Last Thursday's issue framed all three menhaden bills as "scheduled for Senate final passage today." They weren't. The vote slipped six days. On Tuesday afternoon HB 757 cleared 36-0 with no Senate amendments, which puts it on the governor's desk after a clerical pass through the House. HB 872 (AIS tracking) and HB 886 (harvest transparency) passed 37-0 with Senate amendments and need one more House concurrence vote to finish. The biggest menhaden enforcement package in years just cleared the chamber that was supposed to kill it.

Meanwhile, Friday is the cleanest offshore day in two weeks. Saturday is a Super New Moon spring-tide day. Sunday onward gets ugly.

Redfish. Mike Frenette put out a fresh Louisiana Sportsman piece Tuesday. Bull reds in the 30-pound range, largest 46.5 inches with a 27-inch girth at about 40 pounds. All on three-quarter-ounce Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbaits, working cut mouths on a falling tide as bait gets pushed out of the marsh. The river is falling and the sight windows are opening back up. Slot is 18 to 27 inches, four per person. Bulls over 27 are catch and release per the 2024 LDWF rule.

Speckled trout. Frenette in the same piece: "We've also seen some nice speckled trout this spring." May moves trout out of the coves to the tips of the long points in the major passes. Pass a Loutre, Southeast, South, Red. Three-eighths-ounce jigs tight-lined or live shrimp under a popping cork. Limit unchanged at 15, slot 13 to 20, max 2 over 20.

Tripletail. Frenette: "Many big tripletail already showed up." The spring migration is on. Sight-cast around buoys and floating debris in the passes. The species the first-time Venice angler doesn't know to throw at.

Red snapper. Season has been open since May 1, four fish per person, 16-inch minimum, state and federal waters same boat ride for private rec. Jordan Roque (Redfish Lodge guide) ran out of Southwest Pass on opening day and limited in 30 minutes on a hard-bottom mark 1.5 miles outside the pass in 114 feet. Biggest fish 18 pounds, the rest averaging 24 inches and 4 to 6 pounds, all on speckled trout bellies for bait. Roman Tujague, who runs for Chad Pique at Southern Pro Charters, caught his at 10 miles out in 160 feet, with most fish in the 4-to-10-pound class.

Blackfin. Tujague's snapper limit got him off the inside bottom by midmorning, then 30 miles to a shelf rig for blackfin. The post-front recovery week put bait back on the rigs.

Yellowfin. No fresh named-captain reports this week. The Frenette piece carries the inshore and the snapper but doesn't touch yellowfin. Friday's the day to go look.

Swordfish. Tujague: "Swordfishing has been good. We use squid or eel for bait and add lights dropped about 1,500 feet down. During the day, swordfish usually stay close to the bottom but come up near the surface at night." Sizes 80 to 152 pounds.

The Tuesday vote was the story. Three of the four bills the House sent up in April are now effectively through both chambers. HB 757 was the buffer-zone enforcement bill, raising civil penalties from a token line item to $50,000 to $250,000 per violation. It passed the Senate 36-0 with no amendments. HB 872 mandates AIS tracking on every menhaden reduction-fishery vessel, so the public can see where the pogie fleet is operating in close to real time. HB 886 forces public access to harvest data. Both passed 37-0 with Senate amendments and need one more House concurrence vote before they go to the governor.

The fourth bill, HB 855, the 22-foot depth contour bill, died on the House floor April 14 at 46-49. That was the one most Venice captains actually wanted, because it would have moved the purse-seine boats off the inshore zones. The three that survived don't touch depth. What they do, instead, is put AIS transponders on every pogie boat, force the catch numbers into the public record, and turn buffer-zone violations from a token fine into a real one.

Frenette opened the Louisiana Sportsman piece like this: "In early May 2026, a late-season cold front roared through Venice, complete with downpours and brutal chilling winds, followed by a high-pressure system." Buoy 42084 confirms it. Noon temps peaked at 76.8 degrees on May 8, dropped to 74.5 by May 12, recovered to 74.7 on Tuesday. Roughly a two-degree cooling from the front, then stable. Water is reset and back in the productive mid-70s window.

