Early May Top water bass fishing on Lake Keowee SC

Описание: I've fished several times over the past couple of weeks including the May KA tournament, guide trips and afternoons w/ just me & Capt'n Coop from the Hot Hole to the back of the Jocassee dam. Water tempos are now in the low 70s North of Hwy 11 and mid-70s in the mid lake area. I've gone early and I've gone late and, I hate to sound like a broken record here, but my conclusion is that you still do not have to get up at the break of dawn to catch fish on this beautiful lake of ours. The early bite is most definitely there (with both the lipless crankbait and top water) and provides a very serene experience watching the sunrise but my experience has been that the good stuff ends about an hour after sunrise and then there is (usually...) very little wind until after 1 - 2 PM which is what you really need to fish the top water pattern I've been on of late. I've found that a 6 - 8mph wind is optimum using the JT95 and Sammy 100mm top water walking baits. I throw the bigger Sammy baits on the more windy days as I find that bigger profile helps get then noticed when there is a lot of chop on the water and they don't seem to get fouled w/ the treble hooks as much as the JT95s. I throw all those on a 7' Pulse Fish or Dobyn's Medium action spinning rod w/ a fast tip. (picked up my Pulse Fish rod at Rudy's just recently and really like it!). I have found the the more solid colors work best for me on cloudy days and the more translucent colors seem to do the trick when I find myself fishing in bright sunshine. LiveScope obviously helps in locating the fish but I would recommend hitting any 'discrete' main lake point right now ideally with the wind blowing into it and some kind of wood/ stickups in the area. By discrete, I mean any point that is not readily identifiable just by boating by that area as those tend to get really pounded hard this time of year. The quantity and quality have both been outstanding and I've been fortunate enough to have multiple days of 20 - 30 fish where the top 5 have been well over 90". The really excellent days where the fish per hour meter got up over 12FPH have been those cloudy days with fairly unsettled weather and a rapidly dropping barometer like yesterday & this afternoon. I also consult the Bass ForeCast app to home in on the 'major' and 'minor' times of the day to fish especially when planning my tournament and guided outings... not always spot on it but doesn't seen to hurt. Bottom line is that y'all need to get out there and enjoy this top water action while it last!