Myers said to expect to catch 10 to 12 good fish in May with your five best for the tournament scales weighing at least 12 pounds. However, if you hit them right, you can put 2- to 3-pound largemouths with an occasional 5-pounder in your livewell. He said the 5-pounders are more common in May. He added that when the topwater action is at its peak, you could boat 25 or more bass easily.

In comparison, Myers said you can normally boat more largemouths on Douglas Lake on a given day with a Carolina rig than you will by far at Cherokee. But on the flipside, the topwater action, if you’ll put your time in on it, will equal anything you can do at Douglas. Topwaters will often provide 25 to 30 bass at Cherokee whereas you may only find five to six on topwaters at Douglas, though he does point out that if you catch five or six bass on topwaters at Douglas, those fish are apt to be the five biggest fish you hook all day.

If you want to get a jump on the early May largemouth bass action, Myers said to put in at the Fall Creek ramp and fish up to Three Springs. From midmonth on, you can put in at the Hwy. 25-E bridge ramp and have access to water from there down to German Creek or easily on up the lake as far as Fall Creek.