May is absolutely my favorite month of the year. The only other month that comes close is September. In my opinion May is the best month to fish and be outdoors. Spring has definately sprung when May 1st comes around. This year because of the week in April that was in the high seventies and low eighties, I think things are a little ahead of schedule. It is awesome to see green leaves again.
Freshwater fishing is unbelievable in May. The reason is water temperature. For the most part the water temp in May is still cool enough for coldwater gamefish ( trout and salmon) and warm enough for warmwater species ( bass, carp, catfish among others). I wish water temps could stay in the 60's all year.
I usually catch more trout the first two weeks of May then I do the rest of the spring combined. This year I hope to hit Long Pond in Plymouth and troll the top layer of water for salmon. I have such a long " want to do list"so who knows. Its a long ride so weather conditions would have to be perfect for me to take the trip. My ideal conditions for salmon fishing would be overcast and little wind so I can control my canoe. Temperature is unimportant but as long as I'm wishing, I'll take 65 degrees.
As for largemouth bass, May is the perfect month to catch them. First off the weeds haven't gotten to bad in the shallower ponds. All types of lures will work for bass depending if they are in pre spawn, or post spawn. I never target spawning bass. At least for the beginning of May you can still use a spinnerbait without the worry of catching weeds on every cast. I love using topwater lures and will start fishing them in the am. When the topwater bite slows down I switch to a spinnerbait until the sun gets higher in the sky, the go a little deeper by dropping a rubber worm near cover or crankbaits.
Other then bass which will protect there nest during spawning other species may become difficult to catch for a week when they are spawning. Carp and catfish don't feed much while courting a mate(s). It is easy to avoid going fishless for a week just by fishing more then one lake or river. Not all places will get to the " perfect temp at exactly the same time. On really big lakes some fish can be in a pre spawn pattern in one part of the lake and already be finished on another. On some smaller lakes there may be more shade, underwater springs, cool feeder streams are just be deeper to keep the water temp a little lower then the lake down the street.
My favorite thing about May is that saltwater temperatures will be over 50 degrees. Fifty is the magic number when it comes to striper fishing. Stripers have been around for a couple weeks now (as of writing this it is April 29) and some of the better spring hotspots have been producing, such as the West Wall and upper Narragansett Bay. I think that with the arrival of May ( and the predicted Eighty degree temps this weekend) the whole area is going to explode with hungry fish. Fish will spread out and be caught in all there spring locations and not just the early spots.
I concentrate on schoolies more in May then any other time of the year. I have a blast going out and catching 15-20 fish a night. Once June hits, I target keepers and my catch totals drop as the size of the fish rises. To catch spring schoolies I use a 7 foot rod fitted with a light saltwater reel with 12-14 pound line. I have caught fish up to 32 inches with this setup. As for what to use thats simple too. I use a shad body type of lure. I pack a couple 4 inch albino zoom flukes, three and four inch wildeyes and 4 inch black back shad bodies with 1/4 and 3/8 ounce jigheads. My entire amount of gear fits into a sandwich baggie. I also take along pliers, a flashlight and measuring tape. Thats it. Keep it simple stupid method works well for me.
I would like to mention that you may here experts say that the big fish don't arrive until later in the spring towards the end of May early June. Do not believe them. I caught my very first 20 pounder ever on May 4 ( don't remember the year) on the same day I saw a guy catch a striper that went over 35 pounds. The key to finding big keepers is big bait. Target herring runs and if menhaden come in and you have a boat follow them. Also don't forget to invite me along ( Ray and Cheryl).
Okay, a couple of hotspots. The Cape Cod Canal at the herring run is obvious for big fish. It is now illegal to use herring for bait. Many guys are using 9 inch wildeyes in the gold color. I like using the herring colored mambo minnow. It is what I was using when I caught my first 20# fish.Fish the tide going west to east ( warmer water) As for schoolies, I have done quite well at Colt State Park fishing the outgoing tide at the outlet of the salt pond. I have caught blues,stripers and hickory shad on three consecutive casts a couple times. You will know if there are fish around fairly quickly.
