Red River Bass Fishing Reports

[Trey]

Marty,
 
   You've got to show me what I'm doing wrong.  I went crappie fishing yesterday from 10-2 and didn't get a bite.  I was using shiners on a slip float and tight-lining jigs tipped with shiners.  I went a couple weeks ago and caught seven.  I have been going to the community holes over in white house and knee-nock.

Trey

[Marty]

Trey, It seems like every time I go, the fish want something different.  When I went on Monday, there were 15 boats in the community hole that you're talking about that's up north of Clark's.  That's not exactly the White House area, but it's the way most people go to get to the White House.  I think it's actually known as Blackies, but don't hold me to that.  Most of those folks weren't really catching much, some, none.  Anyhow, on Monday, what I was getting most of my bites on was just a minnow on a hook, tight lined on the bottom with a 1/8 oz. sinker, with the hook about 1 1/2 feet up.  I just kept my boat on the move, not anchoring or sitting in any one place.  I caught a couple on a jig with a minnow, but by far my best bite was the tight line.  In contrast, just a couple of days earlier, they were pounding the jig tipped with a minnow, not really interested in the tight line rig.  And a week before that, I was wearing them out on straight jigs, no minnows.  One day it was black/green tubes, then it was red/chartreuse tubes.  Also, a guy turned me on to a custom made pink/purple/chartreuse jig that I really kicked butt on for awhile.  And before all that, they were eating up the tight-lined minnows!  So, like I said, it's always something different.  The one constant for me this season since mid Novemeber has been that no matter what they were biting on, I have been able to catch them just off the bottom.  No suspending fish for me, no bobbers.  Whatever bait I have used, I have used it on or very near the bottom and most of my fish have been caught at a median depth of 18 feet.  Maybe a little less or a little more sometimes, but 18 has seemed to be the all-around magic number, no matter what it says on the sign at Clark's!  If I were going tomorrow, (I wish I could!) I would take some minnows to fish tight line, and of course another rod rigged with a red/chartreuse tube jig, 1/8 oz.  I would just hang the jig off the boat, right above the bottom & do the same with the minnow, and move the boat around slowly enough to keep the bait close to the bottom.  More or less out in the middle of the community area, but maybe slightly more towards the rocks on the river side.  You will have to watch the depth & make frequent adjustments to your reels to keep the bait down low.  I'm not saying you can't hold one of your rods, I'm just trying to emphasize that it has more to do with moving around till you get a bite than with any kind of jigging motion or anything you can really do.  It's just about bumping into a fish that's probably moving around just like you are!   Most of the other folks that were fishing on Monday were not moving around like we were, (I had a partner, he didn't catch as many as I did!) they were anchored out.  That was working ok back in Nov. & Dec., but right now moving around is the key to finding them, at least in that hole anyway.  If I had any time left at work to burn, I'd take you out there myself!  I'm not the MAN, I can have a skunk day or real slow day just like anybody else.  I've just been lucky this year.  When you are drifting the tight line rig, it woud be ok to actually drag it a little bit.  Also, don't be in such a big hurry to try to set the hook on them, they are almost self-hooking.    An ultra light rod or at least real wispy one is best, I'm using a small ul underspin Zebco and a 10 ft. crappie pole with a Zebco underspin on that one too.  I had a big fish jerk my drop shot bass rod over the side recently, so now I'm only fishing with 2 rods.  And I don't take my eyes off them anymore!  Good luck to you.

Marty

[Marty]

Oh yeah, with all that said, there is one thing I left out!  As far as the area immediately inside the opening, where all the deep water is, I wouldn't waste much time there, even if your depth finder marks fish there like mine does.  You could try there a few minutes, but if no luck I would get on out of there.  That area held fish earlier, but I see people pounding it but not catching much, maybe a striper, gou or occasional crappie.  Go through the hole & take a right, start fishing when you get to 17,18 or 19 feet of water.  Your time would be better spent drifting out in the middle, and including 20 feet from the rocks & on out.  The fish seem to be on the move right now, not stacking up.  That could change any time, though!

Marty

[Trey]

Marty,

    Thanks for all the great info.  Maybe I'll see you out there sometime.  I have a 19' black/silver tidecraft with a 200 mercury.  If you see me on the water, don't be a stranger!

