Yeah, that is pretty much how I do it as well. I will say that in the past few years since switching from mono to fluorocarbon for all my plastics fishing, I have noticed that I do not "have" to set the hook as hard to get a good set with fluoro. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy giving it a hard set though as plastics are about my favorite way to fish because of the hook set, but I am finding that fluoro and a sharp hook that is properly rigged can get the job done without separating a shoulder in the process. If its flippin or heavy cover I bust em' hard and of course that is done to move the fish out of the cover more than just to set the hook. I "reel into" the fish with a drop shot and sweep set treble hook baits. The only exception that I notice is shaky heads. If I use braid and a leader then a pull set works well most of the time, but if I am using fluoro I will set with more of a snap set. I have had a number of bigger fish come off only to find that the hook never cleared the plastic on a pull set. I believe that the bigger fish have a tendency to really grip that shaky head and while the braid will move in their mouth with ease, I think popping the fluoro helps to dislodge the shaky head and poke em' better. You know, bass fisherman and our theories. Good luck.

I must be doing something wrong. I keep crossing my eyes and jerking hard, and I usually hook the bass, but then have some difficulty seeing.

Same same...

I either side sweep everything unless I literally have the rod tip at 11 or 12 then it's straight up, but I reel real fast so the fish is gliding on top the water to me

Nose hook drop shot with super thin wire hooks I just lift the rod and reel quickly. Other than that, I set the hook pretty hard.

Try this to give you an idea of what power you really have on a hookset. Take an old crank bait and remove the hooks or get a casting plug. Tie it on the the line of your favorite rod and hand it to a buddy. Walk out 30 to 50 feet of line and hold the bait in your hand. Have your buddy set the hook while you hold the hookless bait. You will be amazed at how little force is actually applied to your hand. Add the water column into the mix, windy conditions, etc. and it could be less. I was blown away when I was shown and did this. Try it on your cranking set ups, worm set ups, etc to really see what you are doing to the fish on those hooksets.

Snap set..........

I understand this point of view, but it is physics, when holding a crank with no hooks the weight and force is dispersed over a larger area compared to the tip of a hook. What feels like nothing over a few inches of surface area can feel like a lot over less than a millimeter of surface area

^^what he said

Well then have your friend tie a hook to the line and repeat that same experiment. Then you will know the full force of the hook set.

I hit them hard unless im fishing a drop shot or wacky rig trick worm with a small hook.

Adding a hook will not change the force of the hook set...

Its become so normal for me to jump while I set the hook. For crankbaits and square bills I will do a firm side sweep and keep pressure on it. When I fish with frogs I usually do the same with plastics but I like to bring my rod tip straight up and keep as much pressure as I can. For a jig bit I like to do a hard side sweep hook set. When I get bit off guard I usually take a step back quickly to try to eliminate slack and then set the hook in any direction that feels the best.

I did not say to add a hook. I said to tie a hook on the line, meaning instead of a crank with no hooks since the comment was that the force is distributed over a larger surface on the crank vs the tip of a hook so it feels different. I also never said that it will change the force of the hook set either.

No its wont change the force, it will just be applied over a smaller surface area, think about PSI