Spring has sprung… well, sorta. Whether you live up in the northern part of the country, where it’s actually pretty cold right now, or all the way south down in Florida, May can be one of the best months of the year to catch bass.
May might be the single best month of the year to catch largemouth bass across the country as a whole. You have fish in all 3 phases of the spawn, which generally means you can catch them in a number of ways. Here up north, fish are largely in the prespawn phase, and a good chunk will be getting on beds to spawn by the end of the month. And they go quick in the north… you may have a big girl in your lake who is prespawn right now, she’ll be on her bed soon, and perhaps be back out deep before June. In the middle part of the country, you’ll find a mix, with a number of fish spawning or post spawn, and down south they’re probably pushing out into their summer spots. But wherever you are, there’s a solid chance that the bite will be pretty good on any given day.
The best bass baits during this time will capitalize on that bass behavior—feeding aggressively before spawning, defending nests, guarding fry, or maybe even holding tight to shallow cover in search of spawning shad and bluegills. The shad spawn and the bluegill spawn are definitely very big players this time of year.
Here are my top five bass lures for May:
1. Wacky/Neko Rig
It’s TOUGH to beat a Senko in May. It’s great for bed fishing, pre-spawn staging areas like docks, shallow flats, isolated cover, back pockets and bays, in and around bluegill beds… you almost can’t go wrong anywhere in 10 feet of water or less.
There’s a million stick baits out there, and most will do the trick, but I’ve always been pretty partial to the Senko. I feel like I can really skip them under docks and up under overhangs with the most confidence. Of course, they might only last you one fish… but I just seem to get the best skipping action out of them. The Rapala Crush City line’s Janitor Worm has a great groove for the O-ring so I’m also starting to really like that one as well for a Neko rig. An O-ring is a must-have regardless.
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Black and Blue, Baby Bass
Rapala Crush City Pig Stick – $6.99
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Black Blue, Plum
2. Big Swimbait/Glide Bait
May is the month when you can go BIG. That means big glides, big swimbaits, or maybe even a larger paddle tail than you’d normally use. But I’m telling you… don’t be afraid to go big. I live in southern Wisconsin where 5 pound bucketmouths are considered giants and you’d be surprised what will bite a 6″ Megabass Magdraft. 1-pounders, tiny rock bass, pike of every size, it’s pretty shocking at times. If you’re further south, especially in a lake with some shad, try a big glide bait.
Target points & drop-offs, or other transitional cover. Docks & overhangs are also great places to find big bass hiding in shade. This can also be a great way to locate spawning fish in stained water where you can’t see the bed… you can cover water quickly by throwing your big bait in the shallow bays and spawning pockets where you think they could be. And then when you get a bite, slow down and pick apart the area with a wacky rig, Neko rig, or a Texas rig.
Megabass Magdraft Swimbait 6″ or 8″ – $17.99
Colors: Albino Pearl Shad, Pro Blue Chart, Borealis Shad
Berkley Chop Block Glide Bait 6″,8″ – $15.99-$24.99
Colors: Burnt Bone, MF Blue Gill, Shad
3. Swim Jig
Swim jig is another one that is tough to beat this time of year, and really no matter where you live. A white swim jig is practically a requirement during the shad spawn, but can work on beds, is great around shallow cover in the prespawn… it’ll catch fish around the country right now. On many lakes, fish don’t really push out deep immediately after the spawn. There is always a population that will stay shallow all year, but for many others, they stick close by the spawning grounds and recover. In my experience, they like to get under some kind of cover… pads, emergent grasses, bank brush that hangs over the water… just anything over their head. And pitching around a swim jig can be a killer presentation.
Here’s a few swim jig options, with the Toad Thumper being more ideal for heavier cover, the Outcast Tackle is a good all-around option, and the Core Tackle has really good body rock when paired with a swimbait.
Toad Thumper Hydra HD Swim Jig – $5.49
Outkast Tackle Pro Swim Jig – $5.99
4. Topwater
Topwater can be great for bedding bass, but it’s particularly effective in the post spawn, as well as the shad and bluegill spawn. Plus, there’s nothing like a big bass blowing up on a topwater walking bait. A buzzbait can be great in the early morning hours or before sunset, especially if you have debris in the water that would foul up the treble hooks on a popper or a walking bait. In heavier cover… mats, duckweed is a favorite of mine, go for the ol’ frog.
Evergreen SB Topwater Plug – $17.99
Hollow body frogs are another great topwater option. If you need to fish in much heavier cover without snagging, a frog is really the only topwater option that allows you to do that.
Toad Thumper Swamper Frog – $9.99
Colors: Bad Bone, Black, Bad Gill
5. Texas Rig
If they’re spawning, your favorite Texas-rigged creature or craw is tough to beat. But even if they’re post spawn or in summer patterns, flipping and pitching around shallow cover is gonna play. Here in Wisconsin, I generally don’t start flipping until the water hits about 50 degrees, and then I’ll usually start with a jig, but once they get close to the spawn, it just seems like a soft plastic performs better. Once they spawn is over and they move into that deeper grass… flipping that deep weed line is a great way to catch them. You can flip a jig too, but a Texas rig will be a little more efficient until you find them… especially on big stretches of milfoil or hydrilla.
If you haven’t found a favorite yet, here’s a few I really had a lot of success with last year. The Bronco Bug is my all-around favorite flipping bait, but sometimes I’ll downsize to the Cleanup Craw, especially if I want to come through heavy cover more efficiently. Flipping a tube around is a pretty slept on technique that I’ve had a lot of success with too.
Rapala Crush City Bronco Bug – $6.99
Colors: Black & Blue Flake, Green Pumpkin Blue, Candy Bug
Rapala Crush City Cleanup Craw – $6.99
Colors: Tilapia Magic, Green Pumpkin Blue, Bama Craw
And for a more detailed bait recommendation, specific to your exact location and waterbody, check out the Bass Forecast Bait Advisor. Just input your ZIP code or share your location, and Bass Forecast will give you 5 bait recommendations, a bite rating, and suggestions for peak feeding times.
Bass Forecast Bait Advisor
What is Bass Bait AI – Powered by Bass Forecast
Our advanced bass fishing algorithms analyze over 11,000 factors, including weather shifts and bass behavior, to predict what baits will give you the best chance at success for any GPS location. Just enter your location, and it does the calculating for you. Giving you the complete bait breakdown for major and minor Bass feeding times in any bass fishing location. Click HERE to learn more.