Trey  

[Marty]

Well, the white perch weren't snapping too good today, I only ended up with 8 keepers, 2 which were good slabs over 2 lbs., & the rest were very respectable but not quite slab qualifiers.  The bite was very slow.  2 fish (both the slabs, I think) came on red/chartreuse tube jigs on 1/8 oz round head jigs with chartreuse crappie nibbles (no minnows on there), & the others bit on minnows near the bottom.  There wasn't much of a pattern today that I could determine, just had to be at the right place at the right time, & be dragging your bait around.  Very scattered.  I talked to a regular (even more regular than me!) who said he killed them yesterday, but today he only caught one or two & finally left.  It was tough.  I'm thinking this was probably my last crappie trip for the year, until November that is.  Time to concentrate on those hawg bass, & get serious about kicking some butt in my club tournaments.  Good luck to you Trey, they aren't done biting, I'm just done chasing them for awhile!  Got plenty in the freezer now.  By the way, I drive a Triton Tr-18 with a 150 Yamaha on back.  The boat is white/red/black bottom.

Marty

[Mike V]

Fished the river today with my partner. The river is really stained right now. We did find some clearer water back in an oxbow though. I caught one right off the bat and it was downhill from there. The fishing was tough. I think the little cold front that came thru Friday evening must have messed them up. We talked to several guys fishing and nobody was really doing anything. Good luck to the guys fishing Anglers Choice tommorrow. We are going to Caddo Tommorrow, this will be my first time on caddo in about two years. Hopefully we will find some fish.

[Gabby]

Fished the Red River Saturday from about 7 to 11:30.  Didn't have any luck, no bites (expected).  The water was in the high 50's and the air was chilly and cloudy.  Water was MUDDY everywhere, except one hole that we hit around Bishop Point.  Fairly clear there, and my buddy caught a nice, fat 3+ pounder off a tree  with a black/blue worm.  No snakes!

[fishrman]

Fished the Red Sunday morning, day light till 11 am caught 12 on various baits, in the back of the oxbows. Caught more females than males. Some of them were leaking roe.

[Moose]

Went for a quick trip after work today. Got on the water a little past 5 pm. Fished Beehive slough.  I believe the water is falling pretty quickly. The surface temp was 60 to 62. Didn't get even a bump. Tried a spinner bait and a lizard but only had about an hour to fish. Hopefully next trip will be better.

[Marty]

Fished the Red today between 3 pm & 5:30 pm.  Actually, if you deduct the 30 minutes of idling, getting unstuck off laydowns & the 15 minutes I spent trying to get my jig unstuck off a submerged log, I guess I only really fished about 1 1/2 hours.  Caught 4 keepers, biggest being a 4.3 on a black/blue Stone jig.  Two of the fish came on a chart/white 3/8 oz.Terminator.  I missed a couple before I put on a trailer hook, then hooked up.  The other two came on the jig, with a black/blue Yum trailer.  I was test driving a custom flip stick a friend is going to build for me, so it was nice to catch a couple of good keepers on it.  The other jig fish was a 2 pounder, & the 2 blade fish were about 1.5 lbs each.  I also caught a real big crappie on the Terminator.  Hope to go again on Thursday, then fish a small tournament on Saturday.  

Marty

[TB44]

Hey i need some help on where the crappie are on the river ive had some success in the past but was wodering where i should go to catch some....ill trade info on where ive had success but am looking for a new spot......any info would help......

i could usse some help on bistineau

thanks, todd

[fishrman]

Fished a tournament on the Red out of Clarks this past Saturday. Weighed in 18.50 lbs. including an 8.2  pounder, good enough for 1st. place. All fish came out of two feet of water on a white blade, caught three limits total.

Tried the same pattern on Sunday on the Red out of Alexandria, (ALBC Tournament of Champions) caught 17 fish, best five weighed 11.50 lbs. 17th place. The Larger stringers came out of the Colfax area.

[Marty]

J.R., ya'll had some nice fish on Saturday.  I was the guy in the back of that Pro Craft you talked to back there in the PH area.  We didn't have nearly as much luck as you guys, that was a fine looking hawg Daniel had!  Even though we culled a couple, we still only weighed in 8.03.  I went to the river on Friday to do some pre-fishing for the T, and had some spots in mind, and then just as I was getting close to the Port Lake, my Yamaha blew a rod bearing cap right through the side of my block.  Had to troll south for 2 hours before somebody came along & towed me the rest of the way to Clark's.  So now, the Triton is in the shop getting a new powerhead.  It's almost like a death in the family!!!  With a little luck, I'll be back on the water in a couple of weeks, though.

