Ever notice on a topwater strike the bass will come up, slap the lure then turn faster than a PT boat and inhale your bait. They seem to try to stun your bait then eat it.

i am so temped to reel in my bait after the so called miss and recast. But I freeze and watch the bass turn and take it. Unless I see my line moving then I know he has it. This has happened many times to me. Ever see this?

I see it more with frogs than a trebled bait. 

You haven't lived till you see a mouth as big as a toliet bowl blow up on it, knock it 3 ft in the air and come back and hammer it. 

 

That'll get your blood pumping brother!!

 

 

 

Mike

More times than I care to recall. I've hand them knock my Spook twenty feet only to track it down and slurp it down with little surface disturbance. Other times they wait until the first movement only to smack it another fifteen feet and then ignore it completely. They gotta be females because they can't decide what they want, but you better give them options. 

Yep. I tend to get to exited and try setting the hook before they actually grab it. Just seeing it happen though is the best

When i used to fish frogs more i would get somr of those hits. I often would get too excited and set the hook before they had it. Reacting to sight rather than feel. I once had a bass hit my spook up into the air. Next cast i caught the fish. As far as the whopper plopper and bbz1 rat, those fish just come up and grab the bait. Have yet to have a big explosion on those 2 baits. Nothing like topwater fishing! 

Yes. I've also seen it with crankbaits. I even saw a bass slap at my crank between the bottom and rear trebles so adroitly that it somehow  tapped the bait without getting caught by either treble. Talk about teasing an angler. Talk about the definition of dejection 

I seen a big bass swim up to my topnocker slam it, I seen it miss, I froze in shock. I had a ring side seat fishing off a low bridge three feet above the water. She turned and took it. I set the hook and tried to hold her head up but I made too long of a cast. She went down in the weeds and all was lost. I lose more topnockers that way.

 

the first time I witnessed this bass slap my urge I thought she missed it. The second time I said no way it missed it. Then I caught on. It's stunning the bait before she eats it.