Today I was scared, suprised, caught off guard whatever way to put it by the strike of this bass. My heart pounded had an adrenaline rush with a bit of shakey leg too follow. I just wasnt ready for the bite when it happened I threw to the target area retrieved back and stop to swat a mosquito then when I went to put hand on knob BAM!! I didnt react quickly more like WTH but still managed to land it wasnt hard just pull to shore it was so close.

Ever been taken by surprise by a strike?

Startled many times.

Yep, sometimes.

A couple times by some BIG pike, two feet from the boat.

Not scared, but caught off guard MANY times. I try to not let that happen much anymore!

Jeff

My first fish EVER caught was in the dark...on a jitterbug...about 3 feet in front of me. Scared the bejesus out of me. Been hooked...so to speak...ever since.

Yep, all the time......

yeah...it's my favorite. usually when topwater fishing.

Topwater fishing and you think that the lure is out farther than it really is. A strike comes and for a second your heart stops.

A couple months ago when my buddy and I were bass fishing with buzzbaits right at dark when a 34" muskie ate his bait about a foot from the boat, that scared both of us. Had a 5lb bass absolutely destroy a spook a few feet from the boat while I was night fishing by myself, that got my heart going. The 40lb flathead that crushed my jig this spring hit it so hard I was almost afraid to set the hook.

That happens to me a lot topwater fly fishing peacock bass.

I've had a few strikes on buzzbaits and rage tail shads just as I was pulling the bait out of the water, each of them scared the crap out of me. That last second strike at the boat makes me jump every time. I love it

Yep!

Scared, never...........surprised many times. Only time I was a bit nervous was catching a bleeder like a bonita, within seconds a group of 6-8 bull sharks circling the boat. That's a good time not to grab the fishes tail to pull it in.......lol.

I've never been scared, but I have been startled several times! Most of the time its when I'm frogging and stare at my lure so long I zone out. When a fish explodes on it, it makes me jump and sometimes even break a sweat.

Every year my first topwater strike startles the crap out of me. I prepare myself prior to that first strike by staying alert, but then I start to zone out by the sounds of that dogwalker over a point - swish, swish, swish, real up recast: swish, swish, swish, real up recast: swish, swish, swi....BANG! My heart starts pounding.

Then after that, I'm pretty good until ice out again.

A couple times by some BIG pike, two feet from the boat.

there the worst I had one jump up and grab a terminator spinner not even in the water but hanging off the edge of the canoe because I was going between the spinner and a jig I had the spinner hanging off the side on my one pole just set it down and picked up my jig pole and this pike roughly 35" grabbed it if I hadn't had my leg over my pole well moving around I would a lost the pole instead just lost the fish after getting soaked fighting it right next to the canoe with out playing it out.

I get startled all the time especially when its slow and iv been throwing for what seems like eternity and then out of no where a huge splash explosion on the water startles me usually resulting in my yanking the lure usually a frog of sorts out of its mouth and sailing for my head at mach 3 lol.