Was at Athens this morning and kept seeing huge fish hit topwater in some pads main lake. I presented my frog with no luck. It came up top over a dozen times. Didn't really look like a bass as it was a brownish red color.. any ideas?

I had one hit a frog. I know they sure the hell hit chatterbaits!!

Carp? I don't know Athens but by the color sounds like a carp

bowfin

I've caught 1 on a pop-r.

Last year I was fishing a buzz bait kept getting blow ups but no fish. Swapped to a spinnerbait and caught 3 catfish on consecutive cast.

I've caught catfish on spinner baits and plastics but never a top water. Doesn't mean they won't hit one though

Sounds like you saw a grennel(bowfin) had one chasing my frog last week just never would commit or carp

Sounds like carp to me. I've never caught a catfish on topwater, but I did have one surprise me a couple of weeks ago on Cypress Springs. Over the course of two days, I caught 6 catfish in this small area, on everything ranging from t-rig to a swim bait. But on one of them, I was throwing square bill and felt something slap at it. I slowed the retrieve, hoping the "bass" would come back to it. As I'm bringing it back to the boat, I start burning it to get it in. As soon as I can see the square bill, about a 5lb channel cat that was following it, blows it up out of the water. So, that was pretty close to catching one on a topwater.

Yes they do

Was he trying to eat it or spawn with it? Things as big as him.

Caught one on a Jitterbug one night, bout a 12# channel

I think your topwater hit him.

Yellow cats will hit a crankbait.

I caught a 5lb flathead at night on a Zara spook a few years ago.

I have caught channel cats on yellow magics in the back of Sand on Roberts before

sounds like carp splashing around to me. That said, I have seen a channel cat take a buzz bait before.