The first clean offshore window since the opener lands this weekend. South wind under 15 knots, seas at 1 to 3 feet on Saturday at the coast, no front before Monday night. The boats that ate the May 1 front and the boats that sat it out both get their Saturday. Meanwhile, the three menhaden bills the House sent to the Senate two weeks ago are scheduled for final passage today. By the time you read this, the result may be on the governor's desk.

Redfish. The Mississippi at Venice climbed from 1.18 feet a week ago to 1.86 feet Wednesday afternoon. Up about seven tenths over the week, which means slightly murkier passes than the clear-water pattern that ran through April. The river is still well below historical averages for early May. Sight windows are narrower than last week. Live bait earns a bigger share of the box this weekend than the plastic-only kit did the week before.

Speckled trout. The May pattern moves trout out of the coves and concentrates them at the tips of the long points along the passes. Pass a Loutre, Southeast Pass, South Pass, Red Pass. 3/8-ounce jigs tight-lined is the working method per Louisiana Sportsman's pattern coverage. Live shrimp under a popping cork slows it down for anyone who wants the alternative. Saturday's neap tides will pull less water through than last weekend's spring tides, which keeps drift speeds workable.

Tripletail. Spring migration is still on. Sight-cast around the buoys and the floating debris in the passes. The species the first-time Venice angler doesn't know to throw at.

Cobia. Late spring puts cobia on the nearshore rigs in shallow water. Fish run 15 to 60 pounds, with the bigger ones moving through the spawning window right now. See Rigged Up for the jig.

Yellowfin. The opener weekend ran into the front exactly as forecasted. This weekend, May 8 through 10, is the first multi-day offshore window since the season opened. South wind 5 to 15 knots, seas 1 to 4 feet, last-quarter moon at 3:10 PM Saturday for neap-tide push. Surface poppers play better in calmer water with softer current. Chunk and chum-to-surface plays the rest.

Snapper. Season is open. Four fish per person per day, 16-inch minimum, seven days a week, state and federal water in the same boat ride. The 2026 Louisiana ACL is now formally locked at 882,439 pounds (more on that in The Week in Venice).

Mahi. Spring rip lines are forming on the shelf edge. No specific named-boat reports this week. The cleanup window opens Saturday for the boats that want to go look.

The dominant story this morning is in Baton Rouge. The three menhaden reform bills the House sent up two weeks ago are scheduled for Senate final passage today. HB 757 raises civil penalties for buffer-zone violations, HB 872 mandates AIS tracking on every menhaden boat, HB 886 forces harvest data transparency. The House sent them up 99-0, 98-0, and 99-2. Senate Natural Resources reported them favorably April 29. May 4 the committee adopted amendments. May 5 they advanced to third reading. May 7 is the calendar-scheduled final vote. By the time you read this, the bills may already be on Governor Jeff Landry's desk.

The 22-foot depth contour bill, HB 855, is dead. It failed final House passage 46-49 on April 14. The depth rule was the one Venice captains wanted most because it would have moved purse-seine pogie boats out of the inshore zones. The other three don't touch depth. What they do is tighten enforcement, make boat tracking visible, and put the harvest data into the public record.

Meanwhile at the federal level, NOAA's accountability rule for the 2025 Louisiana red snapper overage was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday May 6. The 2026 ACL is officially 882,439 pounds, which is the 934,587 baseline minus the 52,148-pound 2025 overage. Effective May 6 through December 31. Until Tuesday that quota was a state announcement. Now it's the federal rule LA Creel tracks against, which sharpens the model for when the season actually closes.

Tuna Town Fishing. Cypress Cove based, Capt. Josh Bodenheimer runs the offshore operation February through November with yellowfin as the primary target. The boat fits the post-front Saturday window cleanly. Calm 1-to-3-foot seas at the coast, south wind under 15 knots, neap tides on the last-quarter moon. That's the day to throw a chunk spread and work the lumps before the Monday-night NE shift rolls back through. Book direct: tunatownfishing.com. Captain Experiences and FishingBooker carry the affiliate paths if you prefer the platforms.

For an inshore call: Triple Tail Charters has the spring tripletail migration dialed in. Buoys, pass debris, sight-cast. triple-tail-charters.com.

The cobia jig. May puts cobia on the nearshore rigs in shallow water. Fish run 15 to 60 pounds, and the bigger ones are moving through the spawning window right now. The rig that sticks on cobia: a 2-to-3-ounce bucktail jig in white, pink, or chartreuse, paired with a 6-inch swimbait or curly-tail trailer. Throw it past the fish, let it sink, then pump it back through the strike zone. They either commit or they don't. Spinning gear in the 6500-class with 30-pound braid handles it.

If a cobia shows up boatside on a tuna trip, this is the rig that's already prepped on the spare rod for exactly that moment. Bass Pro stocks Spro and Hogy bucktails. Tackle Warehouse carries the same line.

Saturday May 9 is the cleanest day of the period. South 5 to 10 knots, seas 1 to 3 feet at the coast and occasionally to 5 feet offshore, scattered showers possible. Friday May 8 runs east-southeast 5 to 15 knots, seas 2 to 4 feet. Sunday May 10 holds south to southwest 5 to 15 knots with 1 to 4 foot seas, but thunderstorms are likely, so plan around the radar. Monday May 11 starts manageable, then NE wind builds 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Front-prep window starts late Monday.

Last-quarter moon hits 3:10 PM Saturday, which means neap tides through the weekend. Less tide push than the full-moon weekend that ran the opener. Daytime sword work gets easier and the surface popper bite is less driven by wind and current.

Water temp at NDBC 42084 was 76.8°F at 6 PM Wednesday, 24-hour range 74.8 to 77.2. Mid-70s is inside the productive range for both pelagic and inshore species. The river at Venice is at 1.86 feet, up about seven tenths over the week, still well below historical averages.

Federal Register makes the snapper quota official. NOAA's accountability rule was published Tuesday May 6, formally cutting the 2026 Louisiana ACL by 52,148 pounds for the 2025 overage. New ACL: 882,439 pounds, effective through December 31. Source: federalregister.gov.

LGCBC unofficial standings. The 2026 Louisiana Gulf Coast Billfish Classic fished April 29 through May 3 out of Cypress Cove and Grand Isle. Per CatchStat live scoring, Team Metal Masher led the Billfish Release Division at 3,500 points, with Boujee Marlin at 2,800 and Rising Sons and Cole Play tied at 1,400. The fleet posted 14 blue marlin releases, 7 yellowfin tuna, and a 33.5-pound mahi from Jaselyn Berthelot on Rising Sons. Official results from the tournament committee not yet published. Source: lgcbc.catchstat.com.

Cajun Canyons late registration is open. The April 30 early-deposit deadline passed last week. Boats can still register at the late rate ($1,800 deposit, $5,000 balance, $6,800 total) until 7:30 PM May 27. Tournament fishes May 28 through 30 from Cypress Cove. Source: comefishla.com.

Venice Marina Summer Bash, Saturday May 9. Annual season-opener at the dock. $12 crawfish pasta plates, full cash bar, 1 PM to 10 PM. The kind of summer-Saturday Venice you want a Pilgrim to see at least once. Source: venicemarina.com.

Next week, the actual Senate vote outcome and what's on the governor's desk. Plus what the post-front weekend produced.

If you ran any window between the opener and this weekend, hit reply with intel from the water. Attribution on request or off the record. If you know someone planning a Venice trip in May or June, forward this along.

Until next Thursday.

Joey