Most Florida bass anglers complaining about low water this spring would have JT Kenney politely disagreeing with them. The Florida pro, who fronts the Space Coast tourism office's bass-fishing forecasts, has just dropped his May 2026 read on the Palm Bay area - and his message to visiting anglers is to chase the conditions, not wait them out.
The Palm Bay system, which includes Headwaters Lake, the T.M. Goodwin Garcia diversion reservoir and the broader Stick Marsh complex, is the heart of central Florida's modern trophy-bass fishery. Kenney's first observation is that water levels across the system are running well below normal for May.
"Water levels are still a little bit low, but any little bit deeper places you can find, whether it's the little ditches and channels that run around through Headwaters and Stick Marsh, Garcia, all those places they're fishing well, but you got to find that little bit deeper water."
In practice, that means the productive structure right now is the small slices of relative depth still inside the major lakes - the old ditches, dug pits and channels that punctuate each system. With less open water across the surface, bass have crowded into these features and made themselves easier to locate.
Around those depressions and along the adjacent grass edges, surface lures have been the headline of the bite.
"Topwater. Buzzbaits and frogs have been absolutely phenomenal," Kenney said.
"Like I said, I'm sure in May we're probably going to start to get some rain, water levels will come up. Be honest with you, I kind of like them where they are cuz it's putting the fish right where they're easy to find."
That contrarian streak is at the heart of the May 2026 forecast. Rather than fight the conditions, Kenney is leaning into them. With the bass concentrated on the edges of grass and around the limited deeper water still in the system, the puzzle of locating fish has been solved for visitors. The job left to anglers is to throw the right lure across them.
His advice on where to actually drop the trolling motor is short and direct.
"That's where you want to look right now around the edges of that and the edges of grass is exactly where all the bass are here in the Palm Bay area."
Kenney signs off the May report with the open invitation his Space Coast updates have always carried.
"So, come on down and catch some of our big old bass."
For anglers planning a Palm Bay trip in the next few weeks, the playbook is straightforward. Skip the obvious open-water flats, work through the ditches and pits inside Headwaters, Stick Marsh and Garcia, and have at least one rod rigged with a buzzbait and another with a frog when the boat hits the ramp.