Here's my rough estimate of where bass hit my surface lures:

 

10% hit within a fraction of a second of my lure landing. It can seem like the lure landed on their open mouths.

 

40% hit within the 24".

 

40" hit within the next 3' of retrieve.

 

10" hit during the rest of the retrieve.

 

 

Why?

 

My canoe is soooooo quiet and I cast my surface lures a long ways. I'm nearly certain that closer bass don't detect my presence. Heck, if I leave a lure dangling over the side, bass hit those lures and I sometimes literally hit/bump unaware bass with my canoe. So, why are way off yonder bass much more likely to hit my surface lures than closer bass?

I would assume the insta-bites are reactionary and everything else is some version of stalking/ambush with diminishing success because you're moving farther away from the target zone/bank/cover?

2 minutes ago, 4n2t0 said:

I would assume the insta-bites are reactionary

 

Makes sense.

 

3 minutes ago, 4n2t0 said:

everything else is some version of stalking with diminishing success because you're moving farther away from the target zone/bank/cover?

 

I should have clarified that this pattern holds for open water surface fishing too, where I'm in the middle of the pond and not casting to cover or the bank.

My opinion is that because that initial splash of the lure landing has the most drawing power of any action the lure will perform from that point until the lure is retrieved. More than any individual “pop” or “plop” or “walk”. My estimations match yours numbers wise. 
 

Ive experienced the same with other baits as well. Most jig bites are the initial fall of the bait. Same with most soft plastics. Jerkbaits it’s also usually within the back half of the retrieve. 
 

I haven’t noticed this with spinnerbaits. Doesn’t seem to be matter where in the retrieve I am, bass will eat it. With pike and pickerel though, I would say 75% of spinnerbait hits come within 20’ of the boat. I believe that’s due to the angle change as the lure begins its ascent to the boat. 

6 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

My opinion is that because that initial splash of the lure landing has the most drawing power of any action the lure will perform from that point until the lure is retrieved.

 

I bet you're right. It's the splash. 

IMO the bass that strike quickly are active bass looking for prey and your lure looks like prey.  If the bass is a few feet away it takes time for the bass to get to the lure. I have had bass nearly jump in my boat lifting the lure out of the water.

Your lure can hit the bass on the nose without any reaction if it’s inactive.

You canoe maybe quite but it is displacing water and the basses lateral line feels those pressure waves just isn’t alarmed by them, visually it’s part of the background environment.

Tom

Some bass are inherently more aggressive than others. I suspect those quick bites are the most aggressive fish hitting it before any other fish has a chance too. Your less aggressive bass probably tend to be cautious and follow the bait for a bit to see if it seems real/safe to eat. You convince a few, which eat later in your retrieve after they've studied it long enough, but most probably just watch it go by.

Two of the three big ones I caught saturday hit before I made a first revolution of the reel handle.  If you have the pattern dialed in to where they are feeding (no cast was too shallow for me saturday) and you're fishing for active fish then you're putting it right in their zone in the first place.  Active fish + accurate cast to fish  = getting slammed.  

I'm gonna guess you are a really good caster.........you seem to know where the fish are.........I'm just saying.......

I have heard you mention this before and I've been paying attention to my topwater bites. I most often get bit on topwater when it's around cover or structure that I'm aware of. A creek channel, or a grass line, or a stick.

 

I don't cast topwater out into the open much without knowing there is something there that will hold fish. Unless I am fishing past an inside grass line. But they normally hit at the grass line.

 

So perhaps you're top water bite is relating to cover or structure, and you're just not noticing it?

My percentages are about the same as yours.

The only one that might be different is ….. I like to let is sit for a few seconds after it hits the water, and twitch it. A good number of hits happen then.

I think “splash down” draws their attention, if they are close, they hit it. If they are near, but not real close. It takes a while to track and decide whether to hit or pass. 

I think it takes the later ones that hit, longer to get there or longer to make up their minds. 
That just my thoughts on it….. I try and prove my theories by repeat performances, but as we all know the fish don’t  always have consistent behavior. I think that’s what keeps us coming back and trying again.

We, like @Swamp Girldid, and tally up our percentages and file it for future use.
 

You can’t be stealthy enough in a boat - they know you’re there just as sure as you know when someone barges in your front door screaming at 2 am.

1 hour ago, Bazoo said:

So perhaps you're top water bite is relating to cover or structure, and you're just not noticing it?

 

Quite possible.

 

8 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

You can’t be stealthy enough in a boat - they know you’re there just as sure as you know when someone barges in your front door screaming at 2 am.

