Lefty's Poppers

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Thank you Jack. Although Lefty lectured me on cupping the face. I tried to explain that the cup isn't cupped at the bottom so it doesn't grab water because it still has the same slant face as his with just a little lip at the top to catch the water...

[tidewaterfly 0]

Kirk, great looking bugs!

 

I've made those Lefty's poppers too & variations with flat & cupped faces. They all work at times.

 

There was another cork bug I really liked for river fishing & Smallmouth from back in the 40's I think. It was a Joe Brooks design called a spouter bug If I recall the name correctly.

 

It had a face like the bow of a boat, and both sides of the face were cupped, so it would shoot water to each side with a hard strip of line.

 

I learned about it from a magazine article Joe Brooks had written back in the late 60's or early 70's. Not a design you'll see much of these days.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Tide, funny you mention the Spouter Bug, just the other day, my bug aficiando friend was telling me about that bug. Would certainly like to have one of those in hand.

[tidewaterfly 0]

 

 

Tide, funny you mention the Spouter Bug, just the other day, my bug aficiando friend was telling me about that bug. Would certainly like to have one of those in hand.

 

Made & tied by Joe Brooks, you & me both!

 

I made a few at one time, but no longer have them. I did a search online & found some wording in a book, that Joe brooks liked them made with 5/8" diameter X 1" long cork on a size 1, 3X long hook. He liked a feather tail too.

 

That's a fairly big bug.

 

Joe liked robin's egg blue for Smallmouths, all yellow for LM, but all brown, brown with yellow tails & all yellow were also good.

 

This is from the book "Joe Brooks on Fishing" by Joe Brooks, apparently re-published in 2004.

 

The few I made were fl. yellow & black, and all white.

 

Interesting stuff, these older fly designs!

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Tide, in the book Tying Bugs and Flies for Bass by A.D. Livingston there is a section on Designing and Making Bug Bodies where he has a page of sketches of different bug designs. One of them is the spouter but he doesn't give credit to Brooks, he just states that it spouts water; he does have a photo of a Spouter made by Bill Gallasch. Lefty told me that Brooks didn't like tying flies much and worked with Bill on making flies to his specs after which Gallasch supplied Joe and Lefty with flies for fishing. So, I'd imagine if you could get one made by Gallasch, it would be a good sample. The photo doesn't show the spouter face to well due to it being a white head but as you said, it does have feather tail and hackle skirt.

[ditz2 0]

If you other old farts will recall, many of the old Arbogast Fly rod Hula poppers were quite large also. I believe there was a smaller version that had a more standard shape more like your Lefty's popper but it also had a rubber skirt tail. I still have a couple of those bigger versions but the old rubber skirts are not in good shape. I think the big ones had a wire weed guard also. Now that I think about it there were at least 2 sizes that were the familiar hula pop shape and then there was the more standard shaped head version.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I recall the smaller one ditz and have one with the rubber skirt all melted. Guess some of old farts aren't as old as some of the other old farts...

[mikechell 0]

And some old farts don't remember any of them.

[ditz2 0]

Hahaha.... Sorry! My Hula Pops are probably at least 40 years old so I assumed that anyone remembering them was old too. Just goes to show what assuming does to a person.

[tidewaterfly 0]

I have several Hula Poppers, but not the fly rod sizes. Ditz2, I know what you mean about the shape, I saw some small versions listed on ebay that did not have the "Hula Popper" shape, but did have the rubber skirts & were called hula poppers. They had "Heddon" stenciled on the backs. Until I saw them I always thought they all had that popular shape of the bigger versions. My first thought was they may be fake, but what you're saying indicates otherwise. I'm not much into collecting, but do find the history of a lot of the older tackle I remember seeing as I grew up, very interesting.

 

I've replaced the skirts on the Hula Poppers I have, and still use them occasionally. I don't have any that are wood, all are plastic. I've been tempted a few times to bid on auctions for the fly rod versions, but as yet, have never done so. I'm more inclined to make my own!

 

Kirk, I was already aware of that story about Joe not tying a lot. It may have been you that relayed that to me in a past discussion. I was also aware that Bill Gallasch made flies for Joe & & Lefty & had a spouter fly. It's listed in Lefty's Saltwater Pattern book. Have no clue which one of those fellows came up with the idea & design, but agree would love to have an original!

[ditz2 0]

Tidewaterfly....I am not a collector either. The Hula Pops I have are the ones I bought off of the retail shelf for fishing . My post was not very clear as it was interrupted so I could look up my old stuff. Arbogast actually marketed 3 different fly rod Hula Pops. The two largest had the familiar profile and the largest one had wire 'V' weed guard but the next size down did not. At least that is how mine are configured. The smallest of the bunch was shaped very similar to the Lefty style body but still used a rubber skirt like all the other Arbogast baits. I found my two larger versions but the smallest version did not show up. If I find it I will take a pic of all three for show and tell.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Tide, I talked to Lefty to see if he had any from back then. He said the only two he had, he donated to a museum; he said they were never really popular...

[tidewaterfly 0]

Kirk, I guess that's why we don't see them or hear about them much now. I caught fish on those I made & liked them, but I've caught just as well on other types too & the spouter took more effort to make. Those I made entirely by hand, didn't have a Dremel tool then. They would be much easier to make now.

 

Still, if someone was inclined to try something different, it's a style that's already been done & has some history.

 

Ditz2, I understood what you were saying. I find this all very interesting stuff. I would be interested in seeing that pic if you do find that third popper.

[ditz2 0]

I was yet able to find the smallest popper. It is a red head and the body is slightly tapered like a bottle cork. I will run onto it one of these days and I will add it to the composite. In the mean time here is the two with the familiar profile.

[Chuck McFarlane 0]

I was so inspired by this thread I decided to come up with a few.

I added some doll eyes to some and lifelike eyes to others.

I carved or rather sanded them out of balsa added some stippling and the two red dots on the plow. Coated them with 30min. epoxy.

 

 

These two are a little beat up from fishing last week. A lot of fun to make and I really like the simple profile which makes for less wind resistant casting.

 

Managed a nice smallmouth and had my share of misses.

 

 

Even a snakehead got in on the action.

 

 

Definitely my new goto popper.