Hook up poppers

[mikechell 0]

Plus there's always the small openings in the mats. Pull a lure across the mat, then across one of those openings, (as Joseph said) the strike can be heart stopping.

[TheCream 0]

This is more of a slider than a popper, but it keeled well and is hook up. I tied this on a tube.

 

 

 

It's a little tricky to see here, but what helps keel it is the hook. I used a large Gamakatsu octopus hook. The upturned eye, with the shape/bend of the hook, put most of the hook's mass down when you invert it. Held in that position by the junction tubing, it worked really well. You could even add a little lead wire or channel lead to the tube to help it "right" in the water if you wanted. There's plenty of foam to float it. This was a good pattern, one I haven't fished in a few years. I get in that funk sometimes, that newer is always better, and I neglect a pattern that produced.

[Fish For Life 0]

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[mikechell 0]

That's a nice looking frog, Cream. I was going to mention tube flies as a possibility, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Here's an idea no one has mentioned yet (I think...) I found this at www.ahlkvist.net/Upp%20och%20Ner_A_e.htm

 

 

 

 

[Bryon Anderson 0]

This looks good too

 

 

[flyonline 0]

Have a search for Rob Meade's Gutless frog. It was originally intended to dive, but I've tied it with splayed out 'head' like many variations out there and it pops rather than dives.

 

Original Diver Type

 

Popper Type

 

 

Steve

[mikechell 0]

Those all look good. Bryon ... On that first one, the pencil popper ... is that a hook one can buy, or has it been bent to shape? I ask because, a lot of the hooks I use, if you bent them that far, they'd snap.

[flytire 0]

dont ya just hate that with those walmart hooks!

[mikechell 0]

Could be the problem.

Actually, the cheapo's from Wally World can be straightened out ... and equally hate-able feature.

[Philly 0]

Here's a couple I tied up last winter. Hip issues which have been resolved kept me from doing a lot of fishing last year. I used the double hook for them.

 

 

 

 

 

Flyonline

Is the diver/popper in your pictures tied using foam cylinders?

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Those all look good. Bryon ... On that first one, the pencil popper ... is that a hook one can buy, or has it been bent to shape? I ask because, a lot of the hooks I use, if you bent them that far, they'd snap.

That's a good question Mike--the site where I found that photo didn't mention the make or model of the hook. Given that keel hooks have all but disappeared in recent years, my guess would that, regardless of what it was originally tied on, you'd have to bend your own to shape now.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I was just pricing out the double "frog hooks" that the soft plastic bass lures that started this discussion are traditionally mounted on--some of them use a weight built into the shank, well forward of the hook bend, to ensure that the hook keels properly. That would be illegal in Michigan, I do believe, as well as some other states as well.

The other thing I noticed was that, weighted or unweighted, those hooks were expensive! Around $5 for a package of 3?!? Next option....

[FlaFly 0]

Bryon.... what would you say to heating the hook shank with a torch for a minute before trying to bend it? Would that ruin the hook's temper? (i.e., make it brittle)?

[Mike West 0]

I've tied snakes and frogs like Byron posted. Works fine. Just bend the hook shank.