Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted April 4, 2020 For my fellow cork popper enthusiasts - I got these stoppers from Bangor Cork for $.07 each. Bag of 100 came to $10 with shipping. I believe that beats craft store prices, and you can order bulk quantities of just the size(s) you need. See phone number and website in photo. Just thought I'd pass it along. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richmce 0 Report post Posted April 4, 2020 havnt see cork like that since my early ice fishing days. my friends dad would make a cut lengthwise ,half way thru and you would put the line in the slot. if your bait was very light you could chip off a chunk with your fingernail. thus a perfectly balanced float. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted April 8, 2020 Byron, that's a very good price, even though those don't look to be a great grade of cork. I priced some regular grade 00 size about a month ago and they were more than twice that price ( 17 cents each) and extra select cork was more than 8 times that price (57 cents each). The only way to get it down to what you paid, I would have had to buy 50,000 of the regular grade and that's not happening! I already have a bunch of them in various sizes that I had bought years ago. I found a store display on Ebay from a hardware store that had closed, that was being auctioned and I won. Many of the corks were in decent shape, but some were also like some in your photo, not the best grade, with many holes & some breaks, but with a little work, most were fine for making poppers. Like yours, they were certainly worth buying! I made poppers years ago by hot gluing them to the hook, and also used the hot glue to fill in the voids. Then a bit of sanding and primer, then two coats of paint, and they looked as good as some of the premium grade corks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Poopdeck 0 Report post Posted April 8, 2020 The better the bottle of wine the better the cork. I've got bags of used corks that wine making/drinking friends collected at my request. I had to tell them to stop saving them for me. I give my corks one coat of five minute epoxy and then sand it, not for a perfect finish rather for sealing since cork is wood. No, the fish can't smell the old wine, or if they can, it doesn't prevent them from eating it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted April 9, 2020 On 4/8/2020 at 7:10 AM, Poopdeck said: The better the bottle of wine the better the cork. I've got bags of used corks that wine making/drinking friends collected at my request. I had to tell them to stop saving them for me. I give my corks one coat of five minute epoxy and then sand it, not for a perfect finish rather for sealing since cork is wood. No, the fish can't smell the old wine, or if they can, it doesn't prevent them from eating it. I have a box of wine corks too, and also saved by friends and relatives for me, since they know I make flies. I bought a bag of them on Ebay years ago also. I had this notion to start making saltwater poppers with them, but haven't made a popper from one of them in a very long time. I like cork, should work with it more, but foam bodies take a lot less time. I think I still have a big chunk of balsa wood too someplace. I would think that wine might attract them better than coffee. Coffee scented plastic baits was a big thing for awhile. 😆 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Poopdeck 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2020 Yes when time is in short supply premade popper bodies are hard to beat. I really like shaping cork but at times just don't have the time. I like how every one is a little different and you can shape it to however you desire. There is something soothing and therapeutic to the process. One of these years I'll also get to the bags of cork I have in the basement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites