FarmerCharlie

As the others said, a little bream bug is easy to make from foam, can be done from small tapered cork bottle stoppers, balsa and the pre-formed hard foam bodies from WAPSI - to name a few options...

Kirk,

I enjoyed your videos and images. I noticed that you had an interest in Monarch caterpillars. Last year I decided to try some milkweed plants I got from MonarchWatch plus some unknown milkweed seedlings a friend gave me. The ones from MonarchWatch grew pretty large, but I never saw any eggs or caterpillars. To my surprise I did find some caterpillars on the small unknown milkweed plants, but the dozen or so caterpillars quickly ate the small plants down to the stems.

In sort of a panic, I moved them over to some of the larger plants. Two days later they were still there. They appeared to be eating, but did not seem any larger.

On the third day there were no signs of the caterpillars. I don't know whether they all died or moved to some other plants to pupate. Maybe this year will give some better results. Last year's plants are coming on fast and may be ready by the time the Monarchs reach Alabama. I have also planted some seeds of several milkweed varieties, and they are beginning to come up. I don't guess this has much to do with fly tying, but your images motivated me to look at some of my old images.

More to the point, my new chartreuse Gaines #12 Pan Pops are doing a good job with the bluegill, but I still miss the many varieties of the Accardo Bluegill Special. But now I am so busy with other projects that I guess I'll have to wait 'til winter to start making some myself.

I've been out of town visiting friends and family at Orange Beach and Navarre Beach, and I enjoyed all the responses after getting home. I had been buying Accardo poppers for about 40 years, but I never had heard the history of his company. He must have been an interesting fellow. When I got home this afternoon the poppers I had ordered from BreamBugs.com were here. They look quite similar to the old Accardo bugs. I guess what I really liked about the Bluegill Specials was that I could get them in all sorts of colors and sizes. Not sure it mattered all that much to the Bluegills.

I might just try making some myself. It doesn't look all that difficult compared to the works of art some of the folks on this forum make.

As for the weight of that bass, I was just estimating based on his length of 21.5 inches. I do know that he was not nearly as much fun as those nice fat bluegills.

BTW. If you ever have occasion to be in Pensacola, be sure to check out Joe Patti's seafood market. They could charge admission just to watch their operation. It was like something I would expect to see in San Francisco or New York--not the Florida panhandle. And Navarre Beach (but not Orange Beach) is just as beautiful and pristine as I remember it from 40 years ago.

Charlie

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.