my poor mans flip flop bass poppers

[banks 0]

Did not have the money for popper heads so i bought 99 cent flip flops in the biggest size i could find which gave me enough materials to do many and have enough materials to spare. Thought i would show them to you in case someone was on a low budget like me , I use nail polish and permanent markers for finish coat then clear coat , They float great and you can adjust angle for how much plop you want there easy and fun to make , I added a diagram of how i cut out the flip flop useing the outside radius as the top back, then i show the 2 cut out , also i added a picture so you could see it float hope this helps , when you cut like it shows you get all smooth edges then poke your hole through with a bodkin and push hook through , I have a bead reaming tool got at wally world , its a very pointy file works great for expanding hole if needed its in bead section great tool 5 bucks , when i push hook through i pull in back out then i coat hook with gel ca glue push it back in in minutes its ready , I use a big needle to pull legs through , I put marabou on rear little flash sometimes , then hackle feather or spin some deer hair near body and its ready to add colors and eyes sometimes ill clear coat to . Make one in your favorite color let me know how they worked out for you all questions and replies welcome if i can help. Here is another selection you can make

 

 

[tidewaterfly 0]

NO, NO, NO! Those won't catch anything! But, if you send them to me I'll be happy to dispose of them for you!

 

Seriously, they all look awesome!

 

Proof you don't need to spend a fortune to make flies!

 

A lot of us have done similar, low budget poppers! The bass don't care what we spend!

[ScottK 0]

Very nice, i like 'em!

[Ed Gallop 0]

Very nice. How do they float? Are you referring to flip flop shoes? Now that is creativity. I am impressed. I think my wife has a pair. Wonder if she would miss them.

[banks 0]

They float nice,maybe you can cut the first three inches off your wife's flip flop maybe she would not miss it,haha

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Nicely done! Love the paint jobs. I predict that those will be supremely satisfying to catch fish on.

[flymanaj 0]

Probably the best flip flop pops that I'ge seen. Nice work!

[cjsnyder1234 0]

nice flies, animals don't understand property lines or money only humans do, many fly tying matreials are to catch the humans not the fish

[mikechell 0]

nice flies, animals don't understand property lines or money only humans do, many fly tying matreials are to catch the humans not the fish

Just for information ... many animals and fish understand property lines with vehemence. Territoriality isn't strictly a human trait.

On the other hand, flip flops make a great floating body material. I don't paint mine. I like to leave it soft foam to better fool the fish that it's alive when they take it.

I also make the foam body replaceable, so the fly isn't "ruined" when it's been chewed on a few times.

[Ed Gallop 0]

I don't think he means real property. I think he means possessing material property knowing it's market value. However... I dare a dog try to play with my dog's toy, or eat his food from his bowl, but he knows not to mess with my toys either. Animals do recognize their property just not it's worth to others. That must be what cj... meant.

 

You gave me an idea, Mike. I have tied many streamer tube flies so why not Flip Flop Tube Poppers? If the foam is drillable it can contain a tight tube. Slide it on the line and tie on the dressed hook. Slide the body back to fit snugly over the hook. Its just the opposite of dressing the tube for bare hooks. If you ever tied a tube fly then you know what I mean. Then you could switch bodies easily and save on the hooks and dressing. Someone should make a video of this. You do it, Mike. If I had more free time I could do step by step pictures but not videos.

[Chase Creek 0]

Ed - about your wife's flip-flops - DON'T! Women have a way of sensing if their flip-flops have been messed with. I don't understand it, just some sort of magic on their part.

[Ed Gallop 0]

Yea, Chase... You're right. I took only a few whiskers off our cat (equal amount on both sides) for some nice spinner tails and caught hell the next day. She wasn't impressed when I showed her the nice looking flies and she firmly asked that I never do that again. I personally don't know why because it was unnoticeable. I'll never know how she noticed it because I don't think she counts the whiskers. She might now though. It also didn't help my case when I denied it had anything to do with the cat biting my new fly line completely into as I was putting it on the reel the year before. Whats a few whiskers anyway? By the way... A cat's whiskers make great spinner tails. Just don't get caught.

[Chase Creek 0]

We don't have any cats - but my neighbor does.

[ditz2 0]

I don't paint them either. I use a yellow and a chartruse shoe to make them. Black might be a good choice but I just prefer yeller. If you don't paint them they won't chip and it makes it easier to bounce them off of rock and other hard stuff.

[SILKHDH 0]

The one thing I notice is the hook point position. I sure hope the throat of the hook has enough clearance to have good strike-to-hook-up ratio. If I had one piece of advise would be to use the deepest throated hook when going to so much trouble to make such a nice fly. I think they look real nice. They will be getting drilled by bass.