Fishing Poppers

[afishinado]

by George Daniel.

I fish poppers a little more aggressively than he recommends in the video at first, and then tone it down like he recommends if the smallies aren't having any of that.

 

[springer1]

I've found that I get most hits when I simply let a popper sit and drift with the flow. If I don't get any action that way, I'll twitch it a bit, but rarely move them more than that.

 

[RLeep2]

I get most of my hits on poppers when I shift my attention to shooing a skeeter or gnat away from my nose..

Actually, I've found that the best retrieve varies from day to day and I don't know what is best for that day until the bass tell me.

 

[McSneek]

I’m convinced I catch most of my smallmouth on poppers soon after the popper lands on the water, often before I even start to retrieve. You don’t need a ton of commotion with one. Slow and steady works best for me but that doesn‘t mean I don’t vary my retrieve.

 

[poopdeck]

I fish mine slow pretty much like how he says. The dissipating rings is something my dad taught me when fishing light jigs under a bobber and it’s something I’ve always adhered to. I seem to get more hits when it’s just sitting there doing nothing. My pops are not really pops just a little bounce before letting it sit still again.

 

[bigjohn358]

I've noticed when it comes to fly fishing everything is downsized compared to the conventional gear lures. I think its a mistake fly fishers do when smallie fishing. A 4 or 5 inch fly is no problem for even a 12 inch smallie to eat. Maybe most anglers just don't like throwing big flies. I just tied up this one for the weekend on the West Branch Susquehanna.

 

[krayfish2]

As soon as mine hits, one or two big chugs and then let it float. After a couple of seconds I'll give it another big chug and let it drift. More subtle movement the rest of the way back to my feet. A lot of the Hits come in between the proper landing and the second chug

 

[JerryC]

I fish more sliders than poppers for smallmouth, bass in general for that matter, but I fish them both the same way. A little bit more aggressive than he does. I was taught to let the splash rings dissipate before starting the retrieve. I still do that. A couple of quick strips, pause, then I might do three or four strips, before the next pause, rinse and repeat. I've had bass hit my fly as soon as it hits the water, but I would say most of my hits come during the pause. Most of my bass bugs are between two and 4 inches long. I use a heavy duty thread furled leader, made for me specifically for bass fishing. They're 4 to 5 feet long and I use a 5 to 6 foot long piece of fluorocarbon, usually 20# or 25#. No problem turning the larger flies over with it.
My next serious attempt at smallmouth will be at the end of August when I head up to a lake in NE Ontario. Very clear lake you can see bottom in 8 to 10 feet of water. I had some top water action last year, but the larger bass were on shoals and rock piles in 15 to 25 feet of water.

 

[henrydavid]

The question of what size, style popper and how aggressively you fish them depends upon what you are attempting to imitate.