Wes: I've caught 3 trout on poppers, and had a couple of more come up and look at them. Actually, two were on gurglers, and one was on a pencil popper. The one common denominator the three I caught have in common is they were all crashing minnows in shallow water, and I actually thought I had hooked smallmouth which I was fishing for rather than trout. All the flies were tossed in the general vicinity where the fish blew up the minnows If I were tying poppers specifically for trout. I would stick with pencil poppers and soft foam bodies. Here's some I tied up for bass. http://www.flytyingforum.com/uploads/gallery4591e8c850f95.jpg
They're about 3 1/2 inches long. I caught the one trout on the shad colored one. These are preformed soft foam bodies. There's a smaller size that makes poppers about 1 1/2 inches long. I have a batch of them that I use for bass and panfish.. The basic popper is easy, attach tail material and wrap hackle, epoxy or glue body to hook. I like fancy poppers, so I model them after the popper colors I see in in catalogs like Cabela's, Bass Pro and Barlow's. Three color without being fancy would be plain white, fluorescent yellow and chartreuse. If you were thinking of fishing at night, all black would be a good option. The colors can be done with permanent markers. I use 3-D stick on eyes, but you could use fabric paint and pin or small nail heads to form the eyes. The one thing I like to do is coat the popper body with either a clear flexible varnish or epoxy to seal the colors, eyes and the foam. Untreated foam will absorb some water. As far as fishing them. You're trying to imitate wounded or fleeing minnows. Short jerky strips, or a steady jerky retrieve, or slight twitches or movement. -- Jerry Caruso [EMAIL PROTECTED] "All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia" -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Wes Wada" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi VFB, I am getting curious about fly rod poppers, used for trout fishing. For that purpose, I would like to tie a number of small poppers. Since that is not my normal mode of fishing, I am wondering if any of you who use poppers extensively have strong feelings about how a popper should be designed?(shape, balance, materials, colors, whatever?) Are there any good web site references to making poppers? Any coaching on how to effectively fish a popper? Thanks, Wes Wada Bend, Oregon --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
