while summer brings red snapper, mahi, cobia, king mackerel, and long runs toward blue water.

None of those changes happens neatly at midnight on the first day of a month. A warm January week can feel like March. One hard October front can rearrange the marsh overnight. Wind, water temperature, salinity, bait, tide, and water clarity always get the final vote. The fish have never shown much respect for a printed calendar.

Still, the year has a rhythm. This is the practical version of it from The Alibi.

January: Pick the weather window

January fishing begins with the forecast. Cold fronts can turn calm water into a bad idea quickly, but the quiet periods between fronts can produce excellent days.

Speckled trout often settle into deeper bayous, canals, and holes where the water temperature changes more slowly. A sunny afternoon after several stable days may pull fish toward nearby ledges and shallower banks. Redfish remain available in protected ponds, drains, and shorelines that warm in the sun. Black drum begin gathering around shell and structure.

Offshore, January is part of the prime local period for yellowfin tuna and wahoo. The fish may be there, but the usable weather windows can be short and widely separated. The best January fishing decision is sometimes the one made while still tied to the dock.

February: Structure and winter blue water

February is still winter, but longer days begin creating more opportunities between fronts. Trout generally remain associated with deeper water, although a warm stretch can move them onto protected reefs, flats, and ledges. Redfish continue to provide the dependable shallow-water option.

Sheepshead and black drum become increasingly important around pilings, rocks, oyster reefs, wellheads, and other hard structure as their late-winter and early-spring spawning periods approach. Some flounder also begin returning toward the estuary.

Offshore, yellowfin tuna and wahoo remain the headline fish when the forecast allows the run. February can produce an unforgettable blue-water trip, but it can also produce three rescheduled weekends in a row.

March: The coast starts moving

March is a transition month. Water begins warming, bait becomes more active, and fish that spent the coldest weeks in protected water start changing locations.

Speckled trout begin working away from their deepest winter areas toward interior lakes, reefs, larger bayous, and lower bays. A cold front can send them backward, while several warm days can pull them forward quickly. Redfish remain a good marsh target along broken shorelines, drains, points, and shallow flats. Flounder begin appearing in the lower estuary.

Sheepshead and black drum are often at their best around coastal structure in March. Offshore, tuna and wahoo remain worthwhile targets, but spring winds can complicate the plan. The trip discussed on Thursday may not be the trip that makes sense Saturday morning.

April: Trout begin looking toward open water

By April, spring has usually taken hold. Speckled trout begin moving toward larger bays, shell reefs, islands, and higher-salinity water as their long spawning season begins. Around Cocodrie, that often means working the backsides of islands and submerged shell in Terrebonne and Timbalier bays.

April can offer a chance at some of the year's larger trout. That does not mean every trip produces a trophy. It means this is a good month to slow down around bait, clean moving water, shell, and points connecting the marsh to larger bays.

Redfish remain scattered through the marsh. Flounder become a real target near cuts, muddy points, shorelines, and chokepoints. Sheepshead may still be strong around structure. Offshore crews begin watching for warmer water, cobia, and the first reliable signs of the summer pattern.

May: The summer season comes together

May is when Cocodrie starts looking like summer fishing again. Trout continue moving toward lower bays, reefs, islands, wellheads, and beaches. Redfish remain available inside, giving the crew a practical alternative when open water is rough.

Red snapper season often opens in May or June, but that is a tendency, not a promise. Louisiana's private recreational season is announced annually and can close, reopen, or change as landings approach the state allocation. Federal charter seasons follow a different calendar. Check the current rules for the kind of trip being made before anyone loads a snapper rod.

Mahi begin appearing around offshore weedlines and floating debris as warm blue water develops. Cobia and king mackerel also become part of the conversation. By late May, the decision at the dock may be between a short trout run and a very long search for blue water.

June: Peak trout month

June is peak trout month in Cocodrie. That is The Alibi's rule of thumb, not a promise from the fish, but it is the month around which plenty of camp mornings are planned.

Speckled trout are well established around outer bays, barrier islands, beaches, shell reefs, platforms, and other areas with clean, moving water. Leave early, look for bait, and fish the useful part of the tide before heat and wind build. One productive reef can make the morning. So can one poorly timed thunderstorm, although it will make the morning memorable for a different reason.

Offshore, June may bring red snapper, cobia, king mackerel, tuna, and mahi. Mahi often gather along Sargassum weedlines, current edges, and floating debris. From Cocodrie, a summer search may carry the boat 50 to 80 miles offshore, but that distance is only a rough local expectation. The blue-water edge moves, so some days it is closer and other days it is well beyond the original plan.

June offers the widest menu of the year. It also demands enough fuel, ice, weather information, and good judgment to match it.

