First Wine Cork Popper Fly

[jamesbrock3 0]

My First Wine Cork Popper Fly

This is my first popper fly that I have ever tied. I didn't have much material so I scavenged around the house to find a half empty wine bottle. I could not drink it because i'm only 15 so I asked my mom to finish it off. I used a power sander to taper the cork, then a razor blade to cut the cork. I decided to make this because I was sick of buying foam poppers that break within the first day of use, and I wanted to try my first tying kit that I got last week. If you could give me any tips or pointers for my future bass poppers that would be very helpful! Also any other patterns that I should tie for bass would be useful as well.

[jamesbrock3 0]

Also I tied a treble hook on the back with aluminum wire because I often miss strikes because the bass doesn't hit the main body of the fly, I figure this will help resolve that problem!

[Fish For Life 0]

Pretty good looking popper. Are the eyes tacs?

[jamesbrock3 0]

Yup! I was running low on resources!

[Stippled Popper 0]

Very good for a first effort.

 

Other than the flash trailing off the back, it doesn't appear you have enough

material trailing off the back to cause a bass to miss being hooked because

of missing the main body. So I wonder if the treble hook is a solution. Your

experimentation will tell though. The gap of the hook which can be effected

by how deep the eye of the hook is set in the body can be an issue and the

natural gap of the hook to begin with can make a difference.

 

You could try painting the eyes. Dip the back end of an appropriately sized

drill bit or equivalent and press where you want the eye to be.

 

Sally Hanson's Hard as Nails is a popular clear coat to protect the paint.

[Peterjay 0]

The popper looks pretty good, but a word of advice: one of the reasons you don't see treble hooks on flies is that they're inherently dangerous to the angler. (not to mention the fish) It's one thing to be tossing a lure with a spinning rod and quite another to be whipping a fly around in the wind. Sooner or later, you're gonna hook yourself, and if you catch a treble hook in the eye, you're gonna be in a world of hurt. Do yourself (and everybody around you) a favor and forget about trebles.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Pretty cool looking! I'd lose the treble too. If you must have it, make sure to crimp the barb all the way down. PJ is right, I even hook myself with a single hook especially when I have a tailwind coming up behind me.

[jamesbrock3 0]

Hello Guys! I gave my popper its first field test and I was not disappointed! Both My friend and I gave this popper a try and we both caught bass, and a HUGE Black Crappie! I think the bass were maybe 1 or 2, and the crappie around 1! Here are some pics

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

with results like that your going to have to turn Mom into an Alcoholic

[Crackaig 0]

I'm sure if you ask at a local bar or restaurant they would be happy to pass on old corks for you to do this with. Though screw tops are taking over. Of course the best poppers will be made from vintage champagne corks!

Cheers ,

C.

[mybadhabit 0]

Craigs list is another great place to look, just put up a wanted ad, and if you have a natural grocery like Whole Foods or Sprouts, most of them recycle corks.

 

Blane