Lively Late Fall Fishing on the Red River: Stoner Boat Launch and Bishop Point Oxbows Produce Solid Hauls

Red River anglers, this is Artificial Lure checking in with your November 13th fishing report for Shreveport and the surrounding bends. Conditions on the river this Thursday are about as good as you could ask for heading into late fall—cool, crisp air with sunrise rolling in at 6:39 AM and sunset falling at 5:13 PM. Local weather is partly cloudy, light breeze, morning temps near 47°F climbing toward the upper 60s by late afternoon. That’s a prime window for bass activity, especially around those shallow flats and creek mouths. The Red River isn’t tidally driven up here, but water clarity is holding fair after recent slow flows, and that’s meant steady fishing for the last few days. Thanks to recent stocking efforts, the river is absolutely loaded with Florida-strain largemouth bass and hybrids, with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries giving the green light to expect even better catches heading into this year. As reported by 1130 The Tiger just last week, folks are already seeing these new bass taking hold—several anglers are landing limits in the two-to-three-pound range, while a few lucky boats have boated five-pounders near the deeper channel breaks and the old oxbows. Numbers-wise, most boats are reporting 15–20 keepers in a morning session with enough culls to keep you busy. Earlier this week, local clubs hauled in solid bags with largemouth dominating, a handful of white bass and the usual mix of crappie from the brush piles. The featured species are definitely those hungry bass—topwater bite is switching over to crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and soft plastic jerkbaits. I recommend a Shad Rap or similar shallow-diving crank in natural colors, as Major League Fishing’s Ott DeFoe says, “fall transition is all about matching the hatch and targeting places where baitfish are stacked.” On the tough days, soft plastics rigged Texas style or a compact A-Rig have been producing, especially along big laydowns or stump fields near river bends. If you’re thinking live bait, minnows are always money for crappie and white bass, while shiners work wonders if you’re after a trophy largemouth. For artificials, stick to chrome or shad-colored hardbaits, and don’t overlook bright chartreuse when fishing stained water. According to Mike Iaconelli’s fall breakdown, “bass will pile up and eat like crazy before winter, so find where baitfish are thickest and you’ll find the fish.” Now, as far as hot spots go, two areas have stood out this week: first, the pocket on the west side of Stoner Boat Launch, where creek water is flowing warmer and bass are holding shallow just off the first point. Second, check the oxbow lakes south of downtown near the Bishop Point cutoff. Lots of boats have pulled triples out of here in the past few days—solid fish with plenty of crappie mixed in. Local anglers—remember, our waterways here in Shreveport are prime, with bass stocking underway and fall feeding in full swing. Whether you’re throwing artificial or dunkin This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.