Marty

[fishrman]

Marty, I know all too well about motor problems, it sucks. If you get stir crazy and need a ride during your down time, just let me know.  I will be happy to fish with you.

[Marty]

Man, I really appreciate that offer!!!  I may have to take you up on it.  Thanks!

Marty

[fishrman]

Dear Slab Chasers,
I forgot to mention that on the Red this past weekend, between both tournaments, my partners and I boated aleast  a dozen crappie, and lost almost that many on the  way to the boat. They all were caught in 2-3 feet of water, next to log jams. It seems that most of the bites came on the windy side of the jams, but the larger fish came from the slack sides. All were caught on a 1/2 oz blade, so they must have been pretty hungry. The fish size ranged from 12 to 16 1/2 inches. This pattern worked in pools 3 & 5.  Good luck, and I hope the info helps you  fill that spot in your freezer.

[Marty]

Ditto what JR said, we caught some real nice sized crappie in the same kinds of places he mentioned, and believe it or not most of ours came on 6" black & blue lizards!  One on a SB.  I guess they were really hungry.  I told a friend about them & he went the next day & boated a dozen on crappie jigs fished about 18" below a bobber.

Marty

[Todd]

I am anticipating going to the River this weekend. I ahve not been on the river all year and would like a little input on where to go or what seems to be producing the best bites. If anyone has been I would appreciate a little help. I will be fishing Pool  5.

Thanks
Todd

[Mike Cork]

Todd, I haven't been in quite some time either but typically this time of year you can get into some great top water / spinnerbait action in the oxbows If I were going I would head to bee hive cove as it is a small area off the river with all the different fishing the river has to offer (levee, trees, drop offs, a good point, and then the back flats) and try to pattern those fish then match it else where. Good Luck

[Todd]

Thanks Mike, I appreciate the info.

[casso]

Went to the river Sat. caught 7 fish with the smallest around 3lbs. biggest would go 5. One came on a spinnerbait and the rest on big plastics. Except for a couple, the fish came from 4-6 feet in clearer water in presence of both grass and wood. I think there feeding pretty heavy on bream. The bream are everywhere and there was many thrown up bream in my live well at the end of the day.

[Railroader]

hey! this is brian how is everyone? been fishing alot still on vac.. my question is my company is putting on a tournament on the red.. i am looking for any info on where? i sould be going.. i have been to little ninock to the back of it but could only get one bite.. the whitehouse the island in the middle has been my best but need a few more spots.. any info would be great also in casp.. i have not caught  anything there yet.. i need fish that casso caught lol maybe you could share..thanks..

[casso]

Brian-

I've been spending more time on the river than usual because I've been tring to catch numbers, its closer to the house, and everytime I want to go there is a storm on the way moving over Caddo. Over the past few weekends here is what I've found. There are fish biting in Port Lake, a few weekends ago a buddy of mine and I went up there and caught 25-30. Biggest was right at 5 w/ a few 3's but most were about 1-1 1/2. All of them came on water melon (red , blue, kudzu, gold, etc.) baby brush hogs. A while back we made it in McDade  and did really well on watermelon lizards. Last weekend we fished white house, an oxbow north of white house on the bossier side that I don't know the name of and in the back of Ninock. Didn't get many bites but the ones we did were good. Most consistent areas had 4-6 ft water, grass/ water hycinth, and wood. Shad and bream were around and visible. Alot of our fish came from inside the water hycinth, drop the plastic in a small hole for a while, jiggy, jiggy, jiggy, not on the bottom but about where you think the bottom of the water hycinth would be, then it would either get mushy or they would nail it. Then the fun of getting them out of all that stuff would start. Hope this helps and good luck on your tourny.

Casso

[Railroader]

hey this is brian thanks alot for the info will try to get out there and find it.. later.

[TB44]

Hey i need some help on where the crappie are on the river ive had some success in the past but was wodering where i should go to catch some....ill trade info on where ive had success but am looking for a new spot......any info would help......

i could usse some help on bistineau

thanks, todd