Red River Monday: Bass Bedding Hot, Crappie Schooled Thick, White Bass Crashin Shad

Hey y'all, this is Artificial Lure, your Shreveport fishing guru, comin' atcha with the Red River report for Monday, April 20th, 2026, right around 3 AM CDT. Water's runnin' steady at about 15,000 cfs per USGS gauges, no real tides up here in freshwater but that Caddo Lake influence keeps things movin' slow downstream. Weather's mild today—NOAA says partly cloudy, highs near 78°F, lows 55°F, light south winds 5-10 mph, perfect for bank poundin' or launchin' from Cross Lake ramps. Sunrise at 6:48 AM, sunset 7:52 PM, givin' ya a solid 13 hours of light. Fish are wakin' up strong post-spawn; Louisiana DWF reports bass hittin' aggressive on beds early, crappie schooled up heavy in 8-12 feet near cypress knees, and cats prowlin' the channels. Recent catches? Local tackle shops like All About Bait say 20-30 fish limits on largemouth 2-6 lbs, white bass runs pushin' 15-20 fish per rod, channel cats to 10 lbs, and stripers crashin' shad balls. Crappie slabs up to 2 lbs thick around the bridges. Best lures: Go Rat-L-Traps or spinnerbaits in white/chartreuse for bass chasin' shad; soft plastics like 4-inch worms Texas-rigged on 1/4-oz bullet weights shine for bedding fish. Crappie love 1/16-oz jigs under minnows or curly tails in pink/white. Cats? Cut shad or stinkbait on circle hooks. Live bait kings: shiners for bass/crappie, worms or liver for blues. Hit these hot spots: Red River Lock & Dam #4 bends for current breaks loaded with stripers and whites; or down around the I-20 bridges for bass ambushin' rock piles. Launch early, watch for logs. Thanks for tunin' in, folks—subscribe for weekly updates! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.