Bass stay in the shallows

May is perfect month for finding post-spawn bass. Just don't look deep

For bass in Triangle waters, the cold days of winter are distant memories and even the spawn is winding down. The warmth of May is the time for them to recuperate from spawning strains, tend to their fry (young) and begin moving from spawning areas to their deep summertime haunts.

While there will always be some bass shallow and some deep, for bass anglers prowling area reservoirs this month, the search should be horizontal not vertical. The bass are in the shallows, looking for a meal before the summer heat drives them deep.

On Falls, Jordan and Shearon Harris lakes, bass are finishing up the spawn in the backs of the major creeks and heading out to the main bodies of area lakes. Moving through the shallows, bass will stop and stage along the way on visible cover, stump fields and grass beds, making them very accessible.

When it comes to baits of choice in May, two area anglers, Rich Szczerbala, a pro on the Bass Fishing League and American Bass Anglers circuits, and Kennon Brown, of Hawg Hunter Guide Service, believe top water is a best bet. Szczerbala spends most of his time on Jordan and Harris lakes, and Brown guides on Falls Lake.

From chuggers to crawlers, there are a lot of top-water baits to choose from, but Szczerbala is a frog man -- he favors a Mann's Super Frog. Brown is a head-banger, preferring a Hildebrandt Headbanger buzzbait.

Szczerbala, 43, a performance marine technician from New Hill and part-time guide, really likes top-water baits for May.

"May is perhaps one of the best times of the year for top-water baits, especially on Harris and Jordan lakes," he said. "I throw a frog, whether it is a Mann's frog or a Zoom Horny Toad. I'm throwing it to the heaviest cover that is visible. In the Mann's, it is black with red flake -- that's the only color I throw -- and in the Horny Toad, it's white or green pumpkin."

The Mann's frog, with its upturned hooks, floats and doesn't hang up much when fishing thick vegetation. You can stop it over holes in the cover, triggering strikes. The Horny Toad has the added advantage that when you stop your retrieve, it slowly sinks down to fish reluctant to come up on top for the bait.

"I like working it over any vegetation that is available," Szczerbala said. "Work the edges and stop in the open areas. Typically, I start with a pretty quick retrieve early in the morning, and if the fish aren't cooperating, then I experiment with different retrieves, slow it down, do a little more pausing."

Szczerbala prefers a braid line in 30- to 40-pound test and wide-gap 5/0 or 6/0 hook for the Horny Toad. He prefers an All-Star medium-heavy action rod.

"When the fish bites, you really don't try to jerk. You let the fish take the bait a little bit and sweep the hook kind of like a Carolina rig," Szczerbala said.

For Brown, May is also a great time for a top-water bait.

"The big females are just through with the spawn, and they are hungry. It's a great time for a buzzbait, a Hildebrandt Headbanger," Brown said.

The buzzbait is his first choice in May.

"You better believe it if I'm going for a big fish," he said. "I use one with a gold blade and white skirt on cloudy days and one with a nickel blade and white or chartreuse and white skirt on sunny days.

"I actually like to use a Quantum open face [spinning reel] throwing a buzzbait. The reason for that is that the moment the bait hits the water, I can engage the reel because I want that bait moving as soon as it hits the water. I don't want it to sink at all. I'll use a 6 1/2-foot rod medium to medium-heavy with 12- to 14-pound test. The thing about fishing a top-water bait, you want to feel the fish before you set the hook. If you go with an instinctive strike, you'll pull the bait out of his mouth and never hit him," Brown said.