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Shreveport Red River Fishing Report: Bass, Whites, and Cats Hitting Cranks, Spinners, and Rigs
Artificial Lure here with your Red River Shreveport fishing report, coming to you like a buddy at the boat ramp, keeping it straight and local.
Around Shreveport this time of year, the Red is running cool and a little dingy most mornings, with light north to northwest breeze and seasonably mild temps by mid‑day. Expect a chilly first couple hours, then a comfortable warm‑up that gets the bait moving along the ledges and backwaters. Sunrise is right around the mid‑7 o’clock hour, with sunset a little after 5, so you’ve got a short but productive window of daylight to work with.
There’s no real tide on the Red, but water level swings from recent rain can fish just like a tide, pushing current around the wing dikes, revetments, and barge cuts. When the river’s bumped up a bit and moving, fish are tucking tight to the rocks and timber; when it steadies or falls, they slide off to the first break or edge. Treat each rise like a “flood tide” and each fall like an “ebb,” and you’ll know when to push shallow or back off.
Largemouth bass have been the main story, with decent numbers of keeper fish and a few solid three‑ to five‑pounders coming from barge tie‑offs, rock jetties, and current breaks at the mouths of little cuts and bayous. Folks have also been picking up white bass and a few stripers/hybrids in the bends where shad are stacking, plus the usual drum and the occasional blue cat on the bottom. Action is best early and late; midday is more of a grind unless the wind stacks bait on a particular stretch of riprap.
Best lures right now are shad‑pattern crankbaits and squarebills banging off rock, 3/8‑ to 1/2‑ounce chartreuse/white spinnerbaits slow‑rolled through current seams, and medium‑size lipless cranks yo‑yoed along the drops. When the bite gets tough, a green pumpkin or black‑blue jig with a chunk trailer, or a Texas‑rigged creature bait, pitched into laydowns and barge pilings will still get those quality bites. For live bait, minnows and shiners drifted just off bottom will fool whites and the odd striper, while cut shad on a Carolina rig will put cats in the boat.
Couple of local hot spots to circle: the stretch around Cross Bayou and the downtown revetments has been giving up a good mixed bag when there’s decent current, especially where concrete meets rock and there’s any eddy. Downriver, the pockets and islands around Shreve Island and Harts Island have been steady producers for bass, with fish sitting on the upstream points of islands and the downstream sides of wing dikes. Work those areas methodically and you can put together a strong limit without running all over the river.
That’s the Red River rundown from your pal Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a trip report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Published on 4 weeks ago