When they were much younger, a fishing buddy gave the bass-fishing Morris brothers of Virginia Beach the nicknames "Drivin' Ivan" and "Ridin' Rick."

By whatever names they're known now, Ivan Morris and younger brother Rick Morris remain two of the Old Dominion's best bass fishermen. They grew up fishing just about anywhere they could wet a line, and they're really experts on the waters closest to their homes: the James River and Lake Gaston.

Rick Morris, a pro fisherman who was runner-up in the 2006 Bassmasters Classic and a three-time Classic qualifier, has a three-word answer to almost any question about fishing the lower James River in May: "dead-end water."

Ivan Morris, a force in local bass tournaments who has narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Classic, has a three-word answer for the same questions about fishing on Lake Gaston in May: "main-lake pockets."

"There isn't much difference from one end of the river to the other when it comes to fishing in May," Rick Morris said. "It's basically spawning time. In tidal water, bass tend to spawn a little later, because of the current.

"If you were to fish Buggs Island (John H. Kerr Reservoir), the spawn would be around the full moon in April. If that's near the end of April, the spawn will last into May. But in tidal water like the James, the spawn will be in May -- even into June."

And that's where "dead-end water" comes into play.

"Obviously, you want to fish the backs of creeks and canals, places that don't have a lot of current flow -- places where the water just rises and falls a little -- dead-end water," Rick Morris said. "Dead-end water is going to warm up quicker; it's going to be clearer and cleaner and better for sun penetration; and it's going to be more protected from the elements: wind, water and current. And they've got to get out of the current to spawn.

"In the lower James and Chickahominy (river), they'll come out of the rivers before they spawn. They want manmade places that are dredged out like all the barge pits up toward Richmond or the manmade harbors that were dredged out for those waterfront communities farther down the river."

Rick Morris divides "dead-end water" into two categories: natural and manmade. Natural dead-end water is typically a backwater area -- maybe a slough off a main creek or river with no current -- filled with cypress trees, and usually featuring a sandy bottom.

"You don't want to fish places where the water can get muddy," he said. "You can go in the backs of some creeks that are clean and clear, but then they get a big rain and it muddies up. Bass won't spawn in that kind of place because their eggs will get covered up and die.

"But if you can find some natural dead-end water that won't dirty up, that's better than manmade. Those places will be awesome."

As far as manmade dead-end water, dredging is the key. In harbors for waterfront communities, bulkheads are the norm; there are plenty of docks; and the dredging has removed about all of the silt from the bottom. Plus, instead of there being a lot of horizontal tidal flow, the water movement against the bulkheads is more vertical, and bass will feel more comfortable moving in to spawn in those areas.

"Fish are going to find places to spawn that they won't have to leave," Rick Morris said. "A place with a lot of tidal movement will affect the spawn. That's why places that have been dredged out are great -- the water just comes in and goes out a little bit."

Once you've zeroed in on the kinds of areas bass will use for spawning -- and where they feed up right before the spawn, then the fun begins. Rick Morris puts his trolling motor in the water and just fishes -- pitching and flipping soft-plastic baits from RPM Custom Baits.