I agree with your theory's Luke. I have had a few experiences of strikes very close to the boat on stick baits where the fish grabs the lure and almost hangs in the water motionless then just spits it out. I suspect they are very smart fish and were just checking to see if it was edible
. Other days they are simply fired up and smash anything no messing around.
My mate Gav mentioned to me on the last day of his recent Nomad trip that he was running assist off the front and single off the rear (poppers) and the hookup rate was terrible, then he switched to a baker on the belly and first strike he hooked up.
So yet another variable in the game of fishing
Sometimes they crash tackle the lure, sometimes swipe halfheartedly, sometimes tailing the lure just to see the frustration of the angler
For me I use baker and single. I have been toying with the idea of running an assist as well but I think it is one of those backup plans if fish are hitting but the hookup rate is not there. I have ruled out trebles simply because of the damage they sometimes cause, although I like the idea of the treble on the belly and single on the rear. Ha basically my views are always changing! The more you know the less you know