If you use Megastrike, they hang on for a full minute.  Just ask Bobby. YMMV in my experience.

 

 

As Gerald Swindle put it: "they ain't got pockets or backpacks, it is in their mouth so set the hook"

I can't count how many fish I've caught that I can't explain why I actually set the hook. Something just wasn't right (or was, depending on how you look at it).

 

To answer your question, I set as soon as I think something "fishy" is going on. 

Bass will undoubtedly and reactively initially “spit” many objects they initially inhale. It has nothing to do about whether it feels natural. Watch videos of bass inhaling live crawfish. They will often spit and re-inhale. While I don’t think there is a good way to test this, my (and others) hypothesis is that this has to do with the fact that often times when a bass inhales (which is probably not the right word) a bait off the bottom it comes with much debris. Spitting the bait into the water column allows much of the debris to disperse so the bass can have a cleaner meal.

2 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

Bass will undoubtedly and reactively initially “spit” many objects they initially inhale. It has nothing to do about whether it feels natural. Watch videos of bass inhaling live crawfish. They will often spit and re-inhale. While I don’t think there is a good way to test this, my (and others) hypothesis is that this has to do with the fact that often times when a bass inhales (which is probably not the right word) a bait off the bottom it comes with much debris. Spitting the bait into the water column allows much of the debris to disperse so the bass can have a cleaner meal.

Haven't thought of it that way, seems like a contributing factor for sure.  I always assumed some of it was related to bait positioning for crushing and eating.

 

scott