Poppers

[Bulldog5485 0]

Thanks Fish looks like a good idea, I usually use a tasting cork from a wine bottle, got a flat plastic bottom on it usually gets about 10 on there if you put them in right. Here is a bunch from a batch that I put together today 10 in all on size 2 2x streamer hooks. How do you guys do the legs to make them stand up like that ? And to get it on the hook initially ?

 

 

Bru

 

[Bulldog5485 0]

Here is some panfish poppers that I made up this morning, before I had to leave for work. These are made with size 6 hooks with small wapsi foam heads.

 

 

 

 

Bru

 

 

[smallieFanatic 0]

Cool poppers! They look like they'd work good

[Bulldog5485 0]

Thanks smallie ! I've been like a machine the past three days with these lol trying to get my fly box ready for bass and panfish season ! I really should be tying some trout flies but i just can't bring myself to do it lol.

 

 

Bru

[smallieFanatic 0]

Thats okay, I don't think you could possibly have too much poppers.

[monkey93 0]

great looking flies and welcome to the forum bulldog.........................................i like tying poppers with foam shaped on a dremel or something like that

[FishyboY 0]

try cutting the tails down some... about the length of the hook or even less...

[Rob Knisely 0]

Good stuff, Bru, but I agree with FishyboY. Put some together with the tails about half the length you have now.

 

However, keep the long-tail ones, too... they'll ride lower in the water and chug instead of pop. May make the difference at dawn. (seeing yours, I'm thinking I might wanna tie some up with longer tails! just with larger hooks)

 

 

[TnTom 0]

Once you spin some deer hair it become hard to stop!

 

What I have found is that buck tail doesn't spin like flank hair or I should say it spins differently. It doesn't matter its a lot of fun. I only started trout fishing this last winter and up till now spent most of my time wading the smaller creeks and feeders. Lots of creek Smallies 13" to 16" and some Greenies, Redeye. They love spun deer hair. What funny is that Bass eat without much discretion. The fun watching them go after a muddler is hard to compare. Catching bass on spun deer hair has that same reward for me as a trout taking a dry fly.

 

If you hunt by chance and do harvest a deer, skin it, scrape of all fat and Borax the hide and when its ready cut a small section from the forward area on the hind quarter (almost belly), soak it in some Woolite then rinse with cool running water for a little while. Dry it ( i use a cool blow dryer). It spins with ease. I find the Woolite seems to polish or slick the deer hair sort of and it spins with no effort.

 

Send me an IM with your address and I'll send you some flank hair I prepared from the deer I shot last winter.

 

Tom

[TigerTom 0]

You bugs look good Bru.

I like to use balsa for my poppers mainly. Sure it is more time consuming, but you can create any custom body you wish with a Dremel and sanding block.

[Pike-Hunter 0]

I have tried most of the materials mentioned in this thread for poppers but my new favorite is foam. It is easy to shape with a dremel, it casts easier than anything else I have tried, it is much cheaper than buying pre-molded popper bodies, and best of all you can epoxy it and get the same action as many lures designed for spinning rods have. Also you can easily spray paint the foam bodies whatever color you want. These are a couple of flies I made over spring break-the big ones take a little bit of time but the panfish flies only take a couple minutes apiece.

[smokinprice 0]

Very nice Pike-Hunter. I like your "mouse" in your second photo. What r u using for the spots?

[Pike-Hunter 0]

I hold a piece of mesh netting over the foam body and spray a contrasting color of spray paint over the top. With different sizes of netting you can make a fish scale appearance as well.

[Hairstacker 0]

Pikehunter, so am I understanding correctly that the flies in your second photo are made out of foam as well? So the final finish on those is epoxy? Very impressive!

 

-- Mike

[Pike-Hunter 0]

Pikehunter, so am I understanding correctly that the flies in your second photo are made out of foam as well? So the final finish on those is epoxy? Very impressive!

 

-- Mike

Thanks Mike. The flies are made out of foam that I sand using a dremel and the final coating is a clear 30-minute epoxy. I recently purchased a rotating drying wheel which helps immensly in the final step of the process instead of rotating them by hand on my vise for a half hour.