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Lake Bistineau Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A cypress swamp lake in northwest Louisiana, drawn down most summers to fight giant salvinia.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~63 F est.
Air / High
49 / 72 F
Wind
E 3 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Bistineau feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings cloud cover, wind E around 3 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 72. Water sits around 63 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:41 PM-1:41 AM and 11:17 AM-1:17 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

CrappieGood

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Largemouth bassFair

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Tomorrow: Similar at 76 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Louisiana requires a fishing licence from age 18, from $17.00 for residents. What a Louisiana licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with LDWF before you keep anything. The season dates for Louisiana, read off the agency, are on the Louisiana seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~63 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp49 F
High / Low72 / 49 F
WindE 3-2 mph
Pressure1023.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain82% cloud, 3%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 17:16
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~63 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Bistineau this week

The best day on Lake Bistineau this week looks like Wednesday Nov 11, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Wednesday, Nov 11 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Nov 9 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
11:41 PM-1:41 AM and 11:17 AM-1:17 PM
Minor period
6:42 AM-7:42 AM
Sun
06:37 to 17:16
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 4 mph
Rain chance
3%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Bistineau: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

When to come: the Lake Bistineau calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 63 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~63 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Bistineau today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Nov 8

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Crappie led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 6 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Crappie led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 8 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Crappie led the card at good. High of 79 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Louisiana requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

A Louisiana fishing license is required; LDWF applies statewide limits on Lake Bistineau, and gill nets, trammel nets, seines and hoop nets are prohibited. Check LDWF's current regulations and drawdown notices.

Access

Public launches at Port of Bistineau, Bossier Public, Grice's and Bayou Dorcheat stay usable during a drawdown; the state park launch on the western shore closes from August to November.

About this water

A cypress lake of about 15,300 acres (LDWF) in Webster, Bossier and Bienville parishes, Louisiana.

Fishing Lake Bistineau: the full guide

A man-made swamp

LDWF describes Lake Bistineau as a man-made impoundment that behaves more like a natural swamp, with cypress trees covering about half of its 15,293 surface acres. Louisiana State Parks traces the lake to a Red River log jam around 1800 and a permanent dam built across Loggy Bayou in 1935, later enlarged, and gives an average depth of 7 feet and a maximum of 25.

Bass, crappie and catfish

LDWF has stocked Florida largemouth bass since 1998, more than 3 million in all, so bass anglers have a chance at a trophy. Black crappie make up about 90 percent of the lake's crappie and white crappie the rest. Channel and flathead catfish are common and are fished with trotlines, set lines, yo-yos and rod and reel; the state park adds yellow bass, bluegill and redear sunfish to the list.

The 2026 drawdown

To slow giant salvinia, LDWF began a drawdown on August 12, 2026, lowering the lake as much as 8 feet below normal pool at 4 to 6 inches a day; the gates are due to close on or around November 30 so the lake can refill for winter and spring. About 10,000 acres stay wet at full drawdown. LDWF named the Port of Bistineau, Bossier Public, Grice's and Bayou Dorcheat public launches as usable and warned that boat lanes lose their normal clearance over underwater obstructions.

Lake Bistineau State Park

The park sits on the western shore near Doyline, with two boat launches, cabins, camping, about 10 miles of woodland trails and an 11-mile canoe trail. State Parks says its launch closes during the August-to-November drawdown.

Common questions

Why is the lake low in the fall?

LDWF draws it down to control giant salvinia. In 2026 the drawdown began August 12, with the gates due to close around November 30.

Which launches work during a drawdown?

LDWF lists the Port of Bistineau, Bossier Public, Grice's and Bayou Dorcheat public launches. The state park launch is closed for the drawdown period.

Are there Florida bass in the lake?

Yes. LDWF has stocked Florida largemouth bass since 1998, more than 3 million fingerlings in total.

Is fishing good at Lake Bistineau right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Red River23 miCaney Lake27 miBlack Lake38 miCaddo Lake44 miLake D Arbonne57 miToledo Bend Reservoir68 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 32.4300, -93.3400 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.