May Mayhem: Best Lures to Throw in May

Welcome to May, the junkiest fishing month of the year. Go ahead, put all your rods out on the deck because you’re going to need them to junk it up.

What is Junk Fishing?

“Junk fishing” or “hodgepodging” are tournament-fishing terms coined long ago to describe running helter-skelter around a lake and fishing “junk.” That’s not to say the lures are junk or the cover is junk, but rather to say bass can be caught doing just about anything at any time.

Anglers who are good at junk fishing bounce around, fishing random types of cover with a variety of lures. By the end of the day, they’ve caught plenty of bass off “this and that” by just “hodgepodging” around. 

This tactic works because by May, bass are doing so many different things. Some are still spawning, some are guarding fry, some are on shad spawns, some are wolf-packing bream, some are already out on ledges in full summer mode, and some are just swimming around doing their own thing. Bass are literally everywhere, scattered about, and fishing for them is like trying to herd cats. The primary pattern is that there is no pattern. May is, well, mayhem. So, put all those rods out and keep your options open.

May Bass Fishing Strategies

Forage spawns are a big deal in May. Whether it’s shad, bream or herring, some kind of forage is spawning, and the bass know it. Finding a forage spawn in May means hitting the bass fishing jackpot. But like so many “patterns” in May, forage spawns often happen in very small windows. And that’s the primary thing to keep in mind in May: getting junky means stringing together a series of small windows instead of dying on the vine by being committed to a single area or pattern.

Another thing to consider about May is that fishing pressure has taken its toll. Unlike February and March, when the lakes were somewhat fresh, by May, everyone with a fishing rod has cracked a few bass. The Saturday team trails and weekly Tuesday nighters have been in full force. It’s time to set aside those loud rattling baits and bright red and orange colors for a while.  The fish have been educated, and now lures need to slide more towards the subtle side.

To keep a shallow bite going in May, shade is huge. Instead of looking for the banks with the most sun exposure for warming water, now the opposite is true. Look for shade to prolong the post-spawn bite. Tall banks and trees that cast long shadows out onto the water are premium real estate. Short shady pockets, big platform docks, marinas, and bridges become big players in May.

Finally, bass become much more soft-plastic oriented by May. As some pros put it, bass get a lot more “wormy.” Soft plastics are more subtle, more realistic, and overall, look more natural in the water. There is something about making a bait “hover” this time of year that really trips a bass’ trigger. While fast, aggressive baits that deflect off cover create reaction bites in the winter and early spring, in May, making a bait pause, hesitate, flair, or hover momentarily in the water column earns the bites more often, and soft plastics do that well.

Keeping these May matters in mind, let’s look at some go-to lures for the month.

The Top Lures for May

Vibrating Jigs & Spinnerbaits

Vibrating jigs are still primary players in May, but if there is a time a spinnerbait can rival a vibe jig, it’s during a shad spawn. Vibe jigs can be a little sticky around very shallow wood and rock, where a lot of shad spawning happens. With that, the old school double-willow spinnerbait gets a nod for its ability to slither over laydowns and slink up against rock. Vibe jigs create deadly deflection off cover for a reaction bite, but a spinnerbait can produce a sub-surface pause, flare, and flash that makes it unique. Rolling a double-willow spinnerbait along a laydown and then flaring it at the end is May magic, especially in the shad spawn. 

Swim Jigs

Along those same lines, a swim jig is an excellent May bait as well. A swim jig brings a much more subtle vibration signature without all the metal blades. It can cover a vast array of water quickly.

• White 3/8-ounce: A white 3/8-ounce swim jig with some kind of flapper-style trailer fished subsurface up around shallow cover helps reveal shad spawns.
• Green Pumpkin/Gill 1/2-ounce: A heavier half-ounce swim jig in a green pumpkin or gill color is good for finding bream eaters.
• Wobble-head style: A wobble-head style jig with a boot-tail trailer is also great for scrubbing pea gravel bottoms where sunfish spawn.

Swim jigs of all types certainly earn their keep in May.   

Soft Plastics

Due to forage spawns and intense fishing pressure, soft plastics become top producers in the spring-to-summer transition, too. Soft plastics check a lot of May boxes with their subtle, natural appearance and ability to hover in the water column. 

For instance, weightless jerk shads like the classic Zoom Super Fluke or the Berkley Maxscent Flat Nose Jerk Shad are fantastic baits this time of year, especially around shad and herring spawns. Wacky-rigged stick worms, shaky heads, and drop shots are also irresistible to fry guarders.  

Topwater: Poppers & Prop Baits

To have some real fun in May, tie on a popper or prop bait and target isolated spots of shade in the form of docks or shady pockets. Use a few twitches in the heart of the shade to make these topwaters spit or slush, and then let the bait sit still for as long as you can stand it. Eventually, a bass will come up and slurp it off the surface. Poppers and prop baits are excellent at fooling fry guarders around shallow cover. 

Popper sizes run the gamut from 2-1/4-inches to 3-1/4 inches. The smaller ones tend to be lighter and more skittish on the surface, while the larger ones, like the original Rebel P-70 Pop-R, are heavier, have more “chug,” and tend to stay put in one spot better. With so many lure companies making good poppers these days, finding one to suit your preference is easy.

• Classic Poppers: Rebel Pop-R, Lobina Lures Rico, Don Iovino’s Splash-it, and the Yellow Magic.
• Alternative Brands: Shimano World Pop, Megabass PopMax, Damiki D Pop 70, Yozuri 3DB Popper, Ark TP70 Popper, and SPRO E-Pop 80.
• Production Double-Prop Baits: Rapala X-Rap Prop, Berkley Spin Rocket, Cotton Cordell Boy Howdy, and the old standby, Smithwick’s Devil’s Horse.
• Custom Crafters: PH Custom Lures, Brian's Bees, Black Label, and Greenfish Tackle.

Fishing in May is wide open, so get out there, junk it up, and enjoy the mayhem!