Popper Swap II

[Flytyer14 0]

Don't worry wes, poppers are kinda newer to me too.

 

But we have some great guys in this swap.

[smokinprice 0]

I am by no means an expert but poppers arent really that hard to do. They are by far my most favorite fly to tie. Each tier has their own style with poppers I am learning. The way I tie them is not the way BDH or Dart ties them but that is what makes it great. For me this swap is out of my comfort zone which makes it more interesting. I have been wanting to try flip flop poppers but never had the guts until I forced myself with this swap. Just my two cents and sorry for rambling on.

[wes917 0]

Sorry guys I'm gonna have to drop from this swap :crying: :crying: My old crappy used vice just took a crap as I was finishing up ties for another swap. Not sure when I'm gonna replace it as I might as well upgrade now. Sorry everyone.

[Dart 0]

Sorry guys I'm gonna have to drop from this swap :crying: :crying: My old crappy used vice just took a crap as I was finishing up ties for another swap. Not sure when I'm gonna replace it as I might as well upgrade now. Sorry everyone.

Maybe next time.

[nofish 0]

So, we had fun with the last popper swap and I've had requests for another one. I thought we'd do something a bit different this time though. Several people have mentioned difficulty in obtaining pre-made popper bodies, so let's do one with no pre-fabricated bodies (wapsi perfect popper, rainy's foam, etc). Outside of this one guideline, the body is limited only by your imagination. Use punched out foam from flip flops, spin/stack deer hair, sculpted wine cork bodies, balsa, glued foam (dremel) bodies, Kirk's sanded hula bodies, etc. The list goes on and on!

 

Hopefully, we'll all learn some new techniques to make poppers and broaden our skills in the process. Since there were a few people that missed out on this one, let's have 13 tiers, each sending in 12 flies. Standard swap rules apply (toe tag your flies and send self addressed stamped envelope for return flies and make sure to send a big enough box to accommodate 12 poppers!). If you have any questions on swap rules, feel free to PM me.

All flies are due to me by June 1st. And remember, MAKE YOUR OWN POPPER BODIES!

 

1) Dart

2) riffleriversteelheadslayerpaulreallyneedsalongerforumhandle

3) gpd4

4) smokinprice

5) BigDaddyHub

6) Brian Brown75

7) Kirk Dietrich

8) breambuster

9) Flytyer14

10)

11)

12)

13)

my first swap. i,ll join

[gpd4 0]

This has been keeping me busy. I have 3 prototypes that I hope to get into the water tomorrow - with any luck the rain will stay away.

 

#8 hooks - black balsa poppers. I took a bunch of pictures I'll try to put up tomorrow showing how I made the bodies. I tried to keep them uniform, but it's tough. They're close enough, I think.

 

Fishing report to follow....

[BigDaddyHub 0]

If you're doing them by hand, it's hard to get exact replicas, but with a little practice, you can get damn close if you don't rush yourself.

[gpd4 0]

I cut plugs about 1.125" with a sharpened tube and then gently chucked them in a drill press...since I have no lathe. I roughed the shape with the edge of a chisel...since I have no skew...since I have no lathe. Then I finished the shaping with a sanding block.

 

From there they got trimmed to length/shape with the jigsaw and then I hollowed out the tips with a dremel and a ball mill cutter.

 

I'll post some pics tomorrow...It's just about nap time for me.

[Dart 0]

I look forward to seeing them. I haven't even made it to the store yet to buy my materials.

[nofish 0]

I look forward to seeing them. I haven't even made it to the store yet to buy my materials.

hi dart, i'm like to join the swap, and maybe suggestions from other on what to tie. i'v been tying some foam, have done corks. and ugly deerhairs. i'll be tying prototypes.All my flys are prototypes. I' m open for suggestions. gerry

[Dart 0]

I look forward to seeing them. I haven't even made it to the store yet to buy my materials.

hi dart, i'm like to join the swap, and maybe suggestions from other on what to tie. i'v been tying some foam, have done corks. and ugly deerhairs. i'll be tying prototypes.All my flys are prototypes. I' m open for suggestions. gerry

Hi Gerry. Welcome to the swap! I meant to put something in my post about it last night, but I have the attention span of a gnat. I'd suggest you tying something that you enjoy tying, but try to do something a little different with it so you'll learn something new. Whatever you send, I'm sure it'll make a nice addition to the swap.

[Robert M 0]

Count me in. I've got a pencil sharpener and some stick balsa :bugeyes:

[Dart 0]

Count me in. I've got a pencil sharpener and some stick balsa :bugeyes:

You're in! Thanks for joining.

[gpd4 0]

Balsa popper body SBS...my way, anyway

 

Sharpen a brass tube. Bevel the outside edge until it's sharp. Don't get too much of a feather edge, as it will roll over and make bad cuts. A small rat tail file will help maintain the edge through the process. I bought a $6 hunk of balsa at a craft store and cut two chunks 1 1/8" long off of it.

Cut with the grain. You can twist and push it through easily by hand, or even easier if you mount the tube in an electric drill. You'll end up with a pile of plugs like this.

I mounted the plugs in a drill press and tightened the chuck. Be careful here - too much pressure will crush the balsa, and not enough pressure will let it fall out. I erred on the side of too much pressure.

I used the corner of the sharpest chisel I have to rough form the plug, and then finished shaping it with sandpaper.

From here, I cut them at about a 30° angle to make the basic body shape.

Then take a dremel with a ball bit and cup the face of the body. I used a razor saw to make a small slot in the bottom to accept the hook.

Mount your hook and wrap it with thread.

Fit the popper body's slot over the hook and glue it on. I use a thin CA glue for this.

CA glue also makes a quick and easy balsa sealer.

Paint them. Paint them again. And paint them one more time just to be sure.

I took the worst bodies for my testing purposes. After a couple of color combinations I tried, I liked the simple black & white the best. My critics are circling a small park pond about a half mile to my east right now. I'll let you know how they feel about it.

A couple of different angles.

This was my original idea, but I was constantly teaching my son new and colorful language in the process...Sorry guys - I just can't do a dozen more of them...Even looking at the picture is making my eyes hurt.

 

[Dart 0]

VERY cool! Thanks for sharing.