How often have you been fishing a topwater and had a bass strike but miss the plug, even in clear water? Is it possible they could be striking at the reflection?

TF&G Exec. Editor Chester Moore donned his scuba gear and went underwater to photograph topwaters from the fish’s perspective and the results were stunning.

“From various angles, reflections showed up in nearly all of the topwater photos. If bass can clearly see the lure it makes sense the reflections are one reason they miss so many times,” Moore said.

In addition, he concluded lines of contrast like a cold change at mid body or from head to body on plugs can make a big difference in getting a fish to strike.

“I have concluded back color and other lines of contrast can be an important factor in topwater fishing success. I would not have thought so a few years ago, but that was before I put on my dive mask and looked at things from the perspective of a fish. While we cannot mimic fish eyesight, approaching a topwater as they do reveals things we simply cannot see from our normal perspective.”

Not the reflection seen when approaching this plug.

A clear reflection is present on this surface plug.