Posts: 8797
| Both the topwater hits were on Troy's baits -- I would classify those as "blow-up's", as I didn't really see where the fish came from, if they had their mouths open, etc. But the bucktail I was throwing, I have to say they flat out MISSED. One mid '30's fish came out of the water with its mouth open, probably a good 8" behind the bait. I'd say that qualifies as a definite "miss". Another rolled over the top of it, I didn't see much else other than the back and the tail, so that one could have had no intentions of eating. But the third one, THAT'S the one that baffled me. I've seen them swim up behind a bait real slow and kind of nip at it, swipe at it with their mouth closed, turn off, etc. But this one came in from about a 45 degree angle, opened its mouth, bit down, and took off. There's no mistaking that big white mouth, and it was an agressive strike, the fish just bit about a foot shy of the lure. When I say "wiff" I'm not kidding. I was halfway to setting the hook when I realized the bait was still coming toward me. Hulbert's point makes sense -- I think once they open their mouth they probably can't see the bait anymore, and if it's something like a glider that changes direction and just isn't where it's supposed to be when they bite down a miss makes complete sense. But a big target moving at a steady speed in a straight line?
The ONLY thing that makes any sense at all is the angle of the sun, which was behind us at the time. I suppose it's possible that the lure was right between the fish and the sun and it couldn't see at all... |
