First attempt at Stippled Popper technique

[Nealbo 0]

Getting ready to do some poppers and gave Stippled Popper technique a try. This is the first one I have done like this, I know it is not close to his by a long shot but it turned out ok I think. Please let me know what yall think.

 

This is what I was going for.

size 10 bream popper

[Dart 0]

Lookin' good, Neal. If you're going for Ron's look, I'd say maybe more dots and smaller? I like how you put the white inside the turquoise like he did. I went to Michael's today and got a LOT of storage bins for beads and hooks, so I'm working on making labels for those and getting them sorted... so no poppers for me.

 

The clear coat is really going to make that pop when you're done with it. Much better than my first stippled attempt. Keep at it.

[Stippled Popper 0]

Dart's comments are pretty accurate, Neal. But remember that the popper that inspired your effort was intended for display only. When I tie them to be fished, I leave off the "dot inside a dot" business and tie the tail simpler too. It makes it easier to say goodbye when you lose them to a fish or hang them in a tree somewhere out of your reach.

 

An impressive beginning.

[BigDaddyHub 0]

much better than my first attempt, Nealbo. Looking good.

[perchjerker 0]

Personally, I find several things wrong with it! First and foremost is the fact that IT IS NOT IN MY collection. Funny, I can't remember what the other things were!!! OUTSTANDING!

 

PS: I am equally impressed with your "clothesline". Mine is somewhat similar, but is simply two strands of bead chain stretched on both sides of the top of pillars on each end of a piece of 1 X 2 about 12 inches long. The pillars extend about 2 inches above the top of the base. I presume the head on yours rotates. NEAT!

 

Frank

[ChuckingFluff 0]

I'd frame that first one, great job. :clapping:

[chrismartin 0]

What will you use for a clear coat? I've never been happy with any clear finish I've put on... I'm pretty sure it's because I'm using the wrong stuff

[Dart 0]

What will you use for a clear coat? I've never been happy with any clear finish I've put on... I'm pretty sure it's because I'm using the wrong stuff

 

I think Nealbo uses the same, but I'm not sure. I use DecoArt's DuraClear Varnish Gloss, Interior/Exterior. I picked it up at Michael's Crafts when I got the Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic paint.

 

Product Description:

Brush-on polyurethane, non-yellowing varnishes that form a tough, flexible, clear finish that dries quickly. Can be used on most hard craft surfaces, both interior and exterior. Available in satin, gloss and matte varnishes in both 2 oz. and 8 oz. sizes.

 

Painting Surfaces:

# Wood

# Plaster

# Tin

# Resins

# Ceramic bisque

# Papier mache

# Terra cotta

# Plastic

 

 

 

Features and Advantages:

# Durable, non-yellowing, non-toxic

# Forms a weatherproof, protective seal on both indoor and outdoor surfaces

# Protects surfaces from chemicals such as alcohol and resists water stains or rings

# Won't puddle

# Brush strokes won't show

# No smelly fumes

# Clean up with soap and water

[gpd4 0]

Looks good to me, too. I can't wait to see it after it's been clearcoated.

 

Did you make your hanging rack/dryer? I really like that.

 

Also, I have to ask...what's the lighter fluid for?...other than filling your lighter...

[Dart 0]

Our dad made the hanging rack (yes, Nealbo and I are brothers). He also made the one that's in my stippled popper thread. I believe Nealbo's is made from machined brass (his rotates) and mine is made from tool steel. They both have set screws holding them together that you can tighten with allen wrenches to draw the bead chain tight. By doing it this way, the chain is extremely tight and doesn't sag at all. If you have to ever replace the chain (which I don't think either of us have) it's not a pain to try to stretch it either. The set screws do all the work!

 

As far as the lighter fluid, it's good to remove gummy residue such as the adhesive that's left behind from stickers. I'm guessing that's what it's for.

 

I'll now let Neal have his thread back.

[c-denby 0]

Very cool poppers.. I have always liked fishing them. Just never actually tied one. Considering I have all the materials necessary to make them I guess I should give them a try. It looks pretty fun being able to paint and design them an colour patterns you want. and the great thing is that the fish really only see the bottom So you can make any cool designs you want on top, leaving the possiblities endless and extremely creative.

 

Maybe I'll make a few tonight at our local fly fishing clubs open tying night...

 

Anything I need to know before putting a few popper bodies together?

 

 

 

Chris

[fishabuoy 0]

Seems like Ron has more than a couple of us converted to his stippling technique - Count me as another student and believer to "Jeddi Popper Master Obi-Ron's" polka-dotted way..... :clapping:

 

Notes -

 

1) First up was a slider, done with a 5/0 and 10/0 "stippling" brush and not solid pin/rod instruments like Ron uses, and it is rrrrreally tough to do with a brush!!! Let's just say thank goodness acrylics wipe off w/water before dry!

 

2) Second fly was the popper, & I improvised on tools buy making a couple stippling pens out of different sized finish nails which I cut and filed flat, then stuck into dowels. This was much easier to have control of the placement and actual size of dot, and is far quicker!

 

3) The only place I'm presenting these bugs is in front of some jumbo bluegills I know of at a pond in our local mountains, hopefully later this week! :thumbup:

 

 

 

pics of my first completed attempts.

 

More to follow if I can ignore my work long enough to paint some up

 

bobby v

[Flytyer14 0]

Those are some fine poppers!!

[perchjerker 0]

fishabouy:

 

Great poppers! The only flaw that I see is in the hook itself. If you look closely, the point of the hook is turned up towards the body; substantially closing the gape (gap). A hook with the axis of the point parallel to the axis of the shank would open the gape up considerably; enhancing hooking ability. This angle can be corrected on the hooks "in-hand" by opening them up with pliers before mounting them in your vise. You can even try to open them up on the already completed bugs. If your vise will hold them tightly enough, simply put them in the vise as you normally do and slowly pull up at the eye until you have the desired point position. In the future, I would look for a hook that does not require this adjustment. I find Mustad #3366 works quite well for poppers, unless you are making pencil poppers, which may require an 8X long hook. Another alternative is to flatten the bottom of the body before you mount it on the hook, which is what I normally do as a step in the making of my bodies.

 

Keep up the good work!!

 

Cheers,

perchjerker

 

[Stippled Popper 0]

Perchjerker brings up an interesting point. The points of some of the kink shank hooks commonly used in making poppers, such as the Mustad Signature CK52S, turn up toward the body or eye. I use the hook and I suspect that the hook fishabouy used in the popper and slider he posted above might also be the CK52S. In my own experience how much an upturned hook eye is going to impact the gape and hooking ability of the fly also depends to a certain degree on how far the hook is recessed into the slot and whether or not the hook point terminates behind the back of the popper or somewhere underneath the popper. Generally I believe it is best for the hook point to terminate no further forward than the back of the popper. How far behind the back of the popper the hook point ends may vary. But it clearly must not end so far back that the weight of the hook given whatever is tied behind leaves the popper floating "hook eye to the sky" like a buoy.