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Old 08-11-10, 09:58 PM   #1
keithdog
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Default Lets talk poppers.

Recently I submitted a post about wolfpack bassin. The bass were attacking schools of small baitfish at the surface throughout the day. I caught lots of bass, but only on a couple lures. The lure I had my best luck with was a bone colored popper that says PJ Popper on it. I don't know anything about the company that made it. Anyways, although I caught a lot of bass on that popper I wasn't very saticfied with how the popper performed. It has a small cupped mouth and kinda darted irregularly all over the place. That was the only time I've had much success with a popper, but now that I have, I want to pick up a couple more. I'm specifically looking for a popper in the 3 inch, 1/2 oz. size range so that I can cast it a good long ways to those schools that are too far away to reach with a small light weight popper. I've been looking at a few different ones at Tackle Warehouse. Some I'm interrested in are...
Don Iovino's large size popper. TW does not list the actual size other than just "large". It's about a $14.00 lure.
Lucky Craft Splash It 70. 2 3/4 inch and 7/16 oz. $15.00 popper.
Rebel Pop R 3" and 1/2 oz. only $4.99
Yellow Magic Japanese popper at about $15.00

I'm not very well versed in poppers, what makes for a good popper, color schemes that would be prefered, and so on. The Rebel popper is cheaper but not as impressive as the others when it comes to appearance. The others cost 3 times as much, but are they 3 times as well made, and do they perform better. So for you popper fisheerman out there, how about helpin out a popper newbie? Whats your favorite popper makes/models and why. And suggestions for colors? Match the hatch, or something more subdued so the fish cant see the lure too clearly? Any helpfull suggestions and tips would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 08-11-10, 10:13 PM   #2
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I'd check out the larger size XCalibur Zell Pop. I've got a couple and love the action they have.

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Old 08-11-10, 10:17 PM   #3
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Iovino Splash It's are about the only poppers I use (unless I'm fishing for white's or hybrids).

I've been fishing with them since about 2001, and have a bunch of confidence in them. I've thrown them at times when a topwater shouldn't have worked, and still caught them. King Shad is my favorite.
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Old 08-11-10, 10:28 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CamG View Post
Iovino Splash It's are about the only poppers I use (unless I'm fishing for white's or hybrids).

I've been fishing with them since about 2001, and have a bunch of confidence in them. I've thrown them at times when a topwater shouldn't have worked, and still caught them. King Shad is my favorite.
What is the weight and inch size of the Iovino large popper?
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Old 08-11-10, 11:41 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keithdog View Post
What is the weight and inch size of the Iovino large popper?
http://www.basstackledepot.com/don-i...splash-it.aspx

I don't own any of the larger size as I haven't seen the need.
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Old 08-11-10, 11:58 PM   #6
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Poppers are great lures,one of my personal favorites and a classic is the
hula popper made by Arbogast.Great lure and has a nice action to it.
There are different sizes you can get.Arbogast also makes another topwater lure called the jitterbug and it is great as well.I have landed some lunkers on these lures you will too.
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Old 08-12-10, 12:10 AM   #7
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You might also try Rapala's SkitterPop or Heddon's Pop'n'Image.
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Old 08-12-10, 01:02 AM   #8
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That pj was a go to bait at kerr years ago,if its working why change.
At times they want a walk as well so one that spits pops and walks -gplash or gunfish is a different offering,while the popnimage works the old popr with a carved front bottom lip(cupped) can be deadly.Also available in bone.
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Old 08-12-10, 06:37 AM   #9
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I like the good ole fashioned Pop'R myself. BUt the Zell Pop and Hoola Popper are excellent designs as well. I recently have become interested in the SkitterPop, because it appears that it would walk teh dog as it pops... but that is just guessing based on teh angle of teh cup and teh placement fo teh tie ring. (one of these days i need to learn to type "the" properly huh?)

I have never been one to even think about spending $30 on a lure, but teh MegaBass X Pod has me intrigued... it has an adjustable lip which makes it do different things as you work it on the surface.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Megab...age-MXPOD.html

As for popper colors, i keep it simple like buzzbaits since they are reaction baits that are only viewed from below anyway. Black at night, silver or white in the day. Sometimes ill go to red, gold, chartreus, or orange color is the water is a little more stained... the big thing here is retrieval. Change it up a lot til you find out what they want... sometimes they want it popped so hard it sounds like a rock got dropped in the water from 50ft... other times they want it to hardly splash at all... sometimes they want pop and stop... sometimes they want constant movement.
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Old 08-12-10, 06:48 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thekevster View Post
Poppers are great lures,one of my personal favorites and a classic is the
hula popper made by Arbogast.Great lure and has a nice action to it.
There are different sizes you can get.Arbogast also makes another topwater lure called the jitterbug and it is great as well.I have landed some lunkers on these lures you will too.
The jointed Jitterbug is one of my favorites. There are times when they just want to kill that lure! I've had a Hula Popper my whole life and nevere even got a strike. Can't say why though. It's got a good reputation.
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Old 08-12-10, 06:51 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nofearengineer View Post
You might also try Rapala's SkitterPop or Heddon's Pop'n'Image.
That SkitterPop is a good looking lure. But I'm looking for something in the 1/2 oz size for longer casts. I still might get a SkitterPop as well though, lol.
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Old 08-12-10, 07:12 AM   #12
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what rod/reel are you using?
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Old 08-12-10, 07:13 AM   #13
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Default poppers

