“The Red River probably has the best catfishing in northwest Louisiana,” said James Seales, an LDWF biologist in Minden. “Both pools 4 and 5 are good. The Red River can produce some flatheads and blues in the 40-pound range and some bigger ones. On a good day, a river fisherman may catch 15 to 20 catfish.”

Besides what the river offers, anglers can find good catfishing at 8,850-acre Cross Lake, which provides water to Shreveport. Looking more like a flooded swamp than an impoundment, Lake Bistineau contains about 15,550 acres of good flathead habitat, with some fish exceeding 40 pounds. Straddling the Louisiana-Texas line, Caddo Lake contains about 26,560 acres. Anglers might also find action at Lake Claiborne, Kepler Lake, Cypress Lake or Black Bayou Reservoir.

While the Red River is the focus of catfish anglers across central Louisiana, some smaller waters also offer good places to tempt whiskerfish. Lake Rodemacher (also called “CLECO Lake” after the power company that owns it), can produce good blues and flatheads. Sibley Lake, Cotile Lake, Nantachie and Black Lake also offer good fishing. Connected to the Red River through Saline Bayou, the 13,800-acre Black Lake regularly produces blues and flatheads in the 50- to 60-pound range and some good catches of channel cats.

“We have quite a few small lakes in this district that have good catfishing,” said Ricky Moses, an LDWF biologist in Pineville. “Black Lake is probably the best catfish lake in central Louisiana. Flatheads in the 40- to 60-pound range are not uncommon. It’s a very old lake along the Red River. It has a lot of shad and other forage in it. Sibley Lake has tremendous numbers of small channel cats, but not many big ones. Cotile Lake has some tremendous flatheads, nice blues and channels.”

In the 19th century, the Red River changed course, creating a 35-mile-long oxbow near Natchitoches called Cane River Lake. It has surrendered two top 10 flathead catfish -- Ricky Gauthier’s 50.44-pound specimen from April 1998 and Bill Dickinson’s 38-pounder from June 1994 -- and produces excellent channel cats.

ATCHAFALAYA RIVER
Breaking off the Red, the Atchafalaya River feeds the Atchafalaya Basin, the longest riverbottom swamp in North America. The “second delta of the Mississippi” flows for about 150 miles from Simmesport to the Gulf of Mexico south of Morgan City. Roughly pyramid shaped and about 25 miles across its widest point, the Atchafalaya Basin offers anglers boundless catfish action.

At the northern end of the Atchafalaya Basin, Lake Henderson took a major hit from Hurricane Rita in 2005, but should produce some fish this summer, as the population in the river itself remained healthy, and overflow from the river into the Henderson Swamp has restocked the 5,000-acre system near Breaux Bridge.

“In central Louisiana, the Atchafalaya River is the best place to catch catfish,” said Martin Plonsky, an LDWF biologist in Opelousas. “It has a lot of big flatheads and blue cats. I’ve heard of blues coming out of the river that approached 100 pounds. Lake Martin and Lake Dubuisson are getting better. We’ve been steadily stocking cats in Lake Martin, so people can probably expect to catch about 20 catfish a day.”

The lower Atchafalaya Basin contains some of the best catfish habitat in the nation. The river feeds several major bayous, canals and lakes that offer high-end action. Near Morgan City, 14,000-acre Lake Verret connects to 11,500-acre Lake Palourde and 1,024-acre Grassy Lake through a labyrinth of canals and bayous.