All right, it's May and it is the the the feedbag is on man, it is go time fishing can be outstanding during this month. Some argue that May is the best time of year to go fishing. I I like fishing year round, but May is is some phenomenal fishing primarily because it's all around the spawn right.
So you've got the spawn that happens maybe in your neck of woods. It hasn't happened yet. It usually happens around the full moon. Sometimes, as you know, around Memorial Day later. In the May, especially in the northern climates, that's when the spawn happens. If you're down the South, the spawn may have already happened but still things are happening that are related to the spawn.
Now if the bass are on beds or they're pre spawn. Man, get out there and fishing over your Rat-L-Traps traps, fish your jigs. Spinner baits work really, really well. Top waters begin to work really well this time of year. And if they're on beds, nothing beats a tube, you know, a white tube or a white grub on beds.
Just be sure that when you catch a fish on a bed. That you take your pictures, weigh them, whatever you want to do, and then let them go so you can finish spawning. But the spawn can be great.
Even if the majority of the bass have spawned in your lake already, there might be an area or two where they still haven't spawned yet, especially if you got a large lake. They don't all spawn at the same time, guys.
Some, there's a group that spawned early on and they usually fish. They usually fish. They usually spawn a little bit deeper and then there's a large group that spawns on the next full moon and then typically on the third full moon there's another. Group that spawns and sometimes there's even a fourth.
And here's the tip, guys sometimes spawn. Bass spawn more than once a year. Sometimes they actually spawn again in the fall. I know not all of them do, but every once in a while that happens. So keep that in mind.
Now post spawn can be dynamite. Postpawn, you got a lot of males that are fry guarding and they can be caught relatively easy. They're aggressive, they're going to get anything that comes near their ball of fry that they're guarding. So poppers work really well. Small jerkbaits can work really well. Plastic baits I like to use like Rage Bugs because they look like a bluegill. Those type of things are what, work really well when they're guarding fry.
But think about it this way, there's more than just the bass spawn that goes on. There's also. Other species that spawn, for example you've got shad, blueback herring, and bluegill that a lot of people don't talk about during this time of year.
Right after the bass finished spawning is when the shad spawn and the blueback herring spawn and this can be outstanding action they they spawn at night on hard bottoms, like on rocks or a rip rap, and into the early dawn period. Real early in the morning. You got to get up early to take advantage of this because it only happens just the first couple of hours of early daylight and then stops.
But the action can be outstanding. I mean, fish after fish after fish after fish could be just nuts because the bass are up there feeding on the shad while they're spawning. So take advantage of that. If you've got shad or blue back herring in your neck of the woods.
If you don't have that in your neck of woods, there's the bluegill spawn. Now, bluegill spawn more than once a year. They typically spawn 3 or 4 times a year. So what I'm going to tell you here is, you know, of course, look for this right after the bass spawn you see the bluegill spawn, but it'll happen in the summertime multiple times and even in the fall it's easy to find them.
You find a big area and they'll be like these little plate size looks like potmarks and they're all within side of each other and at first they look empty. But if you look closely, there's a little bluegill right in the bed and he's guarding it and there's usually weeds around it. If there's weeds around it, that's where the bass are hiding and they're going to go and pounce on on and harass the bluegill while they're spawning.
Great baits to use during that time are poppers. They're they're excellent type of baits to use. Little soft plastic baits. Again, that Rage Bug, it resembles A bluegill, so I'd be using that. Definitely use that a lot. Spinner baits can work really well too. So those are three baits I'd be working. I see the bluegill spawn, that is break those baits out and and work those weeds around that area.
Speaking of weeds, you know, this time of year weeds are growing. They're they're new and they're sprouting up all the time. Every time you go out in the lake, there's more weeds. Well, that new growth is going to attract bait fish. It's going to attract, you know, invertebrate and bugs and insects and all kinds of life. Just be teeming with life. And of course, that's going to bring in the bait fish. The bass are going to be there too, feeding on them.
So when you see new growth and weed growth, be sure to fish it. You can fish over the top. Of it with spinner baits or with poppers and walking baits. Any kind of top water bait, especially right after the spawn top water baits is like. That is prime time for for top water.
Frogs work exceptionally well over these weed beds. Buzz baits, walking baits definitely use top water, especially over these weeds, right? If it's right adjacent or near where there was where they were spawning earlier, dynamite fishing, that is where they're going to be.
And then they'll work their way out deeper as it as it gets warmer, you get closer to summer and that's when you start working those ledges, those drop offs, those main lake points. Deep diving crankbaits work really well for those jerk baits work really well. So do jigs, paddle tail, swim baits. Are excellent choices as well.
And then you got to keep the top part of the mix all throughout the summer time, especially in the low light hours or when it's cloudy out, that's when top water is really shine.
Couple other things to keep in mind, you gotta be observant when you're on the water 'cause that is gonna be the difference sometimes between catching and not catching.
For one, look for bird activity. If you're going down the lake or if you're on the shoreline and you see birds that are dive bombing in the water or they're all right along the shoreline, grouped together. There's probably bait fish nearby, and if there's bait fish nearby, you can bet there's bass near them too. So watch for that bird activity.
Sometimes they'll be in an area where you don't think there's any bass or a place, Oh, that, that doesn't look like it's a good fishing area, but you see a bunch of birds there. They're telling you something different. So watch for bird activity because that can really lead you to some productive waters.
The other thing to look for is the wind. Watch the wind. A couple of days before you go fishing, and of course on the day you are fishing, if you've got a good steady wind coming from One Direction, that's going to push the zooplankton and algae and microorganisms up on the shoreline. Up against a bank and that's what the bass or the bait fish are going to go up and feed on that.
And as a, there's a theme wherever the bait fish are, that's what the bass will be. So it doesn't matter if you got shad or perch or bluegill, they're going to be going after that stuff. If you've got this steady wind, doesn't have to be a strong wind, just a steady wind of several days of it. It'll push that up.
It used to be, Oh well, wind is blowing on shoreline. It pushes the bait fish on the shoreline. Well, no, it doesn't push the bait fish. It pushes the food that the bait fish feed upon. And that's why. They're there, so watch for that type of thing and you can find productive shorelines that maybe other times of the day or other times of the year aren't very productive. But when that wind kicks up, it can be really good fishing.
So keep those things in mind during May and you may end up catching yourself a basketball lifetime. Hope that helps. For more tips and tricks like this, visit bassresource.com.
