So I've been throwing topwaters a lot the past few weeks - poppers, prop baits and frogs. I am not a topwater expert by any stretch so I'm curious just how close to the boat folks stop retrieving their bait? Meaning am I missing any potential bites by reeling in when the bait is about 20-30 feet (boat length) away? Note that I usually fish clear water and on little to no wind days, of course. How many get strikes or follows very close to the boat?

I fish a topwater all the way back to the boat. I have had strikes right beside the boat. I think they attack it because they think it is escaping to safety.

I had a buddy who sat his rod down to fish a different rod. He had just enough line out over the boat where the popper was resting on the water right beside the boat. A few minutes later we heard a commotion and splashing. It took a minute before we figured out a bass hit that popper and was hooked. We got him in before the rod went swimming. It was a nice 2 pound bass, so you never know. We had a good laugh at that one.

I fish pretty clear water and try to stay away from the fish, cast 100+ ft ...with poppers if I don't get a hit upon or within a few pops after the landing I retrieve and cast elsewhere. Zaraspooks, buzzbaits and other steady retrieve topwaters can be a little different and I give them a full retrieve, because why not, it doesn't take any extra time. 

I keep going all the way to the boat.
 

Baits get hit by followers right at the boat more often than you would think.

 

I have had fish strike topwaters boat-side, but it doesn’t happen frequently enough for me to think it’s more important to retrieve it all the way to the boat than it is to just reel up and fire another cast. 

It's all about the odds. I want my bait to be where the most fish are for as much time as possible in a given day. If I'm fishing a frog against a cypress bank and I start noticing that 90% of my bites are coming in the first 10 feet off the bank, I'm not gonna waste my time working it back the next 90 feet of open water to the boat. I can put my bait in high percentage spots 7 or 8 times in the time it would've taken me to work the frog all the way back to the boat. A steady retrieve bait like a buzzbait or plopper can be a bit different, but even then I'm usually speeding up once I get past the area I expect to get bit.

I don’t know very much about anything in this universe, but I do know one thing.  Be ready from the moment that frog starts flying through the air towards your target till the second it’s about to be back to your pole tip to be cast again and fish the whole entire cast like she’s about to smoke it.

 

A statistically significant number of

times I’ve bombed a frog 150 feet and slowly walked it back in and had it smoked 8 feet from me while I was basically asleep and caught an 8 lber.

 

A statistically significant number of times I have bombed a frog 150 feet and started burning it to get the slack out of my line and caught an 8 lber.

Thanks for all the replies. I agree with making long bomb casts, in open water. And that many more times have gotten bit closer to the end of the long cast, compared to almost never close to the boat. Yes, I have gotten bit by many followers but that is more often with crankbaits, chatterbaits, and swim jigs (subsurface) than topwaters. I'm also in agreement that more casts means more fish see my lure so my tendency is to reel in after I'm past what I feel is enough time to trigger a strike. And I also fish impatiently, lol such that it's tough to fish a popper (my favorite and most consistent) all the way to the boat after a long cast. 

I almost , almost always begin at sun up and finish at sundown with topwater.  My favorite is the Rio Rico , I do however throw Sammy's,  Buzzbaits and the something dog from Megabass . Cloud cover and rainfall affect this choice.  I have caught them in early spring and in late November on topwater....

I fish them the whole way back to my kayak.

 

I think the pros hit the "good stuff" and then reel in quick because it's a numbers game for them. Time is money.

the change in direction and sudden speed up as you are finishing a cast and starting to lift up can trigger fish that are following.  And I couldn't tell you how many buzzbait fish I've had hit, hook, and boatflip all in one motion.  Often with a buzzbait I have the boat fairly close to cover so I can parallel an edge with the bait but still...

1 hour ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Baits get hit by followers right at the boat more often than you would think.

 

 

And it's normally the most EXCITING hit as well!

29 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

And it's normally the most EXCITING hit as well!

This is very true!! I’ve come near falling out of the boat a couple times when they do that!

44 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

And it's normally the most EXCITING hit as well!

The few times that has happened, I practically have a heart attack! 

55 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

the change in direction and sudden speed up as you are finishing a cast and starting to lift up can trigger fish that are following.  And I couldn't tell you how many buzzbait fish I've had hit, hook, and boatflip all in one motion.  Often with a buzzbait I have the boat fairly close to cover so I can parallel an edge with the bait but still...

