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Kirk Dietrich

Lefty's Poppers

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Some old style bugs I worked on this past week.

Sometimes simple is best, at least according to Lefty. Here are some Lefty Poppers I did with a couple little harmless tweaks. The center top is tied by Lefty that he gave me last year. The other three I did and decided to cup the face but to keep it to his design of having a flat face for easy pick up, I removed the lip at the bottom of the cup so the face is still flat and angled just moved a little farther back giving a lip around the sides and top of the cup to catch some air/water for hopefully a easier pop. Also, I rounded off the edges of the bottle stopper for better top coat coverage. Can't wait to fish them.


kirk-dietrich-albums-flies-picture2641-l


kirk-dietrich-albums-flies-picture2640-l


Common cork bottle stopper used to make his bug.

kirk-dietrich-albums-fly-tying-picture26

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Real purty poppers, Kirk.

I'll be waiting to hear how those do. Simple sometimes out-fishes ... and sometimes it takes those legs to get hit. Those do look good.

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Very nice poppers Kirk. I believe that Lefty usually fishes SMB which usually like a lot of movement and legs are not so important as they are for LMB IMO. I usually like a hackle between tail and body but not always.. I sometimes will use a bright color of chenille or estaz such as Lefty has done. I have several of his books listen to his thoughts very closely. Almost all of my hair bugs have a straight hair tail with chenille in between.......Have a question there Kirk. I can't tell by the photo....is lefty's bug face back slanted or is it vertical? I am just getting ready to make a few poppers with the round on the bottom and the flat on top. Just a cylinder cut in half or a cork stopper cut in half

 

I like cork for poppers and then balsa..I also like deer hair bugs trimmed like a Taps hair bug..

 

I can't believe I forgot foam. I guess foam would be my second choice only because I am old and set in my ways.

Edited by ditz2

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Yeah Mike, legs or no legs is always what I wonder when fishing.

 

Ditz, thanks. I believe Lefty created that bug for SMB but told me he has since used it for many other species including offshore. Yes, the face is slanted just like I show in the red background photos. However, he doesn't cup the face.

I decided to cup the face but ground down the bottom lip of the cup so it is still a flat slant face on mine, just pushed back into the slight cup.

Always did like the simplicity of the Tap's bug too.

 

Kirk

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Definitely will catch fish, might I suggest making a green or chartreuse with black or brown mottled pattern. Would be nice to work around the pads. Just a thought.

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Tim, that is one of my favorite colors, but I didn't have enough blank heads to do that, was trying to stay traditional to send these to Lefty and just threw in a blue as that has come up alongside chart/mottled back as one of my top choices, especially during summer when we have the big blue dragon flies.

Thanks for the input, now I have to make another batch!

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Lovely poppers! Your tutorial gave me the confidence to give them a try. I love simple patterns. These look basic but effective. Thanks for sharing.

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Kirk...Sorry for the late comment but I forgot to mention that the popper that Lefty gave you is my favorite color.....Yaller.....I do lots of yaller and I have done a few copies of those bugs. The heads are done but the tails have not yet been added.

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Good work, and classic designs and colors. You ought to have seen some of the bugs I used when first starting to try to tie my own. It's refreshing sometimes to "go back" to some simple and traditional designs. It keeps us moderns humble ... or at least tries to. ;^)

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