 

I would agree with you as I nearly always do, Pat, IF I didn't bump into bass with my canoe. Now, they usually swirl and scoot when I'm three or four feet away, but occasionally they don't know I'mm there until the canoe nudges them.

4 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Quite possible.

 

 

I would agree with you as I nearly always do, Pat, IF I didn't bump into bass with my canoe. Now, they usually swirl and scoot when I'm three or four feet away, but occasionally they don't know I'mm there until the canoe nudges them.

 

the ones you’re bumping into are not at risk of being caught because they know you are you - or perhaps they don’t see you as a threat because they have tabs on you - I see bluegill swimming with big bass similarly - I think if you lunged at the bass near your kayak - they’d probably vacate the area in a hurry!

 

I also think some fish are very locked in areas biologically and some fish are more free at various times in their lives!

 

whether fish attack a splash or swim away from it varies directly day to day in proportion to how many fish are around and competing and how often the fish have been caught after a splash etc etc etc 

23 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

whether fish attack a splash or swim away from it varies directly day to day in proportion to how many fish are around and competing and how often the fish have been caught after a splash etc etc etc 

I agree with this.  I would add that how hungry the fish is also influences how aggressive it is.  Fish have competing instincts.  The fear instinct tells them to go hide so nothing will eat them.  The aggressive instinct tells them to eat the food before someone else does.  If there is a noisy boat around that boost the fear instinct.  If the fish is very hungry and there is a lot of competition for food, that boost the aggressive instinct.  Which instinct prevails and triggers a response depends on many factors.  Clearly @Swamp Girl is good at boosting the aggressive instinct to bite and bite quickly.

7 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

You can’t be stealthy enough in a boat - they know you’re there just as sure as you know when someone barges in your front door screaming at 2 am.

I can't agree more with Pat.  You can't be stealthy enough.  I fish ultra clear water for smallmouth and I have seen fish about 45, 50 feet away, slowly turn when I put my electric motor down. They know something is different, but not necessarely dangerous.  But I've also had bass under the shadow of the boat in 20 foot of water follow me around for more than an hour.  I've thrown a ned rig ( no splash) and had a visible fish dart 15 feet to get it.  

That distance( about 50 feet) is really important.

 

My results for surface lures is about the same except for the 40 % that hit withing the next 3 feet.  That doesn't exist where I fish.

Reaction times of bass have been measured in fractions of a second.  And they have shown speeds in short bursts that allow them to cover 3’ in 2/10 of a second.  So in less than 1 second, they can detect and capture food that is 3’ away.  While their vision serves them extremely well, their lateral line system is a biological marvel. 

17 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

whether fish attack a splash or swim away from it varies directly day to day in proportion to how many fish are around and competing 

 

Its not that the bass are right there waiting on it. Watch Glenn Lau's film work and see that the bass are moving all over the place and rushing to grab the lure BEFORE the next bass can. They are competing.

 

I do believe Pat mentioned the magic word first. Competition. And here it is on film. Legendary!

 

 

Is there any consensus on the competition angle? I agree with others that the splash or noise of a lure may attract their attention to a possible food source, but as I see it, once more than one bass move towards it, that a survival instinct for competition for food kicks in to strike it.

You’re just using your built in FFS. Whether you believe it or not you are very gifted in finding fish. You have a 6th sense. I am sure some bass see the shadow and run to it. I am sure some have the splash and go after it. Regardless you’re casting in the right spots. 

Did you ever think to ask the fish? They might talk if you start water boarding them….. wait……

A. Fish like waterboarding. They call it breathing.

 

B. Thanks, Sucky. I am an intuitive angler. I score on my hunches a lot. As much as I enjoy fishing with the kid and other pals, I fish best alone. I've shared how I fish with my head on a swivel. There are clues everywhere, but beyond the clues, I do have a sense of where bass might be. I don't know if that's innate or the ripe fruit of decades of catching fish. PhishLI once said that not everyone can catch bass and I think that's so. 

It's because you're a 🔨 and 90% of bass can't resist eating your bait for more than 3'. 😉 Now quit messing around and mark this post as the solution!!! 😂🤣😂

Smallmouth in clear water will see the lure in the sky and track it until it splashes down, this is why it seems like you dropped it right on their nose.

^^ After spending several minutes explaining to my daughter how to bring a fluke back to the yak, she cast it out and caught her first river smallmouth when it intercepted the fluke 2” above the water.  Talk about an extra special first!

I'm gonna venture a guess that fishing in relatively shallow water might be a factor too.