Times when bass are in transition between seasons can be particularly frustrating for fishermen.Fish are moving constantly, not only between shallow water and deep water, but in and out of pockets and creeks, and they can be hard to pattern and catch.
May is a great example of what I consider a transition month. Very rarely do you find at any of North Carolina’s major reservoirs that bass are doing the same things at the beginning of the month that they’ll be doing by Memorial Day. It’ll be totally different.
The change may be different at two lakes at different ends of the state at the same time. The things fish are doing at the beginning and end of May at Lake Wylie will be totally different from what they’re doing at Buggs Island or Lake Gaston.
You just have to learn the individual characteristics of the lakes you’re fishing because differences in cover, structure and water clarity can change what the dominant pattern might be at different lakes.
At the southern end of the state, you’ll have fish that start to move out to deeper water by the end of the month. Lake Wylie is a good example. You can find fish out in that 10- to 12-foot range where you can really start to catch ’em with a good crankbait such as a Rapala DT-14.
But at Buggs Island and Gaston, the end of May will probably mean a good topwater bite.
And High Rock will be in-between — you’ll find fish there just beginning to start out, fish you can catch in that 7- to 8-foot range.
One way I have always attacked the problem of bass in transition is by fishing a pattern that has worked well for me in the past — a tactic I feel is largely ignored by a lot of fishermen.
I like to fish shallow stumps that I can see. It’s probably the best pattern to fish when bass are “in-between.”
You can catch fish in a variety of different modes. There will be some late spawners around stumps, then may be some fish guarding fry at stumps, and you’ll get fish that are moving out of pockets, out of creeks, and they’ll stop at stumps.
You have to cover a lot of water.
You’ll want to find stumps that are fairly isolated, not because they necessarily hold more fish, but because it’s easier to fish two stumps at the side of a point than 25 stumps in the same area. You can fish the two stumps much more efficiently — and they’ll probably hold as many fish as the 25.
I believe the best stumps are the ones that you can barely see — the top of the stumps may be a foot to 18 inches below the surface, but you can still sit it and pitch to it. Most of the time, it will take a soft-plastic bait to catch ’em, although sometimes you can get an aggressive fish to hit a lipless crankbait.
I like to fish a Zoom Big Dead Ringer worm, Texas-rigged with a little worm weight — 3/8-, ¼- or even 3/16-ounce, if it’s a bluebird day.
I’ll fish the worm using a 6-foot-10 or 7-foot American Rodsmith heavy-action baitcaster, and I’ll normally pitch past the stump, swim the worm back to it and let it drop down next to the stump. You’ll swear there wasn’t a fish there, but you’ll get a bite.
I like to fish a Big Dead Ringer or a lizard because I think the ribbontail-type worm works better in May. Sometimes, it takes a little more action to draw a strike. A straight-tail worm will work better in June or July. A lot of guys like to fish a lot heavier line than I do, but I think you’ll get a lot more bites with lighter line. I personally fish 12- or 14-pound Rapala line.
At lakes that have a lot of piers or docks, this pattern sometimes works at pier posts.
If you think about it, the fish doesn’t know the difference between a stump and a pier post — to him, both of them are pieces of wood that are sticking up. High Rock is a lake where you can fish this pattern around docks as well as stumps, and there have always been a lot of tournaments won in May around docks — at the shallow posts, the ladders, stuff like that.
A couple of patterns are worth trying during May at other lakes.
At Buggs Island or Gaston, you’ll usually run into a good topwater bite near the third week of May. Some of the most enjoyable days I’ve had fishing were throwing a buzzbait and catching 4- and 5-pound bass on those two lakes.
Both of them will have good topwater bites on into mid-June. You’ll have a two-week period when they’re really on a buzzbait, and two more weeks when they get on some kind of popping plug, a Devil’s Horse or a jerkbait like an X-Rap.
Fish are pretty much finished guarding fry by then, except for the really late spawners. Most of the topwater fish will be at the main lake, near the mouths of bigger pockets, or at long, flat points adjacent to spawning pockets.
If you’re fishing a lake that’s at the southern part of the state, you may feel like it’s time to look a little deeper, that fish are ready to move out.
I almost always start fishing shallow and move out, looking. I’ll start at around 7- or 8-feet deep before I look any deeper.
Depending on how much pressure the fish are under, and how clear the water is, the bass may be farther out. But it’s a good rule of thumb if you’re fishing more than 10-feet deep during May, you’re probably fishing too deep.
Editor’s note: David Fritts is a 49-year-old professional bass fisherman from Lexington. He was the 1993 BASS Masters Classic champion, the 1993-94 BASS Angler of the Year and the 1997 FLW Tour Champion. His sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops, Evinrude Motors, Ranger Boats, Chevy Trucks, Minn-Kota trolling motors, American Rodsmith, Rapala crankbaits and fishing line, Zoom plastics, Solar Bat sun glasses, Mountain Dew, Gripper (ECS Anchor Supply), VMC hooks, Pro Pocket and Blue Fox.
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