How much would you be willing to spend on a Popper ?

[David Lee]

I'm really curious ....

After watching Leo Gutterres make his famous Balsa Poppers , I got to thinkin' ...... American-made Poppers are really hard to find . There are a few companies that still make Cork and Balsa Poppers but the HAND-MADE ones are just about impossible to find .

Here's the question -

How much would you pay for a American-made , hand carved/painted Balsa Popper ? I know that the hard-core Bass gear guys will pay over $80.00 on a wooden swimbait , and most plugs you find will sink you over $6.00 ....

Thanks for any and all answers !!

David :D

[Darian]

Hmmm,.... This is a difficult question to ask since then intended usage isan't part of the question.... :? I've seen salt water poppers that'll go for $25.00 and some tiny guys that go for $1.50. All sizes, shapes and materials are used to construct poppers.... :? :? :?

I make my most of my own and my vote suggests that but If I'm in Baja without a popper and that's what they're biting, I'd pay what the traffic'll bear. 8) 8) 8)

[David Lee]

This is a difficult question to ask since then intended usage isn't part of the question....

Darian -

C'mon ..... the question is in the Warmwater forum , and I mentioned Leo's Poppers - I would have hoped that everyone would assume a medium/large Bass Popper for fishing .

I just wondered what most would think .... since a Balsa Popper takes a hell of a lot longer to make than a Deerhair Bug , or most other flies .... and usually will last a LOT longer , as well . While I have nothing personal against , say , Umpqua (who , IMO , sell nice flies) , I'm having a difficult time finding American-made Bugs .

Again , just wondering if these things matter to anyone other than myself .

David

[Hairstacker]

Of course Leo's are in a class of their own but if I were pricing hand-made, American-made poppers, I guess I'd be willing to pay up to $10. Love nice poppers but $10 is my limit for any type of fly for me since I prefer to tie my own.

[JerryInLodi]

At club silent auctions Leo's poppers usually end up drawing a bid of $30 for three or $10 apiece.

Leo and I fish together and in fact, we're going out again this coming Thursday looking for prespawn bass.

At the last Dan Blanton Striper Fest Leo and I were sitting together and the auctioneer was holding up some shadowboxes containing some well tied clousers and whistlers. I made the remark to Leo that, "I'm sorry, I just don't consider flies to be art." Leo reached under his seat and pulled out a bag containing a shadow box of three of his poppers saying, "Well, I brought this for you but I guess I'll just give it to someone else then."

Me and my big mouth!

[Darian]

Yeah, I was kinda thinking out loud before... :? :? So, in light of re-reading your question/statement, I wouldn't pay anything for an "American made, handcarved/painted balsa popper" if I was going to fish with it. I can make my own (....or see if I can get one of Leo's). On the other hand, if I was going to add one to my collection or display them, I might go $10.00+ for Leo's poppers (in line with Jerry's statement about $10.00 for 3 flies). 8)

Leo kinda addressed the subject of why "the HAND MADE Poppers are really hard to find", himself while at the shop Saturday. He doesn't bother selling his poppers because there're so many steps in their production that costs are prohibitive in relation to what they can be sold for. He said, everyone wants to pay $5.00 for his poppers (even after seeing all of the steps/time involved in production).....

That's the main reason balsa poppers aren't available. Modern production methods/materials (foam vs balsa, etc.) make for a reasonably priced, functional popper (....look at Rainey's poppers????). True, they're not works of art but they are still pleasing to the eye, cast and retrieve well; plus they catch fish (maybe not as many as Leo's....). 8) 8)

Balsa poppers are just not a popular choice for most fly fishers or they would be available and sell better. 8) 8) 8)

[David Lee]

Thanks D. - that was the kind of point of view I was hoping for .....

David

[k.hanley]

Interesting question David. I would have to say that I would look at the popper from two different perspectives; one is to fish with the popper, while the other is to collect the popper.

Fishin' with it:
I'd pay whatever I had to if I felt the popper was my main pattern. I have no problem buying well constructed tools for my adventures afield.

Collecting a piece:
I do believe fly patterns are "functional sculpture." My first college degree was in sculpting and fine art. I appreciate the design process, tying & construction techniques, and certainly the personality of the fly tyer themself. In this case I usually approach it for artistic sensabilities and often historic perspective. These cost whatever I can personally afford.

Sooooooooo I guess my answer is "it all depends."

By the way I have some of Leo's and Jay's original balsa poppers in my collection. They always put a smile on my face.
Cheers, Ken

[David Lee]

Ken -

Thank you for the input (Thanks to everyone , BTW ...) .

This is quite interesting ..... I haven't taken into account the collecter aspect before . The very few pieces of fishing gear I don't use are a few flies tyed by 'name' people ...... guess I should have thought about folks who collect .

I have 2 Leo Poppers . I don't fish them . I just thought that for a sport where a flyrod can go for over $500.00 ..... spending $20.00 for a custom Popper wouldn't rankle so many people !! I also wanted to gauge what kind of market there was for these things , since I was thinking of producing Balsa Poppers on a large scale . It looks like Leo was right - it isn't really worth it ......

David :)

[Hairstacker]

Well, David as you know, I have two of Leo's poppers that you gave me. I don't generally collect flies but those two are permanently part of a collection of "Originals" that will never be fished. I have other "Originals" in that collection as well that will never be fished, including (I know it will pain you to hear this) your Bugskin Craw, for example. Some flies, such as these, reach a level of craftsmanship and art and are such a perfect representation of what the fly pattern is supposed to be that you just don't want them to get ruffled up or worse lost.

When I was a kid, I had a "special" collection of matchbox cars that I would gleefully take out from time to time to look at and marvel over but I never played with them for fear of scratching them. I had other matchbox cars that I played with. So it is with these collected flies.

Anyway, for me, when I say I'm willing to pay up to $10, it would be for a collectible or for an example on which to base a tie. I doubt I will ever pay for a fly to fish with regardless of how cheap/expensive it is.

[Sturmer White]

Heystacker

I am like you, I have flies and poppers on my wall that special people have made. They never will hit the water.
As far as flies to fish I do my own. Mostly Foam gurglers which take no more than 5 minutes, if everthing is ready.
The other popper that I fish a lot any more is the shoe sole popper, that Jerry showed me how to make. It is indistructable and catches big bass . Yeah!

[JerryInLodi]

Sturmer, since I've been sitting around waiting for my boat I now have a big pile of the flip-flop poppers ready to go along with some giant woolly buggers with weed guards. I'm going to crawl those GWBs through the egeria densa where the deep water meets the shallow this coming Monday if we don't get blown and rained out! I plan to catch Papa Bass!

Hairstacker, Sturmer makes these little bugs out of flat foam, usually in brown, yellow or green with rubber legs, some with weed guards, some without. They're similar to a gurgler but with sturmer's own touch. They're smaller than my foam poppers.

Sturmer uses them in the early part of the day when the sun's bright and they really get pounded. Rather than popping, Sturmer skitters them across the surface by stripping and wiggling his rod tip at the same time. Some day's they're like Godiva chocolate to the LMB! And actually, they're tied very well. They'd qualify for bug art or functional art as others have called it.