I was at our river the other morning and decided to throw some topwater baits, buzzbaits and RageTail shad to be specific.  Our river is pretty gnarly with alot of laydowns in places.  I had 4 explosive strikes on these baits but no hookups.  I even tried switching to something else after the miss but no hits. My question is how long after a strike and a miss to you guys keep throwing buzzbaits.  Do you continue to try to annoy them into striking or do you move on?  By the same token, how long do you throw in one area with no strikes before you move on?  And do you throw in the same spot once or many times before you change your direction.  In other words, do you throw just once say, straight ahead, and then on the next cast throw to your right and on the third cast throw to your left or do you do multiple casts to the same location?

I had a good pattern going one day earlier this summer with a buzz bait followed up with a trick stick.  

I could not get a hook up on the buzz bait and after several misses I started throwing the trick stick in immediately after the miss.  This worked all morning -no fish on the buzz bait - hooked almost every time with a trick stick following a miss  

Usually a buzz bait works well for me and I will try multiple casts from different angles to a piece of cover.  I don't think I throw anything just one time before moving along.

good luck

peoples issue with top water is that they try to set the hook to soon. as soon as you see that wreck in the water and you feel a little movement its not time to set the hook yet. people always set it way to early with top water baits. you wanna wait until you feel your bait be pulled under a bit b4 setting the hook. its a very common mistake.

peoples issue with top water is that they try to set the hook to soon. as soon as you see that wreck in the water and you feel a little movement its not time to set the hook yet. people always set it way to early with top water baits. you wanna wait until you feel your bait be pulled under a bit b4 setting the hook. its a very common mistake.

Agreed!

Give it a couple seconds before you set that hook!

To answer your questions, If I'm gettin topwater bites, I'ma keep throwin topwater lures. NOTHING is more fun than a big ol' bass jumpin up to eat that thing!

I like to cover the entire area I'm fishing every which way two or three times.

Most people fish a buzzbait way to fast anyway. I try not to watch it(Same with a frog) and it has helped my hookup ratio. Following it up with a plastic is a great way to catch the short strikers.

peoples issue with top water is that they try to set the hook to soon. as soon as you see that wreck in the water and you feel a little movement its not time to set the hook yet. people always set it way to early with top water baits. you wanna wait until you feel your bait be pulled under a bit b4 setting the hook. its a very common mistake.

I agree at times this can be an issue for some.  

But at times in a river with smallies I think they just come up to have a look and will jump over or bang into a buzz bait.  Wait all day to feel the fish  : it isn't happening.   IMO that is when the follow up bait works well.

Tight lines

It wasn't a case of setting the hook too soon.  They never took the bait. They just broke the surface like they were trying to scare it. But my question is, how long do you guys continue to throw in the same area after a miss, even with follow up baits?

what i do is i fan cast my buzzbait until i get a strike.. then if its a miss i pick up my spinning rod 8lb vanish on it with a wacky rigged senko and throw it where that bass missed and let it float down and they usually will hit that... i would say make as many casts as you comfortably can in that area then move on

I would cover it from different angles and with a couple of baits then move on.

If you have a blow up and miss and still think there is a good fish there sometimes coming back later will work.  An hour or so

Buzzbaits are my favorite lures to use out of any in my tackle box.  I like to give each pocket and cover at least 2 casts or more if it's if really good cover.

Also, try using a trailer-hook, it will increase your hook ups alot.  And also have a senko rigged and ready to go for those short strikes, cast it right to where the strike was and you will more often than not catch that bass.

i LOVE buzzbaits, i like to use huge, noisy ones, and i will cast several times, but i pick my targets, so i cast like 5 times to a good looking spot then just move. I can usually tick them off so bad they strike out of annoyance, i guess, but i have gotten plenty of strikes on the 4th,5th cast to a spot, so dont stop after one

And a lot of times I dont have to set the hook, they somehow set it themselves, i guess my reaction time is so slow that i just am still reeling and it hooks them, idk? :-?

peoples issue with top water is that they try to set the hook to soon. as soon as you see that wreck in the water and you feel a little movement its not time to set the hook yet. people always set it way to early with top water baits. you wanna wait until you feel your bait be pulled under a bit b4 setting the hook. its a very common mistake.

Agreed!

Give it a couple seconds before you set that hook!

To answer your questions, If I'm gettin topwater bites, I'ma keep throwin topwater lures. NOTHING is more fun than a big ol' bass jumpin up to eat that thing!

I like to cover the entire area I'm fishing every which way two or three times.

Also agree but there are times when you do everything right and still cannot get a hookup. That is when you toss a follow up bait right where the miss was. My favorite is a Senko type or a Strike King Z-Too which floats so you can twitch it in place.

I work an area good before I move on usually. When a bass misses, if you continue the steady retrieve they will sometimes come back and hit it. Trick worms and sluggos are good throw back baits.

Usually the best way to fish a buzzbait is to reel it as slowly as possible while still keeping it gurgling on the surface. If your not in heavy weedcover, a trailer hook is invaluable.