It says it on the license plate: "Sportsman’s Paradise." Whether in the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico or the many freshwater lakes and swamps, Louisiana is a fisherman’s dream. For many it is both a passion and a way of life and it shows in the great variety of native seafood available throughout the region.

Visitors can charter a boat and set out for a once-in-a-lifetime journey through the marshes with colorful shrimp boats and/or out into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. By trolling around the many oil rigs you will find yourself bringing in giant catches of tarpon, cobia, snapper, yellow-fin tuna, Spanish and king mackerel, sailfish, blue marlin, wahoo and even pompano. Charters are available all along the coast.

Freshwater fishing opportunities are just as abundant.  Great spots include the Atchafalaya Basin, a magnificent 800,000-acre natural swampland, and the numerous "oxbow lakes" like False River and Lake Bruin near the Mississippi River. These swamps and lakes, teeming with fish, offer easy access and great action to the avid fisherman.

For more information about fishing licenses and lake maps, contact:

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
P.O. Box 98000
Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000
(225) 765-2800

For more information regarding marinas, contact:

Office of Sea Grant Development
Louisiana State University Wetlands Resources Building
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-7507
(504) 388-6448

Below is a list of fishing guides, marinas, and charter services in the New Orleans region.

Wetlands Guides and Outfitters
New Orleans
(800) 299-3768

Gordon's Professional Guide Service
New Orleans
(504) 758-2824

A Wild Bill's Fishing Adventure
New Orleans
(504) 876-2036

Fishunter Guide Service, Inc.
New Orleans
(800) 887-1385

Captain Nick's Wildlife Safaris
New Orleans
(800) 375-3474

Jean Lafitte Fishing Charters
New Orleans
(504) 689-4120

Fishing Guide Services
New Orleans
(504) 243-2100

Capt. Phil Robichaux Saltwater Guide Service
New Orleans
(504) 348-3264

Bourgeois Charters
New Orleans
(504) 341-5614

Ripp's Inland Charters
New Orleans
(504) 689-2665