I like the Yellow Magic, it's a great bait and Alewife is my fovorite color. As for the other brands I own just about all of them, but if I had to pick one it would be the yellow magic. bigbasser
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Old 08-12-10, 08:08 AM   #14
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I give the Skitterpop's two thumbs up. Great lure.
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Old 08-12-10, 08:13 AM   #15
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I use and like Don Iovino's Splash-It II (Big) and catch fish on it.

But the hooks are incredibly weak and will straighten out every time. I have no idea what brand treble comes stock on it, but it really is amazing how weak they are. So first thing I do is swap in some new trebles.

The Rico and G-Splash are good too.

Don't forget about the Gunfish 95. It's a compact pencil popper that is much more subtle. It works great very close to cover and I tend to power fish with it.
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Old 08-12-10, 08:23 AM   #16
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Keithdog,

I remember reading an article about the Rebel Pop-R and in that article several pros were mentioned and they were sanding the bottom lip to create a slide on the pop....meaning without so much bottom lip to dig in the lure would more likely create a feeding splash on the surface. I would think if you accidentally sanded a hole in the bottom lip, it could be filled with JB weld or some other similar material. The modified lure was reportedly often used by a fellow with the last name, Martin as I recall.
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Old 08-12-10, 09:10 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nofearengineer View Post
You might also try Rapala's SkitterPop or Heddon's Pop'n'Image.
+1 on the Pop 'n' Image by Heddon. They are 3" and 5/8 oz. so you can throw them a long way. I really like the colors that are available and Ozark shad is my favorite. I used it to catch a couple of fish last weekend.
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Old 08-12-10, 09:30 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nofearengineer View Post
You might also try Rapala's SkitterPop or Heddon's Pop'n'Image.
In the 24" size?
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Old 08-12-10, 09:43 AM   #19
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I own a couple of old (40+ year old) Heddon Pop'in Image's. They are white with red heads. The bait I usually use is a more resent Pop"R" with a baby bass type finish.

On the Pop"R" I switched to KVD hooks. The Heddon hooks are attached in the old style with hangers that are built in.

As far as colour is concerned, if you are submerged and looking up, the surface appears silver and anything floating on it is a silhouette.

In my tackle box, I want a popper with a white belly and perhaps one with an orange belly, the paint job on the top is just window dressing.
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Old 08-12-10, 10:10 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keithdog View Post
That SkitterPop is a good looking lure. But I'm looking for something in the 1/2 oz size for longer casts. I still might get a SkitterPop as well though, lol.

They make a 1/2oz skitterpop. Its the SP09, and its 3 1/2 inches long.
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Old 08-12-10, 10:56 AM   #21
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Pop R (P-70 or P-65) in the baby bass is my go to bait for topwater recently. RICO Suave is my second when I'm using a larger popper. Lightning shad, I believe, is the color I use. I have a Black/Chrome Pop R in the 70 or 65 size but haven't used it yet.

Thanks for the Lobina link Kevin.....but I got my names wrong.....Rio Rico is what I meant.
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Old 08-12-10, 02:59 PM   #22
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All this talk about skitter pops im going to have to get one and try it out,just read some reviews on it and it looks like a winner
What about the skitter walk anyone ever tried that out?
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Old 08-12-10, 03:12 PM   #23
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Best poppers with the best action are mine made with real wine corks as heads with real feathors. I tune each in a bowl of water trying to find the right angle. Before i glue there heads.
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Old 08-12-10, 07:27 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by walkeraviator View Post
what rod/reel are you using?
Sorry it took so long to reply walker. I've been at work, lol. I don't have a particular outfit that I use for poppers as I'm just getting into using them. The other weekend when I DID use one with great results, I was casting with a 7ft MH casting Cabelas XML casting rod with a Revo SX loaded with 17 pound mono. But that probably wouldn't normally be my first choice. I have a 6 1/2 ft medium action casting outfit with 12 pound line that might work better. Also I could go with a 6 1/2 MH action casting outfit. Still at the experimenting stage here.
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Old 08-12-10, 07:32 PM   #25
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Quote:
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They make a 1/2oz skitterpop. Its the SP09, and its 3 1/2 inches long.
I didn't realize that Krtismo. Thanks for the heads up. I've only seen 1/4 oz. size skitterpops.
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