[kelkay]

The legs on these were put on after the photos were taken...







I am going to work on some balsa poppers and cork very soon. The ones above are all foam.

[smalliestalker]

nice poppers...bass catching machines

[kelkay]

nice poppers...bass catching machines

Thanks. On some of the older poppers I did not have the hook gap right, but finally found some hooks that worked for me. I usually use B10S hooks...stingers. The hook gaps now are adequate that I use. I do poppers now and then. They are pretty time consuming so I don't do them a lot. These are from my second and third attempt batches.

[Stippled Popper]

Impressive ties fore and aft!

[Kirk Dietrich]

Excellent Kel! I like the big bold dots a lot. I never tried sticking the legs through the bottom of the body, I am from the school where everyone said the legs had to go through the top to prevent fouling; have you fished any bugs with the legs down low?
Kel, I especially like the black/blue dot slider with the red eyes and grizzly skirt - that is like a piece of candy!

Kirk

[Fatman]

Nice poppers!!!!!!!!!

Fatman

[kelkay]

Excellent Kel! I like the big bold dots a lot. I never tried sticking the legs through the bottom of the body, I am from the school where everyone said the legs had to go through the top to prevent fouling; have you fished any bugs with the legs down low?
Kel, I especially like the black/blue dot slider with the red eyes and grizzly skirt - that is like a piece of candy!

Kirk

Kirk, Yes I have fished some of the bugs with the legs like that, and they did fine for me. Some of the photos I forgot to put the legs on before I took the pics. I try to get outside on the porch before it is too hot, and take photos for a batch. Last time I did that I was sweating and it was hard to take a decent photo like that. The inside pics just don't seem to be as good. I use a threader to poke holes through the foam to attach the legs. I don't know how I will get the legs through the balsa, but will try. I am also going to work on some balsa stick baits, old patterns.

[kelkay]

nice poppers...bass catching machines

Thanks. On some of the older poppers I did not have the hook gap right, but finally found some hooks that worked for me. I usually use B10S hooks...stingers. The hook gaps now are adequate that I use. I do poppers now and then. They are pretty time consuming so I don't do them a lot. These are from my second and third attempt batches.

Thanks guys, glad you like them. I enjoy doing poppers, but have to be in the mood to do them. They are a lot of work for me, but I enjoy doing them. The most work comes from trying to protect the paint job...as you well know how that is. They don't rank up there with your poppers by any wild stretch of the imagination, but they will do for me...I am trying to improve my tying by practicing though.

[Kirk Dietrich]

Excellent Kel! I like the big bold dots a lot. I never tried sticking the legs through the bottom of the body, I am from the school where everyone said the legs had to go through the top to prevent fouling; have you fished any bugs with the legs down low?
Kel, I especially like the black/blue dot slider with the red eyes and grizzly skirt - that is like a piece of candy!

Kirk

Kirk, Yes I have fished some of the bugs with the legs like that, and they did fine for me. Some of the photos I forgot to put the legs on before I took the pics. I try to get outside on the porch before it is too hot, and take photos for a batch. Last time I did that I was sweating and it was hard to take a decent photo like that. The inside pics just don't seem to be as good. I use a threader to poke holes through the foam to attach the legs. I don't know how I will get the legs through the balsa, but will try. I am also going to work on some balsa stick baits, old patterns.

Kel, just push a pin or needle through the balsa bug and then the threader through the hole. I do use a thimball on my finger to assist in the pushing; you'll be surprised how easily a needle goes through the epoxy and when it hits the balsa beneath, it goes like budda.
Man, outdoor photography in this heat is brutal. Do you have a window that gets good natural light? A breakfast nook with bay windows is ideal but I've used single windows as well. To concentrate the light, you can even put up some white poster or foam core board in back of your work with the flies in between the relector and the window - the light coming in from the window will be reflected back down on your flies for a nice photo.
Oh, see my post on your other flies, just a pet peeve of mine to have hook-point-up flies layed on the table or in a vise and photographed like they will fish.
Great flies, hard to believe you've only been tying for two years!

Kirk

[kelkay]

Kirk,
Thank you so much for your kind words, and helpful advice. I am honored at what you said. I replied to you on the other thread about the upside down fly. Now, about the light issue...I do have natural light upstairs, but no ac up there. So my downstairs area is pretty dark. Only a certain time of the day gets light in, and only for a short time. So I prefer to go out on the porch. I have to go when it is shady on the porch, but sunny outside. Otherwise the pics stink. Now in the fall, I can prop the box on my truck, and get even better pictures. If it weren't for editing tools, like brightness, and contrast, I would be in a mess. I just have a point and shoot camera, and my hands shake at times, and it is a problem. I do not have a big tripod, and hate to spend the money on one. As long as I can get pics like some I have on here, I am happy enough. I take a few pics of each fly though, and then I pick the best of the 3-4 photos of each one. I don't take pics of all my flies, just most of them. It is kind of like a journal, only mainly photographs. A lot of times I will make a note about the fly, like type hook, particular color of flashabou, whatever I may want to remember. I may write that I used Polar Flash, or Bug Bond, or whatever it may be. I am trying to learn how to use epoxy though, and I am still getting some slight bubbles...and it drives me crazy. I am going to keep trying for a while, but if I cannot get it straight, I will stay with Bug Bond only. I heard to blow on the epoxy, it might help. Then I heard to heat it with a hair dryer or something like that. The humidity is very high here most of the time in the summer. It will be close to a hundred or more for a few more days, and maybe the rest of the month. So yes, taking photos outside is a negative experience for me...that is why I forgot the legs on those poppers in my rush to get outside before the heat knocked me out...rotfl. I will try to take more photos the proper way, with the fly positioned the way it is supposed to be. Thank you for your comments. I appreciate it very much.

[coinman66]

Great work. Keep em comin!

[Henry Franklin]

Very nice poppers boss!!!!

Henry F.

[kelkay]

I appreciate the kind words very much, thank you.

[BigDaddyHub]

Those will take fish in any of my waters. Love the color schemes. My wife loves tying poppers...will tell her to check these out!

[kelkay]

I'd love to see her flies. Glad you liked mine, thanks for letting me know!