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May is one of my favorite months for bass fishing.

To be fair, I have 12 favorite months for bass fishing but this one is May.

Small crankbaits, vibrating jigs and soft plastics all work this month but the surface bite seems to shine a little better for me in May. May bass are passed the spawning and fry guarding stages and still shallow for the most part and absolutely love smashing the surface lure.

The shallows and shallow vegetation provide a target rich environment for these marauding bass. Everything from frogs to ducks are on the menu for the surface feed. The following is a few tips/tactics for improving your May surface catches.

Bream beds are a must if you are hunting a reliable starting area. The same bream that were zooming in and out, stealing eggs and fry from the bass last month are on the menu.

The tables are turned and small wolf packs or individual bass, slash through the bream bedding area picking off the less fortunate. An added bonus to bream bed fishing is the bass that target big bream are typically larger.

The low light periods of dusk and dawn really make the predators hard to spot so be on your favorite spot on time. A Yellow Magic, or Havanna or two of the best surface lures to attract bass around the bream beds.

Grass lines are another high consequence area for surface lure action. Some bass cruise these lines looking to jump baitfish not paying attention. Others take an ambush approach and post up in the grass to wait for buzzbait or horny toad to come by.

The inside grass line or outside grass line depends on the bass. Pay attention to where the bites happen and try to duplicate the same thing at other areas. This bite also seems to work best early and late but May surface bites can last all day.

This last tactic may seem a little non typical but give it a try sometime. Grass is involved but we aren’t fishing the lines. Find the matted grass and move deeper noting where the grass is there but much deeper. Later in the month there could be hydrilla out in 12-16 feet of water but not coming all the way to the surface. In other words the grass is 6 feet below the surface but we are in 12 feet of water. Put your favorite surface lure on and make long casts over this submerged grass. Long points or humps with this condition can be legendary.

This is a location where you can meet a giant and think about why you haven’t tried it before. Back in the day we caught fish on Spooks at Lake Fork in 18-20 feet of water with a forest of hydrilla 12 feet off the bottom. Sometimes a prop bait is needed to rip a few times but there are times when this will work all day as well.

Shallow or deep, get out and break in a new favorite surface lure before May is gone!