CHEROKEE LAKE --FROM THE TOP
Matt Myers is a young gun on the tournament circuit as far as Cherokee Lake is concerned. However, what he’s learned in a few short years is phenomenal -- he’s become a threat at both Cherokee and Douglas lakes, but he prefers what Cherokee has to offer in May from the top down. Like Douglas, Myers said all three phases of the largemouth bass spawn can be experienced on Cherokee Lake in May.

“You have to fish your strengths,” Myers said. He added that everything from Carolina rigs, Flukes, spinnerbaits, shallow and deep crankbaits, jerkbaits and Shaky Head rigs to lipless crankbaits can play a role in May. However, for Myers, it’s the May topwater action that holds him there.

In the first few days of May, Myers said key pre-spawn sections will include those with staging areas alongside flats. Creek channels and sharp drops along points are also important to your success. Top pre-spawn lures like jerkbaits will draw plenty of attention. He likes a clown-colored Rogue on clear days and a gold Rogue with a black back on cloudy ones. In addition, Myers said a spinnerbait is a good search tool for the pre-spawn period. Myers finds largemouth bass along flats, pea gravel points, and red clay banks in anywhere as shallow as 8 to 10 feet in the pre-spawn mode and in as little as 4 feet of water to even 6-inch depths once they move onto beds.

Smallmouths will have already spawned by May and will have already moved back out to deep water. But when May’s surface water temperature approaches 70 degrees, Myers said the largemouths will be on the move to shallow areas waiting to go on the beds during the next full moon. He said they use the same migration routes that you find them in during the fall feeding frenzy as they follow baitfish back into creeks and coves.

May is a huge transition month as far as springtime goes, and Myers said everybody wants to catch the biggest bass possible -- and it can happen this month. Once you use the right search tools, you can catch a variety of bass.

During the actual spawn, largemouths will move to shallow areas around brush and bushes, and that’s when Myers changes gears with them. Myers said the topwater bite on Cherokee starts once the temperature reaches 70 degrees or so and really heats up around the 75-degree mark. When his temperature gauge hits 75 degrees, Myers uses his go-to baits: Spooks and Pop-Rs take over in his boat. And he has no problem throwing them all day, even at high noon.

Early in May, Myers said the upper end of the lake warms quicker, and that means good action up around the Three Springs area. During this period, he likes to concentrate on the north side banks, since they warm quicker than the rest of the lake. Later, around midmonth, the middle section and on up the lake is where you’ll find the best largemouth fishing (from German Creek to just above Fall Creek).

The number of bass you can boat in a given day can be up or down, but Myers said that during the pre-spawn, with water temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees, you could do a lot of damage with a Rat-L-Trap. Once they’re shallower, the topwater action is prime and some big bass can be in the offering.