I have been using top waters for the first time. The last couple times I went out I have had a couple of fish jump at them well actually slightly behind them, but not actually hit it. Am I doing something wrong? Or is that just one of the things about fishing top waters?

What kind of Topwater baits?

jitterbug is the one that it has happened the most on

Try reeling in a little slower. I have never had a fish jump behind a top water while reeling in slowly. When you reel in slow, they have time to decide if they want to take it and when they decide to, they will be able to really slam it, they wont miss it because the lure is just to fast.

Try a popper (Pop-R is a good one) with a "plop....plop....pause (until the rings disappear).....repeat" retrieve. Not a fast way to fish, but in the dead of summer, it's hard to beat - on either LM or SM bass. Jitterbugs are great at dawn or dusk or at night. The popper can be used during most of the day, including those periods.

Try a popper (Pop-R is a good one) with a "plop....plop....pause (until the rings disappear).....repeat" retrieve. Not a fast way to fish, but in the dead of summer, it's hard to beat - on either LM or SM bass. Jitterbugs are great at dawn or dusk or at night. The popper can be used during most of the day, including those periods.

X2

Try a popper (Pop-R is a good one) with a "plop....plop....pause (until the rings disappear).....repeat" retrieve. Not a fast way to fish, but in the dead of summer, it's hard to beat - on either LM or SM bass. Jitterbugs are great at dawn or dusk or at night. The popper can be used during most of the day, including those periods.

Guess it is time to make another trip to DSG's.

I've recently started using top water lures more, but don't have that one.

Have a rod rigged with a senko when you're fishing the top water. If they miss, toss the senko to the spot where they hit. Slowing down and changing the presentation may work also.

I deffinitly have to say if you dont have a pop r in your tacklebox get one NOW

Boils (missed topwater strikes) are part of topwater fishing. If the fish truly misses the lure, try the follow-up with the soft plastic, as mentioned above. They also will sometimes try again if you use the same or a different topwater.

Or they maybe didn't miss it, they were interested enough to check it out but not strike. If it's happening a lot then you should try doing something different. Different lure, different speed or cadence or switch to a subsurface lure.

My favorite lure is the Jitterbug and I don't hesitate to try it any time of day, including afternoon under bluebird skies.

Are you sure it was a bass that hit it?

If it's happening repeatedly then something in your presentation/retrieve isn't quite right. There's been several good suggestions like slowing down, switching baits, and having a throw back bait. You might try switching colors also.

Some people might disagree with this but if a fish misses your top water don't stop it. Keep doing your same retrieve or just do something besides letting it sit still. I get tons of follow up strikes by keeping the same cadence I was doing before or some times depending I will speed it up like its trying to get away. Same goes for me when I miss a strike on a crankbait. It seems like if I stop and let it sit a second the fish get a look at it and notice its not real. It's kind of a force of habit to want to stop but just keep it moving.

many times you may have to make repeated casts to finally get the fish to bite it, the aggrevation factor actual works quite often.