Red River Rundown - Shreveport's Fall Fishing Update

Artificial Lure here with your Red River, Shreveport area fishing report for Sunday, September 28, 2025. It’s a crisp fall morning in Shreveport, with sunrise rolling in at 7:08 AM and sunset coming at 7:03 PM. The air’s cool—a hint of high 50s to low 60s early, expecting a mild climb towards the mid-70s by afternoon. Overnight brought calm skies. We’ve got a light breeze out the east-northeast at about 5–8 mph, making for comfortable casting. The water’s sitting right in the sweet spot for this time of year, running about 76–78 degrees. The river’s level is steady, with only a gentle current since we haven’t had appreciable rains this week. For those paying attention to the moon, we’ve got a waning crescent, which won’t pull the fish as hard, but the slight current should still bring some nice activity early and late in the day. There isn’t much tidal swing up here on the Red, but that morning low-light hour before sun-up and again around sunset will ramp up the action. Local anglers have had a solid week. Reports from the Red River National Wildlife Refuge and the main river stretch say bass have been biting well. The best fish this week were largemouths—a dozen nice 2–3 pounders pulled from backwater pockets off Bayou Pierre, and some chunky spotted bass just up from the Shreveport boat launch. There’s been a reliable mix of white bass in the main channel, schooling on shad in the afternoons. Folks are also catching eater-size catfish below the locks—good numbers of blues and the odd flathead mixed in. This week, your best bet for bass has been covering water: target woody cover on channel swings and where there’s a little current. The most productive lures have been shad-pattern squarebill crankbaits and white spinnerbaits run close to submerged brush. A soft-plastic creature bait, Texas-rigged in black-and-blue, put several keepers in the boat for locals working the oxbow cuts. Topwater action’s been slower, but a bone-colored popper at first light may reward you with an explosive strike near the riprap banks. Crappie are stacking up, too—local regulars are catching them suspended 10-12 feet down along drop-offs near the cross-lake bridge piles, especially as the sun gets higher. Tiny minnows or white/chartreuse tube jigs have been the ticket. When it comes to bait, nothing beats live shad or small bream under a slip cork for those targeting better blues or flatheads. If you’re after numbers, nightcrawlers and cut bait will keep your rod bowed most of the day around the deeper bends. Two hot spots to highlight: - The old Lock and Dam #5 area—work the eddies and slack water with crankbaits and live bait. - The crossover at Red River South Marina—has seen good topwater and crankbait bites around the bridges early, then transition to plastics as the day gets brighter. Shad are dime-sized this time of year, and the key is “match the hatch”—downsized lures are with putting more fish in the boat, especially for those bass keying on the This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.