May Fishing Tips

May Fishing Tips

By Nathan Graham

Probably my most, favorite time to fish is in early spring. It is a new reason to get outside and see a new side of nature that you have missed since last year, and don’t realize it until you’re standing in it. Now is the time to pack a cooler with the rest of your deer sausage and sticks, if you have any left, and hit the water. Keep your eyes peeled as you walk in you might find a shed antler someone missed or mushrooms starting to ‘pop’. The sun has done its’ trick to green up the vegetation, and is now working on warming up the water allowing fish to move to new places they haven’t occupied for several months.

Get Your Gear Prepared
Hopefully you utilized the downtime over the winter to get new fishing line added to your favorite rods, as they will work best with new line. This is especially true when we get to the sizing of lures. This time of year the majority of food is small to very small, and the colder water keeps fish from making the extra effort to chase down and eat larger food leftover from last season.

A finesse approach isn’t the only tactic we’ll use, in the right areas a reaction bite to a noisy fast-moving bait is very effective. For starters, we will look at the slower approach. For this, you will want the bait to seem more natural and more enticing to eat. For clear waters, natural colors work well and for dirty or stained water either dark or bright colors work well depending on if you’re above or below the fish.

Choosing the Right Bait & Lures
If I could pick a handful of baits to use on multiple species, I would grab: 1/16 to 1/8 oz jigs, ultralight crankbaits, inline spinners, small topwater baits, and flies or live baits. If you stick with a combination of these, then you’re sure to have success in May.

There is hardly a bad time of year to select jigs and plastics, but this is definitely a time where they are at the top of my list. Almost all species will be out looking for food wherever it might be hiding. Let the fish tell you what speed depth, and action they prefer, varying as you go until you notice consistent strikes. I prefer to start with 1/16 to 1/8 oz jigs and paddle tails. These can be worked both with little or aggressive action. Also- these can be used to imitate many different types of food depending on how you retrieve them.

Ultralight crankbaits are another great choice, and can be attractive to any fish swimming by. Almost any of your favorite full-size lures also are made in ultralights, in many of the same colors. I’ll make sure to include at least one bright flashy reflective color and a darker color that makes a better shadow.

It doesn’t matter if you are in a creek, pond or lake, inline spinners are very effective on all species anywhere. You can pack several sizes and colors into a relatively small space. Make sure you bring at least one chrome or nickel and one gold or brass color as a minimum.

Just like normal crankbaits, many topwater designs are also found in small or ultralight variations. These include walk-the-dog, prop-type baits and many popping styles. There are many colors that have been proven, but can be broken down to two styles, actual color and silhouettes. Remember, the fish will be looking up at these baits, they may see the color or just the shape as it passes by.

Also, now that the weather is warmer, look for bugs that might be jumping from the bank into the water like crickets. These can be collected for a whole new type of fun, or imitated using flies. Also, worms can be dug up and used for the ultimate universal bait, fished below a bobber, on the bottom, or added to a jig.

All in all, it’s a great time to get out and start paying attention to where the fish are and what they’re eating especially as they get ready for spawning. Good luck this May as you get out and enjoy our state.