I was going to write about birding in May also but this post ended up being longer then expected.
Freshwater fishing is unbelievable in May. The reason is water temperature. For the most part the water temp in May is still cool enough for coldwater gamefish ( trout and salmon) and warm enough for warmwater species ( bass, carp, catfish among others). I wish water temps could stay in the 60's all year.
I usually catch more trout the first two weeks of May then I do the rest of the spring combined. This year I hope to hit Long Pond in Plymouth and troll the top layer of water for salmon. I have such a long " want to do list"so who knows. Its a long ride so weather conditions would have to be perfect for me to take the trip. My ideal conditions for salmon fishing would be overcast and little wind so I can control my canoe. Temperature is unimportant but as long as I'm wishing, I'll take 65 degrees.
As for largemouth bass, May is the perfect month to catch them. First off the weeds haven't gotten to bad in the shallower ponds. All types of lures will work for bass depending if they are in pre spawn, or post spawn. I never target spawning bass. At least for the beginning of May you can still use a spinnerbait without the worry of catching weeds on every cast. I love using topwater lures and will start fishing them in the am. When the topwater bite slows down I switch to a spinnerbait until the sun gets higher in the sky, the go a little deeper by dropping a rubber worm near cover or crankbaits.
Other then bass which will protect there nest during spawning other species may become difficult to catch for a week when they are spawning. Carp and catfish don't feed much while courting a mate(s). It is easy to avoid going fishless for a week just by fishing more then one lake or river. Not all places will get to the " perfect temp at exactly the same time. On really big lakes some fish can be in a pre spawn pattern in one part of the lake and already be finished on another. On some smaller lakes there may be more shade, underwater springs, cool feeder streams are just be deeper to keep the water temp a little lower then the lake down the street.
My favorite thing about May is that saltwater temperatures will be over 50 degrees. Fifty is the magic number when it comes to striper fishing. Stripers have been around for a couple weeks now (as of writing this it is April 29) and some of the better spring hotspots have been producing, such as the West Wall and upper Narragansett Bay. I think that with the arrival of May ( and the predicted Eighty degree temps this weekend) the whole area is going to explode with hungry fish. Fish will spread out and be caught in all there spring locations and not just the early spots.
I concentrate on schoolies more in May then any other time of the year. I have a blast going out and catching 15-20 fish a night. Once June hits, I target keepers and my catch totals drop as the size of the fish rises. To catch spring schoolies I use a 7 foot rod fitted with a light saltwater reel with 12-14 pound line. I have caught fish up to 32 inches with this setup. As for what to use thats simple too. I use a shad body type of lure. I pack a couple 4 inch albino zoom flukes, three and four inch wildeyes and 4 inch black back shad bodies with 1/4 and 3/8 ounce jigheads. My entire amount of gear fits into a sandwich baggie. I also take along pliers, a flashlight and measuring tape. Thats it. Keep it simple stupid method works well for me.
I would like to mention that you may here experts say that the big fish don't arrive until later in the spring towards the end of May early June. Do not believe them. I caught my very first 20 pounder ever on May 4 ( don't remember the year) on the same day I saw a guy catch a striper that went over 35 pounds. The key to finding big keepers is big bait. Target herring runs and if menhaden come in and you have a boat follow them. Also don't forget to invite me along ( Ray and Cheryl).
Okay, a couple of hotspots. The Cape Cod Canal at the herring run is obvious for big fish. It is now illegal to use herring for bait. Many guys are using 9 inch wildeyes in the gold color. I like using the herring colored mambo minnow. It is what I was using when I caught my first 20# fish.Fish the tide going west to east ( warmer water) As for schoolies, I have done quite well at Colt State Park fishing the outgoing tide at the outlet of the salt pond. I have caught blues,stripers and hickory shad on three consecutive casts a couple times. You will know if there are fish around fairly quickly.
I was going to write about birding in May also but this post ended up being longer then expected.
I will write about that subject soon.
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