To be honest I don't throw a buzzbait much at all. Probably why I only have one in my arsenal, lol. Maybe I need to start!

I find that the only lures I won't "fish" all the way back to the boat are a popper and a frog, mostly because I spot cast them to high percentage areas. I find that I do get bit occasionally while burning the frog back to the boat - just like a buzzbait. Those always get my heart pumping.

1 hour ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

I fish them the whole way back to my kayak.

 

I think the pros hit the "good stuff" and then reel in quick because it's a numbers game for them. Time is money.

I am anything but a pro and really don't follow what they do. Mostly because I typically can only fish 4-5 hours max each outing so my time is valuable, just for a different reason. What I've been doing this season is throwing one type of bait the entire time to work on improving my 'weak' presentations. But I always seem to fall back on what is tried and true after a couple hours of being skunked 😄

I fish the bait all the way back until it is under my rod tip.  You just never know when that bite is going to happen.

15 hours ago, Bankbeater said:

I fish the bait all the way back until it is under my rod tip.  You just never know when that bite is going to happen.

Nope. But you know it's 10x more likely to happen in the first 10 feet after landing. So if you're trying to be efficient...why play the lure all the way when you could have had it back out at the sweet spot?

14 minutes ago, Neil McCauley said:

Nope. But you know it's 10x more likely to happen in the first 10 feet after landing. So if you're trying to be efficient...why play the lure all the way when you could have had it back out at the sweet spot?

 

Because it very much depends on the water you're fishing.  If you're on a semi steep bank and the fish are on bankside cover, then sure.  Burn it back and cast again.  If you're on a grass flat then lots of times they could be anywhere.  

You never know when you might have followers that will commit at the last second. It does happen.

That one BamaBass video from years back is one of my favorite youtube videos of all time and perfectly showcases how a bass can be anywhere ready to strike. Burning the frog back and an almost 10lb bass just goes airborne for it right at the boat.

 

I’m not trying to be efficient.  I’m trying to get one big fish to bite my lure.  Realistically speaking.  Efficiency is a tournament angler thing and I find that on the lakes around here you leave a lot of meat on the bone trying to be efficient.  Totally depends on the day/time of year and what’s happening on the lake etc but in general - catching giant bass isn’t very much about being efficient so much as cunning.

 

Around here if you’re positive there’s an 8 lber in an area - it pays to let that bait soak and work it slowly because if she isn’t gonna hit on the first cast she’s almost certainly not gonna hit on the second cast.  
 

Usually you get one bite from a big fish per bait if you’re lucky and she doesn’t think she’s being fished for.  That bite is usually investigatory and trying to determine if the bait is fake or food.  

 

Bigger fish seem to bite after a long slow retrieve a lot more often than small fish for what it’s worth.

Spooks wear me out.   Sometimes I work them all the way in, sometimes I dont.

2 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

I’m not trying to be efficient.  I’m trying to get one big fish to bite my lure.  Realistically speaking.  Efficiency is a tournament angler thing and I find that on the lakes around here you leave a lot of meat on the bone trying to be efficient.  Totally depends on the day/time of year and what’s happening on the lake etc but in general - catching giant bass isn’t very much about being efficient so much as cunning.

 

Around here if you’re positive there’s an 8 lber in an area - it pays to let that bait soak and work it slowly because if she isn’t gonna hit on the first cast she’s almost certainly not gonna hit on the second cast.  
 

Usually you get one bite from a big fish per bait if you’re lucky and she doesn’t think she’s being fished for.  That bite is usually investigatory and trying to determine if the bait is fake or food.  

 

Bigger fish seem to bite after a long slow retrieve a lot more often than small fish for what it’s worth.

 

Great thought process. My achilles heel is I usually fish too fast because in the back of my mind I know I need to get off the water by noon, typically. This works fine up until postspawn/Summer, which is usually mid-June through July where I'm at. I do not mind slowing down but I guess I'm wired more like KVD (without catching 'em like KVD). I also would rather land one big bass than 10 keepers so I guess I need more patience.

Bass, and most fish are not really scared of your boat as long as you are quiet. Some fish spend all summer under boats or pontoons tied to a dock. If you ever watch some of the muskie guys videos, they will do figure eights with a big lure right beside their boat to catch those big fish.