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FarmerCharlie

Accardo Bluegill Special Poppers

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I used to buy my favorite Accardo Bluegill Special poppers in various colors with #12 and #10 hooks from BreamBugs. They were great for bluegill and occasional bass in my small pond. Last year I was just testing one of my rods when this 6 pound bass quietly grabbed this old bug, which looks like a #10 CBC.

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Then today I again was just testing the rod with one of my last old white poppers, which were still working on the bluegill. This pretty boy next to my Size 14 foot has a couple of rubber legs of the bug sticking out his mouth.

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After letting him free one of my large grass carp surprised me on the same popper. I think that was an old tattered #12 white popper.

GrassCarpPopper_400t_zpsnvdfnatl.jpg

I dragged him up on the bank to try to get him loose, when he broke the line and flopped back in carrying the prized bug with him.

 

Anyway, when I tried to order some replacement poppers tonight, I could not find anything near the assortment of Accardo bugs I used to buy. That got me wondering if anyone here might be making replicas of these old poppers. I should would like to replenish my supply before the bluegill start bedding. This may be enough to make me try to learn how to make them myself, but I'm a little old to be learning new skills.

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Welcome! Great pics! Yes, Accardo went out a business several years ago. You may still find some of their poppers around, but very limited. There are several folks here who make poppers & lots of discussions about the topic. They're not difficult to make, and even an old guy can learn! laugh.png

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i just looked them up to see what they look like. they look pretty simple if you made them from foam.. i have probably made somthing similar my self

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breambugs.com has similar poppers for sale

That's where I always bought the Bluegill Specials. I did place an order last night for some similar ones they have now.

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i just looked them up to see what they look like. they look pretty simple if you made them from foam.. i have probably made somthing similar my self

What was nice was the wide selection of colors with #12 hooks, which I liked best. My favorites were the chartreuse/black and the white/black ones. And of course the yellow/black standbys.

I spent some time last night looking over this forum and read quite a few interesting posts on construction using both cork and foam bodies. With my OCD personality I'm a little afraid to starting new hobby at this stage in life. Fly tying looks like a real art form that could occupy lots of time. smile.png

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Welcome! Great pics! Yes, Accardo went out a business several years ago. You may still find some of their poppers around, but very limited. There are several folks here who make poppers & lots of discussions about the topic. They're not difficult to make, and even an old guy can learn! laugh.png

Thanks for the input. As a newbie, it's been fun reading the posts on this forum.

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FarmerCharlie, I had the pleasure of meeting Tony Accardo back in 1989. He was quite a gentleman. I was tying flies commercially then & we were at a fly fishing industry show in Boston. I sat next to him at dinner that night. He had a lot of great stories to tell. I remember he said he started with $100 to his name. He had a lot of great ideas & made some excellent poppers.

 

Also had the pleasure of meeting & talking with Tom Engler who was the owner of Gaines Poppers. Both men were down to Earth, real nice gentlemen, and made quite an impression on me, and both made a big impression on commercial popper making. smile.png

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I Googled Accardo bug images and found at least one hit that is offering them for sale, but as others have said, they don't look all that difficult to make, and after all, this is a fly tying forum.

 

Also most of us have found that bluegills will bite pretty much anything, and especially any popping bug, if it's small enough to get in their mouth. Are Accardos really that special?

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I think it was Accardo that made the round head Bluegill poppers. They were cute, and they did make a slightly different sound that flat faced poppers.

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I go to a lot of fishing flea markets in the late winter and early spring around here and I've seen some at them in their original packaging priced a bit more than the ones on breambugs.com. Sometimes you can find beat up ones for $0.50 but it's not worth the time or effort to refurbish them at even at that price. A little too small and overdressed for my taste, but that those prices it would be cheaper to make your own, even if you brought the foam bodies.

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Get 6 dozen (that is 72 blue gill poppers) from Hook1 for $2.09. I bought some and they are quite good, no regrets.

 

Hey Mike, you do realize you can get 144 'gill poppers from Hook1, pay for the shipping and have money left over compared to the price of $11.99 at Bass Pro for 3? And, they are made by Betts, also!

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My post is just a response to the OP. I uses to use Betts poppers before I started tying my own. I looked at Hook1, and a few other sites that weren't sold out. $2.99 plus $17.00 for shipping .... 20 bucks.

Thought about it for a few seconds, then figured ... I wouldn't use them if I did buy them,

 

I've got everything I need to make poppers for my self for the next ten years without spending another dime.

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