I have fished there a lot over the years. Here is my .02. Look into Hopedale or Delacroix if you are running a bass boat and stay away from the MRGO if you can. BIG shipping channel and you can easily get 6 ft wakes off the tankers and freighters if they aren't following the rules and are revving up inside the channel. We almost got flipped in a 24' bay boat fishing along the inside jetty when a tanker was running fast. There is a ton of marsh to fish and IMO, the biggest appeal to venice is the easy access to East and West Bay to run outside and fish the rigs for snapper. This is NOT a good idea in a bass boat as a small change in wind/tide direction can chop it up bad in no time so stick closer to the ramps and fish the back country.
We often fish close to the ramps in Hopedale and Delacroix when the weather is iffy, or when we don't have time for long runs to some of our normal spots. Often the "this looks good lets try it before the storm gets here" spots are as good or better than the ones closer to the bay. We catch more reds and flounder and fewer trout close to the ramps but thats fine by me ! As said before, dont' count on your cell phone working.
The shortest distance to success on reds in the back water is going to be moving water. Wind and or tide driven. Find a creek or small bay that is draining over a point or anyplace the current necks down and try it. Another good method is to fish the windblown side of islands that have oysters or grass. The wind blows the plankton up, the bait follow, and the predators come to eat. Ponds can be great too, but there are a thousand of them and one will have a ton of fish and the next one, none. If the pond is full of slimy weed gunking up your lures, try a different pond. Johnson silver minnow in gold works great on reds in shallow ponds but sharpen the hook !!
At the end of the day, use a salt removal wash product on your reels ! Squirt a small amount of dawn soap in the bilge and leave the plug in as you wash the boat. Keep that 5-10 gallons of water in the bilge as you drive to fill up the gas, (let it slosh around) then pull the plug in the gas station parking lot. Or you can use something like SaltX. Before you go, put dielectric grease on every electrical connection you can reach on the boat. If the weather is perfect, you might not need it, but if the weather goes south, or if you get waked by a tanker and stuff the nose through a big wave, you will be chasing corrosion and bad connections in your electrical system for a long time.