Bass Fishing in May depends on the weather and what the fish did in April. For the most part, the bass have finished the majority of their spawning and are getting ready to feed. You may still have a little bit of the post spawn blues during the first week or so of May, but after that – May can be PHENOMENAL!
Where To Look and What To Fish
Pockets:
There are still some fish in pockets and spawning areas guarding fry ~ just hanging around taking advantage of bluegill and other fish that have moved shallow. Most of the time fry are near the surface when first hatched. The Culprit T-Rex is a great bait to twitch around these areas as the bass will feed on these predators to protect their fry. Fish the Culprit T-Rex weightless with a 3/0 or 4/0 hook and 10 lb. mono on a spinning rod. Twitch your rod and throw slack back in your line to make it “walk the dog” underwater.
Occasionally, bass will find their way back into the pockets late in the month to pick off spawning bluegill, and the NEW Culprit Incredi-Frog is great for quickly covering pockets and getting reaction bites from bass that tend to just stare into the bluegills beds waiting for one to do something odd. That is where the frog comes into play. The skittering action of the frog looks much like a frightened fish trying to escape. I like a weighted 4/0 double frog hook for the Incredi-Frog and a heavy action rod.
Points and Rocky Banks:
Many of the bigger fish will move to nearby points and deeper banks to recover and feed from the spawn. Frogs and swimbaits are great to fish in these areas early in the morning, late in the evening or all day on cloudy days. If there is grass around, the Incredi-Frog is excellent for buzzing through to attract big fish and getting great blow ups. The same can be said for the NEW Culprit Incredi-Swim, but the Incredi-Swim can work in more situations because you can use it throughout the water column. In the early morning and late evening the Incredi-Swim is great while working the bait fast on the included belly weighted hook. Later in the day you can fish points with the Incredi-Swim using the jig head included with the product off the points in deeper water. When fishing the Incredi-Frog and Incredi-Swim in shallow water use 50 lb. braid. Use fluorocarbon in 14-17 lb. test range in deeper water. You can get away with braid when fishing fast in shallow water. Fish can often see the braided line in deeper water. We suggest mixing it up a little and let the fish tell you what they want.
Other Structure Near Spawning Grounds:
Many lakes lack good points and steeper banks, so the key is to find other structure or grass beds in deeper water near spawning areas. Creek channels, road beds, and other like areas will hold fish through late May. Fish will relate to the bottom in late May when lakes with currents are moving so fish the Incredi-Swim close to the bottom on these lakes. The Culprit 10-in. and 12-in. Original Worm are deadly in late May and throughout the summer months as well. Use these big worms on 15 lb. test fluorocarbon and your choice of weight ranging from 5/16 oz. to 3/4 oz. depending on depth and structure. We suggest lighter weights for shallow water.
Wishing you Clean Air, Clear Water and Good Fishing this May!