Red River Bass Fishing Reports

[bassmaster135]

I just wanted to say i dont have a problem with people that take little fish its just when i see a stringer of 10 or more 5 pound or more fish it makes me wounder why would you do that......and why would the government that stocked those fish in there not react on the situation

[Dean]

I hear you guys talking about people keeping their quality fish and had to join in.  I spent 11 years at Barksdale AFB and was amazed at the number of 4-6 lb fish I saw people keeping!  There are some great fisheries there, and even more with the potential to be great but they get fished hard and LOTs of fish taken out of them.  In the spring of the year to keep 10 big females is taking thousands of fry out of the lake and they wonder why the fishing isn't as good as some other lakes in the country.  A great example is lake bistineau.  It has every bit of potential for trophy bass or more than caddo, but caddo has a slot that discourages meat fishermen to some degree.  Guess which one is known for trophy bass???

Here in California (where I am stationed now) there are many good bass lakes and serious potential for the next record.  The habitat is not always as good as some lakes in that area, but nearly all bass are released.  The focus of meat fishermen out here has always been crappie or trout (which are also the focus of hungry bass ) so the big bass get bigger every year at nearly 1.5 lbs per year, sometimes faster.  O.K. I'm done rambling, but hope the word gets around...

[Hairdaddy]

We just can't seem to convince people of that in this part of the country.  Alot of folks think that the fish are only there to be eaten, and wouldn't think of throwing them back.  With the amount of fishing pressure nowadays on all our waters, its a good thing we still have some good sportsmen who practice catch and release- otherwise we'd be fishing for ghosts! 

I tell guys - when they act like thats why they have a boat and why they fish (to eat them) that it would be much cheaper if they'd just go to the fish market if thats all they're concerned about.  LETS ALL PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE (most of the time) and we'd have much better fishing everywhere.

[Scott K.]

Well..I may be the only fisherman here that is allergic to fish. So i'll be the first to tell you I don't keep any fish at all.

[cmegee]

Im all about bright colors in post spawn....Not everyone will agree with me just my opinion......i have had luck with a bubble gum trick worm(3x strike king) I think its all about bright color and action....3x trick worm floats to so you can go wieghtless and use it like a floating jerk bait..go for laydowns not rocks as stated above rocks can be fun for catchin little bass all day if you got no luck anywere else...Good luck

I'm with you bassmaster135, the brightere colors on sunny days are really great on red river

[D_Esco]

I didn't start fishing until 6 years ago when I first got to Alaska fishing for Rainbow Trout.  The first thing I learned was to be careful and not hurt the trout so I could release them.  This is exactly what I'm teaching my kids today here fishing for Bass and hopefully they'll do the same.  It's all about Catch-and-Release.....spread the word.

[TB44]

yeah thats when i throw birghter colors is on sunny day but when its cloudy have to go to old fall back colors black/blue & black/red...and another note on catch and release.....it says in the bible that fish were put on the earth for our use so whatever its to eat them or to catch and release it is up to the individual fisherman!  And im betting all of the people on here who are adimit about eating the fish are mostly none tournament anglers.....just some thoughts...heres one more thought if there mostly bigger fish wouldnt it take some of the fun out of catching say a 6lber.....or maybe then everyone would be wanting to catch 12 pounders because all thats in the lake is 6lbs....sounds like anglers are getting gready!!!reminds me of deer hunters that think a 8 pt is small in some areas of the country and look down opon anyone who shoots anything under a 10 pt.......... just some random thoughts to think about...

[cmegee]

I don't know about that TB44- I'm as big a tournament angler as any other on here and I know that I enjoy eating fish. I don't eat or keep big fish, not because they are big but because they don't taste as good.

[TB44]

_{yeah thats when i throw birghter colors is on sunny day but when its cloudy have to go to old fall back colors black/blue & black/red...and another note on catch and release.....it says in the bible that fish were put on the earth for our use so whatever its to eat them or to catch and release it is up to the individual fisherman!  And im betting all of the people on here who are adimit about eating the fish are mostly none tournament anglers.....just some thoughts...heres one more thought if there mostly bigger fish wouldnt it take some of the fun out of catching say a 6lber.....or maybe then everyone would be wanting to catch 12 pounders because all thats in the lake is 6lbs....sounds like anglers are getting gready!!!reminds me of deer hunters that think a 8 pt is small in some areas of the country and look down opon anyone who shoots anything under a 10 pt.......... just some random thoughts to think about...}

I agree with you on that big fish dont taste as good but whos to say when your fishing you catch say a big fish first would you throw that back not nowing if your going to catch another fish all day?? or keep it until you have a mess of fish then try and throw it back not knowing wheter it will make it???And again these are just thought to think about i practice cath and release more often then not!!!!

