Depends on how aggressive they are and how hard they tap it. If its a little peck, I lift up a little and see if my line is moving or if I feel weight. If its a pretty solid peck, I'll go ahead and cross their eyes.

Depends. Is it a tick, a tap, or a thump?

Tick, I'll check to see if there's something there before setting the hook.

Tap or thump, immediately.

first thump fish eating it

second thump fish spitting out

third thump, me hitting you in the head because you just missed a fish

Been there, done it..

Be adaptable, like has been stated previously, the fish are gonna act (eat) differently daily, figure out their mood, and act accordingly..

Don't remember for sure if it was Paul Ellias that said it but "fish don't have arms" when you feel them it's in their mouth. Hit them when you feel them, some baits allow you time to wind down first but hit them when you feel them.

Same here.

Another important thing to consider: if you wait too long, you will end up with a gut-hooked fish.

My old team partner was old school he would wait and wait and wait he said after the 3rd tap, he kept missing fish because they dropped it,i finally told him if he didnt start setting the hook on the first tap, that the first tap was the fish eating it the second was him spitting it out and the third tap was gonna be me smacking him up side his head with my rod. He catches more fish now!

Right! "See" the bite! Don't "feel" the bite. If you can feel the fish,the fish can feel you. So,if you "feel" the bite,you are behind the fish. Set immediately!

Now here's another question, how would you set the hook and how long would you wait when slow rolling a spinnerbait and you feel a distinct tap

Immediatly. I don't usually feel only a tap, it's more like a whack.

If it`s a jig set it as fast as you can because he/she will feel the weight and know that`s not natural and spit it out.
If I`m fishing a 10" power worm then I`ll wait a couple of seconds for the fish to get it in it`s mouth good.

I usually reel up and feel the weight then set the hook. If you have anything with scent on it the fish will hold it for a couple seconds.

I've been in situations when the fish just wanted the bait out of their area and would bump it but wouldn't have it in their mouth if you set the hook immediately. If you waited for the line to move then you had them. Sometimes setting the hook immediatly is the only way but I've ran into situations where that didn't work and had to let them have some slack and watch for the line to move to know they had it.

I wait just a few seconds (probably more like 1, maybe 2) with soft plastics. If I set it as soon as I feel it I miss 2/3 of the fish. Cranks and jigs I set it when I feel the slightest bump.

Cross their eyes!