Willow Chute Bayou Fishing Guides
An old Red River chute behind Bossier City, shallow and wood-filled, with a stage gauge at Swan Lake Road that reads the backwater before you commit to a launch.
Guides on the Willow Chute Bayou
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About the Willow Chute Bayou
Willow Chute Bayou is a relic of the Red River’s older course, a long shallow chute that runs behind Bossier City and drains back into the river downstream. Like most of the bayous in this part of northwest Louisiana it is a floodplain water rather than a hill stream: wide in places, narrow and choked in others, with standing timber, laydowns and soft mud through most of its length.
The gauge at Swan Lake Road reports stage only, and that is the number to read before a trip. Willow Chute is directly influenced by what the Red River is doing. A rising Red pushes water back up the chute, drowns the visible structure and pulls fish into places a boat cannot follow. A stable or slowly falling reading concentrates everything against the remaining wood and makes the bayou genuinely good. Anglers who fish it regularly treat the gauge as a go or no-go rather than a detail.
Largemouth bass are the reason most people come, with spotted bass mixed in toward the lower end nearer the river. The fishing is close-quarters and structural, worked around cypress, stumps and fallen timber rather than open water. Crappie are strong through the cooler months and are often the more dependable fish, holding on brush in the deeper cuts. Bream and redear fill the summer, and the catfishing is excellent, with blues and flatheads both present in the deeper holes. White bass run up out of the Red in the spring.
This is small-boat and kayak water, best fished from a shallow hull. Bossier City sits immediately alongside, so services are close at hand. Louisiana freshwater regulations and a basic recreational licence apply throughout.
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Access
Swan Lake Road - the gauge crossing and the most convenient reference point on the middle of the chute.
Bossier City - the adjacent city, with ramps, tackle, fuel and full services within a few minutes.
Red River - the parent river the chute drains into, and the water that governs its level.
Red River NWR - refuge floodplain units nearby offering additional public access to backwater habitat.
Cypress Black Bayou - a nearby recreation area and lake, the usual alternative when the chute is blown out.
Shreveport - across the river, with the widest choice of tackle shops, guides and lodging.
Bodcau Bayou - another Bossier Parish bayou system to the northeast, fishing similarly on the same weather.
Seasons
Spring: bass move shallow onto the wood and white bass push up from the Red River, making this the peak period.
Summer: low and warm, fished early along shade lines, with bream, redear and catfish the dependable targets.
Fall: cooling water brings bass back onto the timber and crappie begin to stack on deeper brush.
Winter: crappie fishing is at its best on the deeper cuts, with bass slow but catchable on quiet days.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Willow Chute Bayou?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Bowfin, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Largemouth Bass, Redear Sunfish, Spotted Bass, Spotted Gar, Warmouth, White Bass, White Crappie on the Willow Chute Bayou in Louisiana.
Where can you access the Willow Chute Bayou?
Swan Lake Road - the gauge crossing and the most convenient reference point on the middle of the chute. Bossier City - the adjacent city, with ramps, tackle, fuel and full services within a few minutes. Red River - the parent river the chute drains into, and the water that governs its level. Red River NWR - refuge floodplain units nearby offering additional public access to backwater habitat. Cypress Black Bayou - a nearby recreation area and lake, the usual alternative when the chute is blown out. Shreveport - across the river, with the widest choice of tackle shops, guides and lodging. Bodca...
When is the best time to fish the Willow Chute Bayou?
Spring: bass move shallow onto the wood and white bass push up from the Red River, making this the peak period. Summer: low and warm, fished early along shade lines, with bream, redear and catfish the dependable targets. Fall: cooling water brings bass back onto the timber and crappie begin to stack on deeper brush. Winter: crappie fishing is at its best on the deeper cuts, with bass slow but catchable on quiet days.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Willow Chute Bayou?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Louisiana agency site: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/fishing-regulations