By Lynn Burkhead
OSG Senior Digital Editor

A stress test on the old ticker. That’s a good way to describe my most recent bass outing on a favorite water body in north Texas.

In a spring where everything seems off and a bit delayed in my vicinity, the bite on this fishery wasn’t happening the other day. Heavy rain a few days earlier, overcast skies, a bit of a northeasterly breeze –you know the old fishing adage that fish bite least when the wind is out of the east – and cooler-than-normal water conditions for mid-May left me considering an early exit.

But since the calm surface had only the occasional ripple on it, I kept plugging away, tossing the topwater that I was sure would eventually bring a strike. And it did, albeit when I wasn’t paying attention, distracted by a red cardinal that fluttered onto a nearby branch as I made a cast into a likely looking spot.

That distraction cost me a fish of unknown proportions because, as I looked away ever so briefly, the single loudest topwater explosion I’ve ever heard took place as a fish engulfed my offering that had just settled onto the surface. It was so loud, it startled me and caused me to literally jump.

By the time I reacted, saw the geyser that had erupted in the water and reared back on the rod, it was too late. But I smiled and tried to quit shaking, knowing that even when things seem a bit off, topwater baits are always a good bet in May.

As long as the heart can stand it, that is.

The Best of All Months?

Major League Fishing veteran Kelly Jordon of Flint, Texas agrees with that thought. In fact, a conversation we had a good while ago – and subsequent ones since then – definitely cemented the idea in my head that if I wanted to fish anything like a pro, I’d better have a topwater lure lying on the deck this month.

For starters, the fishing is absolutely golden in the fifth month of the year, according to the man known as "KJ".

“May is my favorite month,” said the former Lake Fork guide who landed some of his best bass during the days leading up to Memorial Day. “Why? Because the fish bite so good.”

That was true on my recent bass fishing trip, which produced a 5-pounder, a 5-pounder and a lost 3-pounder in the hour after my swing and a miss on top. As I left the ramp, I smiled while thinking about how good the day’s fishing action turned out to be.

Jordon smiles a lot on the water this month too. In fact, the longtime pro – he was the first pro to win events on the Bassmaster Elite Series, the former FLW Tour (now the MLF Pro Circuit), and Major League Fishing – is so bullish on the month’s bass potential thanks to the fact that after the spawn, fish are going to eat.

“It’s the best month to me, the best time to be on the lake,” said Jordon, a four time winner on the B.A.S.S. circuit, a one time winner on the FLW Tour and champion of the 2012 MLF Challenge Cup on Lake Ray Roberts.

One reason for that belief is the topwater explosions that May can bring.

“It’s a killer time to throw topwaters,” Jordon agreed, noting that he thinks that May could be the best topwater month of the whole year. Even though the spawn is over in a lot of bass-fishing hotspots across the South, Jordon says that bass will still often be found shallow this month, hanging around lily pads, grass beds, creek mouths and places where bluegills are spawning.

Give 'em a Buzz

One of Jordon’s favorite topwater tactics this month is a buzzbait fished around emerging lily pads. Other topwater lures he recommends include a Lucky Craft Sammy, a Lucky Craft G-Splash or the bait that bears his name, the Lucky Craft Kelly J double-prop topwater.

That last bait is especially good in the skinny water when there is a bluegill spawning bed or two located somewhere nearby.

"It's really hard to beat my Kelly J prop bait this month," said Jordon. "It's like poison to that big female – she really likes to eat bluegills."

Jordon makes sure that he is fishing heavier lines for topwater selections. Depending on what he’s throwing, his line choice can be monofilament in 14-, 17- or 20-pound test or braid up to 50-pound if he’s throwing a frog.

Keep in mind that KJ says that while the morning shift is obviously good for topwater explosions in May, don’t overlook the mid-day or late afternoon hours either. And when the sky is overcast, the surface bite can last throughout an excursion.

“A topwater will work all day at (this) time of the year, even in the middle of the day, especially a buzzbait,” he said.

True to form, the tale about my failed attempt to imitate Jordon at the beginning of this story occurred in the late-morning hours on a day that featured high clouds and the promise of more rain by day’s end. Though the topwater bite wasn’t strong – is there such a thing as a finesse topwater bite? – it lasted until I left the water.

Jordon notes that sometimes, even when the sky offers up bright sunshine, topwater is still the way to go even deeper in the day.

“Sometimes, they’ll bite a buzzbait better in the middle of the day around 1 or 2 o’clock, especially around grass or lily pads,” he said.

As the day goes on, Jordon will often fish other baits that draw a reaction strike around grass, laydowns, stumps and points, things like shallow crankbaits, squarebills, and spinnerbaits. As the sun gets higher and the action slows even more, he’ll also throw something more slow and methodical like a soft plastic.

But topwaters are never out of the equation for Jordon when it comes to May fishing. They aren’t for a lot of other big league anglers either, including Jordon’s longtime friend Kevin VanDam.

Several years ago, KVD told me prior to the now defunct Toyota Texas Bass Classic on Lake Fork that he had hit upon a topwater pattern yielding huge largemouths in newly flooded grass while he tossed a Strike King KVD Splash along the edge.

If a huge May rainstorm the day before the event hadn’t caused a big lake level rise and stained waters, that might be another tournament win on VanDam’s impeccable resume. Why? Because his best five bass the previous day on the topwater popper had combined to weigh in the mid-40s!

Cover your Bases

Obviously, vegetation and laydown timber can be a big key to action near the surface in May. And while that’s true at normal level on most southern lakes, as VanDam’s experience showed, it can be especially so as spring rains bump up lake levels and cause water to edge into newly flooded grass.

Just ask KVD. Or Jordon, who admits that he also likes to toss a spinnerbait in such situations.

“The bite might be so good in the grass that you might not want to leave,” he laughs. “If you’re catching them up there, then dad gum, don’t leave.”

One thing that Jordon stresses for fishing action in the month of May is not to waste much time looking for bass in fishless water. He says that since the fish are back on the feed at this time of the year, if an angler is not catching bass, they’re probably not there.

“If you’re not catching fish in May, then you need to change what you’re doing or what you’re fishing with, because you should be catching fish,” said Jordon. “Move until you find them.”

Or hear them, as the case might be.