Hi Adam! I prefer to fish on the surface as well for the very reason you cited -- nothing like the heart attack-inducing strike of a good bass on top. Gets my heart racing every time. A.J. McClane, who probably fished for and caught just about every fresh and saltwater gamefish of his time put it like this:
"I suppose the peculiar fascination bass bugging has is in the strike. To see a heavy fish rise from under the lily pads or slip out from under a dense growth of weeds to smash at a floating bug is the most tense moment an angler can experience at the end of any search." -- A.J. McClane, The Practical Fly Fisherman (1953)
Having said that, I've also enjoyed fishing a chartreuse and white Clouser with a little bit of flash -- I tie them with small dumbbells for this purpose, and have found I can jerk it in short spurts (like a small, fleeing baitfish) just under the surface where I can still see the strike. Under a few, very specific conditions I've learned to recognize, I have found a Clouser superior to a topwater bug.
Curious what streamer(s) you use to catch your consistently bigger bass? I've tried a Mickey Finn but did not find it nearly as effective as a Clouser.
-- Mike
Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life.
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