May is here, and it's one of the best months of the entire year to go bass fishing. No matter if the bass are getting ready to spawn in your local waters or have already wrapped it up, the fishing is excellent just about everywhere. The weather is generally nice across the country, and you have bass shallow, deep, and everywhere in between, and they are all hungry, which makes our job as bass anglers a little bit easier.
This is a month when just about any bass lure imaginable can catch a bass, but some baits excel everywhere. The following are the six best lures to fish this year for bass.
Topwater Poppers
May marks the unofficial start of topwater season in many parts of the country, and there are some good options. One of the best topwaters to use this month is the original Rebel Pop-R, along with the many other versions that have followed. These baits excel this time of year because they can imitate so many different types of forage, and you can fish them slowly around cover, such as around bushes, trees, and docks in the water that offer shade for bass and are also places where bluegill gather, especially as the bluegill spawn begins.
Poppers come in several sizes, and they all work as you can fish them with a "pop, pop, pause" retrieve and really get the attention of bass in shallow water. One downside is that they typically perform best in calm to very light wind, but they excel in May. Also, don't be afraid to throw them all day long, even in bright and sunny conditions, because they will still work.
Besides the original Pop-R, some good ones to check out are the Duo Realis Popper Popper 64, Damiki D Pop 70, and the Lobina Lures Rio Rico if you want a larger profile. For the most realistic and detailed version, the Megabass Pop-X fits the bill.
Frogs
Another great surface lure for May is a frog, whether a standard or a popping one. Like poppers, they work well around the bluegill spawn and are some of the best ways to get big postspawn bass to attack.
They are mostly fished around vegetation, but you can do just as well by fishing them in more open water areas.
They are also excellent for skipping under docks and do well with this approach because of their flat design. If you can get a frog deep under a dock into the shade, you can have a lot of fun in May, as bass under docks are not used to seeing something on the surface and will often hit it the moment the bait lands.
There are many great frogs to choose from, including the very popular Spro Bronzeye family, but other good ones are available as well. One of the best for skipping is the Bass Mafia Cannonball Poppin Frog, which is a flat design with weights attached to the hook, making it a perfect skipping bait. Other unique ones to try are the Deps Buster K, which has rabbit fur instead of silicon skirted legs, and the 6th Sense Vega frogs, which walk very easily.
Urchins
The Coike and other "urchin style" baits have hit the mainstream, making them a perfect choice for May during the post-spawn. These wild-looking lures do not look like anything in the wild, but bass can't say no to them, especially since they are so different than all other lures bass anglers use.
Whether it's the original Coike or one of its many imitators, catching one of these is sure to get you bites right now. They can be fished with forward-facing sonar, but have proven just as effective without it. Fish them like you would a jerkbait with jerks of the rod and pauses to get the bait to pulse and stop, which bass can't resist.
Crankbaits
May might be the best month of the year to throw a crankbait, especially deep diving versions, as bass have begun to move offshore. There are some great options available to bass anglers, including the Strike King XD series, which includes several different diving depths depending on the bait you choose. Fish these on deeper points, humps, ledges, and other classic places that bass gravitate to after they spawn.
Big Worms
Like crankbaits, a big Texas-rigged worm is perfect for the first wave of fish that have pushed to deeper water. Large worms like the 10-inch Berkley PowerWorm and Zoom Ol' Monster, which have worked for decades, are still one of the best plastic worms you can use today.
Fish them with a sliding bullet weight and your favorite big worm hook, then drag and hop them along the bottom in deeper water. They are a perfect large meal for a bass recuperating from the spawn and are still among the best baits you can fish in late Spring and all the way through the summer months.
Drop-Shot Rig
The drop-shot is a go-to rig for bass anglers in all seasons, and it will work just about anywhere and in any month. The finesse approach of a drop-shot rig with a finesse worm like a Roboworm straight tail appeals to bass when they are hungry and when they are in a less active mood.
Sometimes after the bass spawn, they can be lethargic and get into the "post-spawn funk," when they can be a little tricky to get to bite, and this is where a finesse rig like this really shines. You can go with a 6-inch Roboworm or downsize to something even smaller when the bite gets tough, but a drop-shot rig will nearly always get you more bites when the bite is slightly off.
There are tons of lures that will work in May, but the six listed above will have to be covered from top to bottom. They are proven lures that work in a variety of conditions and will work across the country this time of year.
