I was at the Vine the other day, had a good fish blow up on a spittin image. She swung twice, missed both times. I let her have it each time, and when the bait was gone, set the hook nada.

Anways, recasted several times and nothing. She was probably 7-8 lbs. I actually thought it was a little early for topwater, but she def went after it the first cast.

Keep a senko rigged on another rod while you're throwing topwater. When you miss a topwater blowup, pick up the other rod and throw back in with the senko and let it sink slowly. You could also use a jerkbait, but don't work it fast, just let it sink. It will simulate an injured baitfish after the bass hit it.

Getting a fish to blow up on the same topwater, more than once, is kinda just up to the fish. You can try a different retrieve, to make the lure seem more wounded, but if the fish doesnt want to strike again, it wont.

If the fish are highly aggressive and active, there is a good chance you can get mulitple blowups from the same fish. If the fish are sluggish and just reacting to baits, the fish will probably not take another shot!

However, you can get fish to take a slower more subtle presentation after a topwater miss. Like Canino, I like to go with the senko approach. However, I like to rig them wacky style. Make sure it is weightless and let it fall just like he stated.

There are also a couple of tricks that you can mess with while fishing topwaters in shallow water, especially good with buzzbaits and frogs like ribbits. Anyways, tie on your topwater with a palamor knot. Make a long tag end and do not cut it off. Instea, a worm hook to hit and place your senko or other plastic on the hook. Now, if you get a blow up but miss the fish, you will have a soft plastic right there in the water on top of the fish. Start to slowly twitch the plastic and maybe the fish will take it.

That is a crazy little technique, and kind of gimicky, but I have seen my cousin make it work!

Bingo. I keep a weightless white fluke tied on at the ready while fishing topwater.

Sometimes when you have caused a reaction strike and they didn't really want to eat it in the first place, there isn't much you can do, but like these guys said always keep another bait rigged to drop in sometimes that works when they wont come back up for the topwater.

+1 the fluke

First, I just let it sit and twitch slightly. Then, if nothing the throw the wacky rigged Senco.

+1 for the senko. I am going to try to rig it wacky style next time. Thanks for the tip.

I will try the fluke/senko approach. Usually, Im really patient with letting the bass inhale before setting the hook. I was usuing mono and didnt like the stretch at all when I set the hook. Either way, I missed him and thats fishing =)

Ditto on the baits above. I like to throw a Grandebass Rattlesnake.

If throwing a Ribbit type frog. let it sink also. I have found days where fishing a frog just under the surface will catch more fish. Just my opinion....

+1 for the senko and the Fluke

My partner and I have been doing this lately , I'm throwing a buzzbait if I get a short strike he will through a weightless fluke right on the spot the fish hit.This works great!!!!

As mentioned above by Hyperstrike: having your partner throw in immediatly with whatever soft plastic he has rigged will often get you a follow-up strike. Anything from a T-Rigged worm to a fluke to a rattlesnake. My father accuses me of "front-ending" him and every other reason for me catching more fish then him when I take him. Despite that I always have him cast a worm or something soft right into the center of a "blow-up" from a missed topwater strike. Often works! Also, something people rarly try is when a bass blows-up on a buzzbait and misses STOP your retrieve. The buzzbait will "helicopter" down like a falling spinnerbait and this will often draw a second strike. Hard to remember immediatly after a "car hood" size boil-up right after a missed topwater strike!

My biggest Ribbit bass yet, came off of a ribbit I let sink. I got a backlash, the bait sunk, I reeled up the slack and felt a fish on. It was a 6 lber!

either throw a senko,weightless or throw the topwater back onto him bc he liked it the forst time,