Red River Fishing Report: Cats, Bass, and Crappie Bite Strong Ahead of LA Hunting and Fishing Day

Artificial Lure here with your Red River, Shreveport fishing report for Friday, September 26, 2025. Sunrise kissed the water at 7:03 AM this morning and sunset will paint the sky around 7:06 PM, giving us nearly twelve hours to chase some fish beneath those Louisiana clouds. Speaking of the skies, the National Weather Service says we’re looking at **mostly cloudy conditions today**, with about a 20% shot at some scattered showers. Temps will creep into the upper 80s, and we’ve got a gentle east wind poking along at 5 mph. Humidity’s down a tick, which’ll help keep the sweat manageable—good news for anglers sticking it out all afternoon. Flood warnings linger in some spots from late last night, so if you’re fishing the lower banks, watch your footing and check those local currents before settling in. Tide talk for Red River isn’t as critical as the coast, but keep in mind that recent rains and flood warnings can put some current in those backwater sloughs. Water levels are up—river visibility a bit murky, but those big cats and bass seem to bite best when there’s movement in the water, so target structure where the current breaks. Now, onto the bite: Red River’s gotten a bit of late summer action, especially just after sunrise and in the evening—the fish are groggy midday with that heat, so the early bird and the night owl both win this week. Local chatter and my own dockside nose are confirming solid numbers of **channel catfish** and **blue cats** being landed near the downtown Shreveport stretch and up around the Stoner Boat launch. Several twenty-pounders hit the scales midweek, most coming on cut shad and chicken livers fished tight to brush piles. If you’re chasing bass, anglers are finding **largemouths** holding close to timber and near riprap banks, like the Old River Bend and below the I-220 bridge. The best stringers this week came off mid-diving crankbaits in chartreuse and blue, and the ever-faithful watermelon red plastic worm. A couple folks have scored with white spinnerbaits just after dawn, pulling a few two- and three-pounders out of shaded pockets. Sun gets high, fish tuck deeper. Crappie are beginning to group up on submerged brush, though the bite’s still inconsistent—minnows under a slip cork are your best bet until the river cools next month. You’ll find a mess of them at Ford Park and near the Caddo Parish boat launch. Small jigs in blue and silver are working when the water clears. Local bait shops say the **best overall bait this week is fresh-cut shad** for cats and soft plastics for bass. If you got live minnows, toss ‘em at crappie and let ‘em do the work. Aggressive fish are feeding ahead of the weekend, likely due to that mild front cooling things off a touch. Two spots you need to check: - **Stoner Avenue Boat Launch** – consistent reports of big catfish and some daylight bass. - **Ford Park** – decent crappie bite, especially on deeper brush with live minnows. With Louisiana’s National Hunting and Fishin This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.