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Home › Waters › Louisiana › Shettleworth Bayou
Bayou · Caddo Parish, a small bayou draining the hills northwest of Shreveport toward Twelvemile Bayou and the Red River in northwestern Louisiana · Louisiana

Shettleworth Bayou Fishing Guides

A small Caddo Parish bayou near Blanchard with water level and stage on the gauge, draining toward Twelvemile Bayou and the Red River above Shreveport.

Still bayou water ringed by moss-draped cypress at golden hour
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Shettleworth Bayou

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About the Shettleworth Bayou

Shettleworth Bayou runs through the low rolling country northwest of Shreveport near Blanchard and drains southeast toward Twelvemile Bayou, which in turn carries into the Red River. It is a smaller and slightly steeper water than the classic delta bayous further south, which gives it a little more definition: a recognisable channel with sand and clay bends, hardwood and pine on the banks, and enough gradient to keep water moving in normal conditions rather than standing. It sits in the Caddo Lake neighbourhood, which is some of the best known bass country in the state.

The gauge reports water level against a fixed datum alongside stage. As with most bayous the level record is the practical one, because the useful question is never how many cubic feet per second are passing but whether the bayou is in its banks or spread into the flats behind them. Northwest Louisiana gets intense rainfall and this catchment responds within hours, so the bayou can go from low and clear to high and heavily stained very quickly. The fishing is best on a stable or slowly falling level, when the fish have settled back against the channel structure and the water has begun to clear.

Largemouth bass dominate, with crappie holding on any submerged wood and often providing the more consistent day. Bluegill, redear sunfish and warmouth fill the shallows, and chain pickerel appear in the weedier slack water, which is a nice regional touch not every bayou offers. Channel, blue and flathead catfish all use the deeper bends. Bowfin and gar are common. Access is mostly from road crossings and adjacent private land, so ask permission and treat Caddo Lake and Twelvemile Bayou as the main destinations, with this bayou as a quieter alternative when the lake is crowded or blown out.

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Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Posting to Shettleworth Bayou.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Blanchard - the town nearest the gauge, with basic services and the gauge reference point.
Shreveport - fifteen miles southeast, with full services, tackle shops, lodging and the airport.
Twelvemile Bayou - the receiving bayou downstream, larger and with better boat access.
Caddo Lake - west of here, the celebrated cypress bass fishery and the regional destination.
Red River at Shreveport - the main river south, with launches and a broad seasonal fishery.
Cross Lake - the city reservoir, offering open water, ramps and reliable bass fishing.
Black Bayou Lake - north near Benton, a good still water alternative with a launch.

Seasons

Spring: the pick of the year, with bass on the banks and crappie schooling before the spawn.
Summer: hot and low with fish in the deeper bends, and good catfishing after dark.
Fall: strong as the water cools and clears, and the most comfortable wading and bank fishing.
Winter: cool and slow, with crappie and catfish still catchable in the deeper holes.

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Questions

What species can you catch on the Shettleworth Bayou?

Anglers target Alligator Gar, Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Bowfin, Chain Pickerel, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Largemouth Bass, Redear Sunfish, Spotted Gar, Warmouth, White Crappie, Yellow Bass on the Shettleworth Bayou in Louisiana.

Where can you access the Shettleworth Bayou?

Blanchard - the town nearest the gauge, with basic services and the gauge reference point. Shreveport - fifteen miles southeast, with full services, tackle shops, lodging and the airport. Twelvemile Bayou - the receiving bayou downstream, larger and with better boat access. Caddo Lake - west of here, the celebrated cypress bass fishery and the regional destination. Red River at Shreveport - the main river south, with launches and a broad seasonal fishery. Cross Lake - the city reservoir, offering open water, ramps and reliable bass fishing. Black Bayou Lake - north near Benton, a good still wa...

When is the best time to fish the Shettleworth Bayou?

Spring: the pick of the year, with bass on the banks and crappie schooling before the spawn. Summer: hot and low with fish in the deeper bends, and good catfishing after dark. Fall: strong as the water cools and clears, and the most comfortable wading and bank fishing. Winter: cool and slow, with crappie and catfish still catchable in the deeper holes.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Shettleworth Bayou?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Louisiana agency site: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/fishing-regulations