Topwater bass fishing in May is about as exciting as largemouth fishing gets. You can watch the bait work across the surface, then suddenly see the water explode as a bass crushes it from below.
Topwater strikes are aggressive, violent and flat-out addictive, which is exactly why May is one of my favorite times of year to target largemouths.
Across most of their considerable range in the U.S., May generally is considered a great month for catching these bass on top.
Summer heat hasn’t really set in enough to push these fish back into the depths, so it’s a great time to work shallows, edges and emerging weedbeds for prowling bass.
Two Main Types of Topwater Bass Baits
There are plenty of topwater bass baits on the market that work for largemouths. Generally, they’re divided into two categories: moving baits and twitch baits.
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Moving baits, like buzzbaits, poppers, wake baits and the like, are lures that, for the most part, you try to keep moving all the time. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever stop them, but most of the time you’re going to steadily retrieve these lures after the cast.
These are great lures to run through stretches of open water. That is, you’re not pulling them through vegetation sitting on the surface. They’re great for working along weed lines or reed edges, through flooded timber stands or across shallow bays.
You don’t need completely open water, either. You just need a stretch that allows you to work the lure through. I love throwing a moving topwater bait inside a ring of surface weeds to a section of open water that might only give me 6 to 10 feet of clear space to run the lure. Bass love ambushing prey in these pockets.
Some topwater lures have been catching bass for generations. From the Arbogast Jitterbug to the Heddon Zara Spook and Rebel Pop-R, these old-school favorites helped define surface fishing for largemouths. See our full list here: 6 Classic Topwater Baits Every Angler Should Know.
Where to Throw Moving Baits for May Bass
One of my favorite ways to fish for bass with moving topwater baits is to work them along an edge of cover, such as cattails, in water that’s at least 3 feet deep and drops into deeper water. The combination of deeper water and good cover just creates a largemouth magnet.
If you can run a buzzbait, plopper or wake bait a foot or two off the cover, following the edge, get ready for a strike. Bass often sit tight to that cover and wait for something to move through the strike zone. A noisy bait moving along the surface can be more than they can stand.
The key is to make repeated casts along the best-looking edges. Don’t just throw once and move on. If the cover line, weed edge or flooded timber looks right, work it from a few angles. Sometimes a bass will miss the bait the first time or follow it without committing. A second or third cast can trigger the fish.
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How to Fish Twitch Baits for Topwater Bass
The other basic type of topwater bait we use for bass in May is a twitch bait. This is any kind of lure you’ll throw and work with a twitch. You’ll pull it toward you, then stop it. Spooks, poppers and frogs all fit into this category.
Spooks and other walking-style baits actually are pretty versatile. You can stop and start them, or you can work them continuously back to you. You decide what’s appropriate based on the water, the cover and how the fish are reacting.
But the gist is the same for these baits: You’re creating erratic action on the surface of the water to attract bass. Sometimes the bass hit when the bait moves. Sometimes they hit when it stops.
Use Poppers Around Holes in Surface Vegetation
Poppers are my favorite topwater bass fishing lures to toss into areas where there’s random surface vegetation, with holes of open water in between. I’ll toss the lure into a hole, and then pop it. Either a bass hits or it doesn’t. Then I’ll pick it up and chuck it to the next hole.
This is a great way to fish when bass are relating to shallow cover but don’t necessarily want a bait moving steadily over their heads. A popper lets you slow down and make noise in one small area. That can be the difference when bass are tucked under weeds, grass or shade.
The strike can come right after the pop, or it can come when the bait is just sitting there. That’s one of the hardest lessons in topwater fishing: Don’t be in too big of a hurry. Sometimes the pause is what gets the bite.
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Frog Fishing Heavy Cover for May Largemouths
Frogs are my go-to lures for fishing on top of surface vegetation, including weeds, grass and lily pads. And I should mention here, frogs are the most common of this type of lure, but the actual bait could also be a mouse. I’ve even seen imitation ducklings and small snakes. We’re talking about the bait style that rides on top of surface vegetation without getting hung up.
As exciting as topwater bass fishing is, I promise you there’s nothing that will send a jolt of adrenaline through you like the sight of a bass busting through surface weeds to attack a frog or a mouse. The grass mat kind of looks like an impenetrable lid sometimes, and when a bass busts through it, it’s shocking.
The trick is to keep the bait moving naturally across the cover, then be ready when the strike comes. It’s easy to react too fast because the blowup is so visual. But if you jerk before the fish really has the bait, you’ll pull it away. Give the bass just a split second to take it, then drive the hook home.
May Is the Month to Try Topwater Bass Fishing
Largemouth bass are aggressive and they have that giant mouth. They’re built for catching prey on the surface, which makes them perfect targets for topwater lures.
And there’s arguably no better time to catch them on the surface than during the month of May. The shallows are alive, the vegetation is coming on and bass are willing to look up. You don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve tried it.