July: Start early and respect the heat

July continues many of June's patterns, with hotter water and less forgiveness for a late start. Trout may still be found around barrier islands, reefs, platforms, and beaches, particularly at first light and where current keeps the water moving. As the morning heats up, the bite may slow or shift deeper.

Redfish remain a dependable inside option around ponds, bayous, drains, and broken marsh edges. Offshore, red snapper may remain open depending on that year's season and landings. Mahi continue around weedlines and floating structure, with tuna, cobia, king mackerel, and other pelagics rounding out the possibilities.

July rewards an early departure, an honest fuel calculation, and more ice and drinking water than anyone thinks necessary. It is a poor month to discover that everyone believed sunscreen was somebody else's responsibility.

August: Heat, redfish, and tropical weather

August is often the hottest part of the fishing year. Inshore trips generally work best early, around current, and in water with some depth or circulation. Trout remain available outside, but heat pushes the most comfortable and productive window toward dawn.

Redfish may be the steadier choice inside. Larger redfish also begin gathering nearer passes and barrier islands as their late-summer and fall spawning period approaches. The summer offshore fishery continues, including mahi around weedlines and other floating habitat. Red snapper may or may not remain open. A season that was open in June should never be assumed open in August.

Tropical weather now becomes central to trip planning. A system does not need to be headed directly toward Cocodrie to change the wind, swell, water level, or offshore forecast. Check the National Hurricane Center along with the local marine forecast.

September: Redfish season meets storm season

September begins the gradual change toward fall, although many days still feel entirely like summer. Larger redfish gather around passes, islands, and strong current during their spawning season, while slot fish remain scattered through the marsh.

Trout may still hold in outer areas early in the month, then begin shifting toward interior bays and bayous after the first meaningful fronts. Offshore, mahi and other warm-water pelagics may remain available, while tuna fishing begins its transition toward the stronger cool-season pattern.

September can offer tremendous fishing, but it remains prime tropical-weather season. The forecast has authority over every plan. Fish can be pursued next weekend. A boat should not be used to test whether the forecast was being overly cautious.

October: The best of both directions

October is one of the most balanced months on the Cocodrie calendar. Cooling water and moving shrimp begin pulling trout back into interior lakes, bayous, and marsh drains. Birds over feeding fish can reveal the schools. Redfish remain active along shorelines and around moving water.

The first real fronts can improve the pattern, but they can also lower water levels and muddy exposed areas. This is a good month to let conditions choose the destination instead of deciding in advance that the boat must go to one particular place. Flounder are on their fall migration, but Louisiana currently closes recreational flounder harvest from October 15 through November 30. Check the live rule before keeping one.

Offshore, yellowfin tuna begin moving into the stronger cool-season pattern, and wahoo become a more serious possibility. Summer species may linger while warm blue water remains nearby. October often provides a little summer and a little winter, sometimes during the same weekend.

November: Follow the bait inside

November usually brings more frequent fronts and a clearer inshore fall pattern. Speckled trout move farther into the estuary, following bait through interior bays, bayous, canals, and deeper drains. Redfish continue working marsh shorelines and current lines.

Water levels can fall sharply behind a front, making familiar routes shallower and moving fish away from places that produced only a few days earlier. Sheepshead and drum return to structure. Flounder harvest is currently closed throughout November, so release any caught and confirm the latest LDWF rule.

Offshore, the calendar now belongs increasingly to yellowfin tuna and wahoo. Cooler air does not guarantee calm water, so the forecast remains the limiting factor. When the window opens, November can offer excellent fishing without the full force of summer heat.

December: Winter patterns return

December brings the year back around. Trout settle into deeper canals, bayous, holes, and protected water. During stable, sunny periods, they may move onto adjacent ledges or shallow banks. Redfish remain available in the marsh, while black drum and sheepshead begin their winter build around shell and structure.

Offshore, December begins one of the strongest local periods for yellowfin tuna and wahoo. The fishing can be excellent, but short days, cold fronts, and rough seas narrow the safe opportunities. Winter does not make these fish close to the dock. It simply makes the right weather window more valuable.

A good December trip may end with tuna in the box, trout from a protected bayou, or no boat leaving at all because the front arrived early. All three can be the correct outcome.

Before leaving The Alibi

A monthly pattern is useful, but it does not replace the checks that belong before every trip.

The calendar is only the beginning

The year in Cocodrie does not divide neatly into good and bad fishing months. It moves between inside and outside, shallow and deep, short runs and long ones.

June may be peak trout month. Winter may offer the best tuna and wahoo fishing. Summer may put mahi beneath a weedline 50 to 80 miles offshore. None of that overrides the conditions waiting at the dock.