How do you tie your POPPER

Fredrick

Fredrick

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I having some cabin fever issues right now and been tying my bass flies for the summer . And figured I find out how some of you fine outstanding warm water fly fishers tie you poppers . Well when I tie mine I use a mustad kinked popper hook sorry I don't remember the the hook # size 4 though . For the body I use cork I usually and glue it on with 5 minute epoxy I color them with a sharpie but have found all natural works good too then I get some soft tex and mix it with some extra fine glitter and coat the cork. When it dries I first tie some flasabou on for the tail than some caf tail on top of that from there I tie in some grizzly hackle right behind the cork and wrap it on until I run out of hackle. Eyes are legs are optional I found that on a popper I get about the same strikes with or without the extra trimmings . I'm at work right now keeping the man down so I will try to post some pics latter





:pint:
 
I use the foam preformed popper bodies they sell anywhere you buy tying stuff. I use the same straight shaft hooks I tie my clousers and other saltwater flies with. Just put the hook in the groove and zap a gap (super glue) it. I found (at the chick junk jewelry store in the mall) some dollar a bottle nail polishes and clear coat. Some are cool like the black with glitter and the white pearly stuff. I use stick on eyes and sharpies for spot and gills or whatever. Some I tie with the popper part backwards and they become "sliders". They don;t make the big splash and pop regular ones do but then shoot under the surface and then float to the top...instead of snort pops they travel a little further before they come back up...these are deadly. I use whatever saddles I have or the fat parts of hackle capes (stuff I wouldn't use for anything else. I'll see if I can get you some picks in the next day or two. I had fun tying mine. The bass seem to love them...I wanted to get something on them at the beach last summer ( I tied them in july for an august trip) but no luck. I'd like to try them this spring for pike.
 
You should give the Clouser EZ popper a try. The foam cyclinders you use to cut the bodies are cheap and easy to work with. Coating the body with epoxy is a good final step that makes the popper very durable. Although it's hardly neccessary. I like to use white and yellow for daytime fishing, blue and black when I am out at the last light of day (or later).
 
I use the clear nail polish as a last coat and actually give it 2 coats of that...its 99 cents a bottle and I don';t have to mix and they have their own brush in the lid. ...I like the Clouser popper but I only needed to buy one pack of popper bodies and they were on clearance...Maybe next time...
 
Tom I like foam to but when it gets a little windy out I find that they can be a pain to get it to land were you want . Also they push more water and pop better than the foam ones . Well as promised here are some pics

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Those are cool...the white ones on the left...is there something inside the heads or are they done with softex or something?
 
I painted the heads with light coat of softex to give them some form.
 
I get Fred to tie the poppers for me! He does a great job.

I use foam on mine. I had some good results last year with a gartside gurglur. I know your preference is not foam Fred, but it does work.

Bill
 
Second the motion on the CLouser EZ Popper. Use a marker to color them (can buy the cylinders in different colors too) and/or color in some eyes.
 
I did well with the gurgler when I went to the Delaware with Bill.. I seen some smallies ganging up on some minnows so I just casted it in group of smallies and popped it a few times and BAM.....I got 3 12 plus inchers .... I was living life :-D
 
I use either the pre-formed soft foam popper bodies or take a dremel tool to foam cylinders. I use a variety of hooks, mostly straight shanked, though I've taken a liking to the Wapsi kink-shanked popper hooks. I use permanent markers and transfer foil coloring, and I coat them with a clear flexible epoxy or varnish. Here's some pictures. Top four are preformed bodies.
The next two are shaped foam cylinders, and the last one is a foam cylinder.

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Tom I second that motion! these poppers look great!
 
Wonderful poppers!! I'm sure they will all catch bass.

But ....... the problem I always have is: When you use big flies you have to also use big rods, like a 7 or 8 weight.

I like to go light, so I can use a 5 or 6wt........ same thing with trout or panfish, I like to use a 3wt.

I know I can catch bigger fish with bigger poppers, but I can't see myself using heavy tackle...... then a spin rod would be better.
 
I chucked 8" heavily weighted streamer with a 6 wt. for northerns.
Everyone told me that an 8 wt. tis the minimum for pike, but I had no problem handling the fish. With the streamers I could throw about 60 feet of line before it became a struggle. so, I'm sure that a 6 wt. could manage a light weight popper.
 
When I fish for bass I mainly use a 8 wt and I think its easier to cast bigger flies and makes my time on the stream fun.

I have met Philly before in the sporting gentleman and he has some crazy bass flies , he even has a fly that looks like a rapala . Those are some nice poppers philly but I would be scared to fish with them they look to dam good .

I thought about buying a air brush to paint my poppers but I decided not to because I would be putting all my time and money into something that I could loose at any time when fishing. So I make my poppers quick and simple and they catch just as many fish. Not including drying time it takes me under 5 minutes for each one .

I would like to try the transfer foil stuff were could one person obtain some of it and how so you use it
 
Good question and I too am patiently awaiting an answer : )
 
Orvis fresh water rods only go to a size 6! That's the Helios and the Zero Gravity. Even the cheapo Clearwater II states that sizes 7 to 9 are for "Salt Species"

Bob Clouser, a wonderful fly fishing guide that fishes the same water I do, put such heavy lead eyes on his Clousers, he uses a 8 or 9! LOL He also targets carp when the smallmouth won't cooperate.

IMHO, that's a overkill. You can easily land any freshwater fish on a 6wt.

You can tie huge top water stuff that doesn't weigh anything.
 
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