Redfish Lodge of Louisiana, Captain Mike Frenette. Thirty-plus-year Venice operator. The lodge is on the Venice Marina side, and Frenette is the captain you want for the pattern he just spelled out in Tuesday's Louisiana Sportsman piece: bull reds at the cut mouths as the tide drops. Same captain who released a 48.25-inch potential state-record red in February with two out-of-state anglers. He's been doing exactly what's working this weekend for three decades. Book direct at laredfish.com. FishingBooker carries the Venice inshore affiliate path if you prefer that platform.

For offshore Friday before the wind builds: Mexican Gulf Fishing Company (Capt. Kevin Beach) or Fish Venice Charters (Capt. Eddie Brown) at Cypress Cove. Both run the yellowfin program that fits a flat Friday morning.

Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait, three-quarter ounce. This is the exact lure Frenette named in the May 13 piece. Three-quarter ounce, not the half-ounce freshwater bass version. The heavier head sinks fast, vibrates hard through a current, and keeps the bait in the strike zone at the depth a falling tide creates at the cut mouths, usually four to six feet. Chrome-black or sexy shad for clear water in the cleaner draining pockets. Fire tiger or chartreuse for the murkier post-front water still running through some of the cuts.

If you'd rather not commit to the crankbait, Frenette's secondary call is a Strike King Rage Swimmer rigged under a popping cork, dropped next to the canes. Same shrimp-pattern logic, slower presentation. Bass Pro and Tackle Warehouse both carry the full Red Eye Shad and Rage Swimmer lineups.

Friday is the clean offshore day. Southeast 5 to 10 knots, seas 1 foot or less inside, 1 foot or less out to 60 miles. Light wind, no front, no spring-tide drift yet. Boats that want flat water before the SE wind starts cranking should run Friday morning.

Saturday is the spring-tide marsh day. Southeast 10 to 15 knots, around 2 feet inside and offshore. Super New Moon hits 3:01 PM Central, perigee proximity, biggest tidal range of the month at 1.73 feet at Pilottown. Falling-tide push through the cut mouths is exactly the pattern Frenette is fishing for the bull reds. Inside fishes through the wind.

Sunday through Tuesday gets uglier. Sunday southeast 10 to 15 knots, 2 to 3 feet inside and offshore. Monday southeast 10 to 15 inside building to 15 to 20 farther out, with 3 to 4 occasionally to 5 feet at 20 to 60 miles. Thunderstorms possible Sunday, plan around the radar. The NOAA five-day forecast ends Monday night. Tuesday is an extrapolation, but the synopsis has southeast 10 to 15 holding through the weekend.

Mississippi at Venice is at 1.29 feet and falling, down half a foot from last week and well below historical averages for mid-May. Passes will run cleaner than the April pattern.

LGCBC final results. The 2026 Louisiana Gulf Coast Billfish Classic wrapped April 29 through May 3. Team Metal Masher took the Grand Champion title with five blue marlin releases. Louisiana native Jaselyn Berthelot, fishing on Rising Sons, posted two blue marlin releases and a 33.5-pound bull dolphin. Tournament totals: 14 blue marlin released, 7 yellowfin tuna to scale, one bull dolphin. $200,000 cash purse plus GulfGrander7 bonuses. Source: louisianachampionscup.com/lgcbc.

Cajun Canyons fishes in two weeks. May 28 through 30 from Cypress Cove, with festivities running May 26 through 31. Captains meeting 10 AM Thursday. Late registration is open at $1,800 deposit plus $5,000 balance until 7:30 PM May 27. Boats are capped at 55. Source: comefishla.com.

Federal for-hire red snapper opens June 1. Charter boats with the federal reef-fish permit run a 147-day season opening 12:01 AM June 1 and closing 12:01 AM October 26. Private rec is already open under the LDWF state-managed season (May 1, four fish, 16-inch min). Source: NOAA bulletin.

Next week, the House concurrence on HB 872 and HB 886, whether the governor has signed HB 757, and what the Super New Moon weekend actually produced. If you fished it, 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