Red River

I just found out that the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship is on the Red River at Shreveport Louisiana in April. Has anyone been there before? Can anyone tell me anything about the area? I’ve never even heard of it before. Any info will be appreciated.

Watch the FLW on ESPN 2 on Friday mornin at 9 or Sunday moring at 9. Whole hour of Red River.

Thanks Mnfish, I definitely will record it.

Hi Jig N Pig.

I’ve never fished the Red River myself, however, I have fished with Michael Iaconnelli on several occassions who won the Federation Championship on that same body of water 3-4 years ago. He won that event by targeting LMB in stumps 3-5′ of water, vertical jigging. His best area was an oxbow lake that was connected to the river with the high water. I imagine you should do well down there since the river down there is much like the Mississippi up here in flooded conditions. Check some of your old issues of Bassin Times or Bassmaster magazine for specifics on what they used in that Federation Championship.

Also, the FLW made it down there last year, and during the EverStart in LaCrosse I had a room next to Bill Chapman (he finished top-5 in that event). Bill Chapman, like Mike Iaconnelli, found fish in an oxbow lake that had been land-locked for the previous 3 years. He said that he was having 40-50 fish days. The strings weren’t all that big, but the population and quality of fish was decent enough to carry him into the finals. He used a combination of jigs and spinnerbaits.

Sorry I can’t give you any first-hand advise on where exactly to go or what to use, but if you apply your river experiences from up here down south, you should do just fine. As with any river as we all know, it usually is feast or famine.

Good Luck!

You input is much appreciated. I did hear that there was a federation championship down there in the past but have been unable to find any articles on the results. I only keep Bassmaster back issues for a year and Bassin Times for a couple months.

A person just never knows when they will be needed. I have found out that there are pools with locks and dams, lots of timber and some backwater. No one has mentioned anything about any wingdams. I found articles on the Bassmaster tournament held there last month and there is a show Friday on ESPN. Good thing I have 3 1/2 months to study and search.

Thanks again, can use all the help available.

Hi Jig N Pig,

I can dig up some of the old Bassmaster and Bassin’ Times articles on the Red River if you like. Just send me a message with your mailing address to [email protected] and I can mail them to you when I get a chance.