Thanks, Sir Jimbo, I've filed this in my 'Tying Tips' pocket. One day it may come in handy. If you ever have an extra couple of heads done, maybe you could send them my way and I'll render them as saltwater dorado poppers.
Take care, my friend, and thanks again. Don ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jimmy D. Moore" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>*Hill Country Fly Fishers" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2004 9:08 PM Subject: [VFB] Making bass poppers > Hi Gang, > > I have a little something I'd like to share with those of you who fly > fish for bass, perch, bluegills, etc. We were discussing foam bass > poppers, etc. in the chat room, when one of the guys mentioned making > them out of balsa and basswood. I think he was using a dremel tool to > shape them. This got the old brain in gear and since I'd recently > bought one of those mini-wood lathes from Harbor Freight to turn reel > seats, I tho't why not turn a basswood popper. Worked like a charm. I > bought a two foot long 1/2"X1/2" stick of basswood and cut it off every > 2 1/2" inches. Took the 2 1/2" long piece and chucked it up in the > lathe and was able to turn two poppers at a time. After getting the > piece rounded, I proceeded to turn the left hand part into a 1/2 elipse > and at the 1" point started cutting straight down to form the head of > the popper, but not all the way through the wood. > > Then I turned a second 1/2 elipse just like the first one and at the 1" > point cut straight down again, but not all the way through. The result > was two 1/2 eliptical popper bodies, one right after the other, but > still fastened together. At that point I took a piece of 100 grit > sandpaper and cut it into a 3" strip about 1/4" wide and sanded the two > poppers. When I got them smooth, I cut through between them and > separated each and chucked them, one at a time back into the lathe and > turned/scooped out the head so that it was concave which would enable > it to make a little "pop" when slightly jerked in the water. ( You can > use balsa also, but I think basswood is easier to work and is not as > adsorptive when priming and painting, i.e. you can get it smoother and > thus get a slicker paint job. > > All that was left to do was to cut a groove for the hook, epoxy it in > and when dry, paint with primer, let dry then put on what ever color > enamel I want. When dry, tie in deer hair or feathers at the back of > the popper and add eyes. You can get stick-on eyes at any hobby shop. > I couldn't believe how easy all this was. After a couple of false > starts getting the lathe pressure just right, I was able to turn 6 > popper heads in about 5 minutes. I'm sure as I get more used to the > process, the time will be less. > > The upshot is that my popper looks as good as any I've seen in a store > that sells bass poppers. I will also probably turn some big chugger > spook type Chunking and Winding lures for bass. I really liked tying > with foam, but after the success I had this afternoon with basswood, the > majority of my future bass, crappie, perch and bluegill flies will be > made from basswood. > > JIMMY D > > -- > > > > ======================================================== > Jimmy D. Moore - Retired Scout Executive, BSA, Moderator Fly Fishing > World Email List,Member VFB, HCFF, GRTU, FFF, NAFC - Life Member. > Contributor - Texas Fish & Game Magazine. Outdoor Humor Writer. > Author of "MOON HOLLER MISFITS" Click URL for info. > > http://home.earthlink.net/~rayado/rayadoflyfishingflypatternstips/index.html > > "Being able to read trout streams is just as valuable to a > fly fisherman as the ability to read a defense is to a Quarterback." > ======================================================== > > > > > > > > > >
