Hooked Up: May 2025

May marks the end of what I call Spring Fling. I hate to see it go but looking forward to new patterns, techniques, and structure types the warmer months have in store.

It’s probably a coincidence, but early in my saltwater career May was hands down my favorite month to be in the water. Looking back it is easy to recognize why – a combination of an influx of gulf water into the bays, bait migrations, water clarity, wet wading, higher than average catches, and just overall gorgeous days.

It seems that my most rewarding days coincided with May, and I really thought I was just getting really good as a young trout man. Turns out it was all of those aforementioned attributes of the month that were contributing multitudes of opportunity. Reminds me of that TV commercial; “It’s so easy…even a cave man can do it.”

It was during May, somewhere around the mid-1990s that I first had an epic day on the original Corky – amber body with chartreuse tail. Wading a shallow flat in Cayo del Grullo with a buddy, we enjoyed an all-day bite that refused to end. We had to leave them biting because he had a commitment that evening, but we’d caught countless trout from four- to seven-plus pounds on Mr Paul’s original design before we had to leave. To say that day ignited my Corky infatuation would be an understatement. It seems I couldn’t take that lure off my line for 10 years.

Stories like that are numerous and certainly a major part of why May became my favorite month. Most of the trout have begun spawning by then, but what they lack in egg weight is easily made up by their gorging on the abundance of bait that has moved into the Upper Laguna and Baffin.

This is how the scenario develops. Robust spring tides flow through the Land Cut from Port Mansfield via the Land Cut, delivering all forms of baitfish, trailed closely by trout of all sizes. As the fish exit the Land Cut just south of Baffin they continue north along the Kennedy shoreline, an area that’s tough to wade due to the rocks but wonderful for drift fishing. Some of these migrants will take an easterly route into Yarbrough and the many spoil islands along the ICW. As the migration continues north, look for the grassy edges and drop-offs of Baffin’s south shoreline to begin loading up. Many of the fish will find this big area so accommodating they will just hang out forever while others keep driving west. Basically, the same deal occurs with trout that bypassed Penescal and shoot straight for the beginning of the Badlands at Marker-4. The Badlands will hold some of these fish for a very long time while some continue on to the north shore of Baffin, following it into Alazan and the Cayo del Grullo.

Bait will congregate on just about every type of structure imaginable this month. Rock piles to the skinniest flat will have potential to produce steadily for several months. Always keep in mind that the food supply will be constantly on the move. Find them in one area today and there’s a good chance they will have moved further down the shoreline tomorrow. I guess the point I’m trying to convey is that fishing your favorite spot is not always the best way to be productive. Regardless of where you are fishing, make sure there is bait activity before you slide out of the boat. Catching fish is much easier if you let your eye eat first. If you are not seeing active bait, there is no reason for game fish to be there. That can usually be determined before you ever get out of the boat. Fish smarter not harder.

For you topwater junkies, May is the top month of the year in my opinion. On special days, when all good things are aligned, you can get them just about all day long. Even on a slow day you will experience a better than average bite.

Personally, I like to raise a lot of hell on the surface with a MirrOlure She Dog or He Dog while the MirrOdine and Bass Assassins are my go-to subsurface presentations. Favorite colors this month are generally in the range of white to silver; however, that may vary on darker days when it’s more appropriate to throw darker lures. If you are having trouble beyond that, call me for a little chatter. I’ll bet we can get you over any hump.