A picture of your configuration would be great.Make sure you have a pretty fast ratio reel and start cranking as soon as it his the water. Generally slower is better, just fast enough to keep it on top' I use half of a curly-tail worm as a trailer. Make sure you feel the fish before setting the hook.
I really like buzzbaits with clackers, but the best advice for fishing buzzbaits is for you or someone in your boat to be ready to throw a grub or tube to the the missed buzzbait strikes. If you're quick enough and make a good cast with a tube to the spot of the miss, you'll hook-up almost everytime!
If with multiple people try different stuff. Try one with a popper and one with a buzz bait. Early morning before the sun gets high and then when shadows are on the lake in the afternoon. Also don't be afraid to make the exact same cast multiple times with top water, or multiple angles at the same rock, like if you've hit the side of a boulder don't be afraid to also hit the back side of it. Probably the biggest thing with top water is to let them eat it even an extra second, takes patience and practice but that hook up ratio is greatly increased.I love top water bass fishing but have not done well at Powell-excluding striper boils. Any suggestions for mid summer patterns?