[cmegee]

I go by size if it's much over 2 pounds it don't ride to the house, It'll definately ride to the weigh in though.
However some folks will eat any size, I just don't.

[TB44]

yeah im the same way usually and i dont fish tournament that often though my uncle does and he tells me of many of his places so i want to leave the seed in there!!! But the people who dont fish tournament have no reason to worry about size....haha this isnt the site to discusse this because just about everyone on here just fishes tourny haha.....good topic though

[kw4570gov]

I wish I had these problems to worry about, I just wish I could catch enough to win a tourney or enough to eat! BUT a bad day on the water still beats going to work!!

Kent

[Rickoos]

I wish I had these problems to worry about, I just wish I could catch enough to win a tourney or enough to eat! BUT a bad day on the water still beats going to work!!

Kent

Kent,
that was a pretty good one buddy,  believe me, you are not alone, no matter what they all say....

Ricky

[cmegee]

Kent,
that was a pretty good one buddy,  believe me, you are not alone, no matter what they all say....

Ricky

Now I didn't say I always caught them, just that when I did they went for a ride in a tournament, and that ain't always...

[J10B]

The 2 pros I know call em pilgrims, the meat eaters.
Anyway I was up in the northern part of the red and hooked a 2 pounder, got it off the hook and it jumped back in i didnt even get to lip it so I could really get a weight. 
Of course I threw it back. Point: if you spend 5-35k on a boat do you REALLY need to eat a scavenger fish like a bass? its like hunting rats.

[Trey]

Kent,

I don't know hwat you're talking about!  It was on the Red River last year that you whooped my butt, by catching fish right in front of my face!   The very same fish that I chased up and down the bank for half an hour!   Anyways, I am going to hit the river tomorrow morning to check things out.  Are you going that way?  If so give me a call on my cell.  I think I am going to Clark's this time.  Oh, and on the subject of catch and release... I do practice catch and release the majority of the time, but I love to practice hook 'em and cook 'em!     As far as size, I prefer the smaller ones to eat and the larger ones to weigh!    

Trey   

[bassmaster135]

You also gotta under stand when everyone takes bass pan fish and other preditors over populate lakes and pan fish eat even when they are not hungry witch can aradicate bass from the lake and everyone you caught would be under sived and undeveloped and very skiny...crappie dont just stay in that fishing hole you got cause they want to they stay there telll that school of bait fish is gone then move on to anouther.... About bass not getting full size from overpopulating is a false statement sorry but it is bass will eat thier "own" young for getting close so if it were to get a bunch a little bass the bigger bass would run into them more often and eat them.

[Trey]

Hit the river yesterday with a friend of mine.  We started in pool 5 and fished around Beehive.  I caught one dink on a Yozuri Bannana Boat.  We locked through around 0830.  We fished Loggy Bayou, and a sandy point on the main channel with no luck.  We then tried to get a bite fishing the rocks, and concentrating on the cuts in the rocks where there was current.  Well, the current was pretty weak, but I did manage another dink on a Yozuri 3D Popper.  Oh yeah, I did kill 5 snakes there though.  Game and Fish people told me to kill as many as I could and that I could use any manner of firearm so long as it didn't endanger anyone and it wasn't dynamite!   After winning a few rounds of pin the hollow-point on the snake, We decided to lock through again.  I went into the opening for Caspiana, but I tunred left instead of right.  I shut down and started to gish the thick hydrilla mats and water hyacinth.  I got two hits, but no fish.  Well no whole fish ( I caught a fish eye)!     Now there is a fish swimming around out there with only one eye.  Don't ask me how that happened, I just set the hook and reeled in a fish's eye on the end of my hook!    My partner caught a few bream, but that was about all we could manage.  We called it a day around 1230 or so.

Trey   

[kw4570gov]

Fished the Red Sat. from 07:00 am-01:00 pm. Caught only one about 2 lb. Unable to fish any of my normal spots due to more boats on the river than I have ever seen!!!! So, I hunted new ground. Fishing in a tourney next Sat., I hope we don't have as much company then.

Kent

[cmegee]

Went this weekend, most of our fish were caught on a crankbait around rocks, we did catch a few really good fish flipping wood cover around the rocks. Lost one around 5 or 6 pounds.

[Trey]

cmegee,

Were you fishing in pool 4 or 5?  Main channel or oxbows?  How deep?

Trey   

[cmegee]

Trey, I was down in pool 3, but the fish I caught were all in the oxbows, really close to the landing. fishing on rocks and timber on the break lines.

[Trey]

Maybe I need to go all the way down to pool 3 then to catch some fish, because I can't seem to do it around here! 

Trey   

[kw4570gov]

Trey,

Maybe we need to have our weigh in at Alexandria!!!!!!!!

Kent

[Trey]

I say we have the weigh-in on another lake!   

Trey