Bass popper

[mar]

I've been playing around with a new popper pattern for bass. What started off as just goofing around at the vise morphed into an obsession to tweak and test the pattern that spanned several weeks.
The pattern's main feature is basically two thingamabobbers glued together to form the popper head. I've raided Kiene's indicator box at the counter a few times since then :D


A pic of the latest version:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0804b_zps87d96036.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0804b_zps87d96036.jpg.html)

Tied in several color schemes as well as hookpoint placement. Normal hookpoint down for open water and hookpoint up for heavy cover / weedless applications. The weedless version works really well. It lands hookpoint up almost all the time due to the excellent bouyancy and wide stance of the bobbers:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0809b_zps1cafd379.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0809b_zps1cafd379.jpg.html)


There's nothing subtle about this fly. It has a big profile, pushes a lot of water and is obnoxiously loud.
The fly in action:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0766b_zpsb046005d.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0766b_zpsb046005d.jpg.html)

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0767b_zps064194e5.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0767b_zps064194e5.jpg.html)

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0769b-1_zps3873317c.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0769b-1_zps3873317c.jpg.html)



First ever fish caught on the new fly. This early prototype didn't have the bobbers glued together and wasn't tied down securely. One of the bobbers came off and got impaled by the hook when this beast exploded on it:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC04649_1600_zps64a42af0.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC04649_1600_zps64a42af0.jpg.html)


Other color scheme and hook point placement in action:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0813b_zps619d11b0.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0813b_zps619d11b0.jpg.html)

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0757b_zpsa7e4e42e.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0757b_zpsa7e4e42e.jpg.html)

Works on smallies as well:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0709b_zpsf14c1486.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0709b_zpsf14c1486.jpg.html)

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC05291c_1600_zpse18d08e8.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC05291c_1600_zpse18d08e8.jpg.html)


I call it the BS Popper (BS for ball$@ck). I use an 8wt OBS floater to fish this fly. I'll definitely be fishing this pattern a lot more this season.

[k.hanley]

That's crazy Mar! Gotta love the results. Two thumbs up on the creativity.

Your fly reminds me of the English lake pattern known as the "Boobie."

Cheers, Ken

[Darian]

Amazing!!! Thinking outside the box again. The black one looks like it's straight form the movie, The Fly. ;) I like the bug and the results. Great photography, too. :cool:

[Jeff C.]

Wow Mar! Love those flies!

[Spicytuna1]

Good stuff Mar I dig the Mickey Mouse fly, lol. Diggin the creativity you got going on there. Keep it up

That first fish was a pig.

[mar]

Thanks all. This was a fun project. I really like the R&D aspect of this sport. Nice to have another pattern to add to the arsenal.

If any of you out there have been wanting to ditch your bobbers, send them my way. I'll put them to good use :D

[Dan LeCount]

Clever idea. At the fly tackle Dealer show last year there was a little fly tying contest trying to make use of water balloons. Someone made a bass popper with sort of the same intentions, two big booby eyes up front. I like how you make yours a lot more. The thingamabobbs would be a lot more durable and wouldn't pop after the first fish. lol The ones with the black eyes look especially juicy, although I don't know how much that would matter to the bass, they have interesting "tastes" at times. Goofy sometimes more effective then realistic.

-btw - they kind of look like "Mickey Mouse" lol

[jbird]

Holy smokes! love the results! Like Ken said its got the "booby" look. But boobies arent tied to be ripped across the surface for topwater bass. Great creative idea and impressive results! Thanks for sharing Mar.

[winxp_man]

Mar one hell of a idea there buddy!! And nice bass there! :D

[Dan Harrison]

Nice idea! Think it would be killer on a summer night. Love top water patterns with the hook up for the delta. Could you post a quick pattern recipe and maybe how you make the bobbers stay put.

[Capt.Marc]

Try putting a weed guard on it and inverting the hook. Weigh it down with some epoxy.

[TPO]

Great fly Mar, and fantastic pictures. So you've apparently taken up tying, how are you enjoying that? Happy fishing, I haven't been out in awhile, I'm getting the itch and your post makes the rash worse...

Tom

[coolrivertx]

Nice idea! With all that flotation, maybe try turning the hook so it rides up? Then you can really get aggressive with the vegetation! Or you might try an EWG bass hook? Brett

[briansII]

First off, that's a fantastic creation Mar! Obviously it's a productive one too. Gotta love it when a plan comes together.

I think Mar mentioned one version rides hook point up. I've toyed with that, and it's not a simple thing to get a hook point up fly to land correctly on every cast.....at least not one that's light enough to cast easily.

briansII

[Darian]

I've been thinking about this bug and am wondering if the boobies (maybe pun intended....) are attached but move freely, forward and back?? Not apparent from the photo's. I guess less movement could be accomplished by tying the the thread/wire down but would that be desirable?? Either way, it looks like the body rides sub-surface at rest or when stripped. Wonder if the strikes come on the strip or when the bug is at rest???

Judging from the results in the photo's, the bug is very productive with the hook in normal position. Since the body hangs below the floats, I'd say fishing the bug on top of heavy weeds/mats isn't necessarily a good thing. Looks like inverting the hook could cause the floats to obstruct the hook point on the strip.

[Dan Blanton]

Hey Mar,

That's a very cool top-water fly! It looks like a big bullfrog with those bobber eyes. Nice going!

[mar]

Thanks again all. Your feedback and kudos are very much appreciated.

I should clarify that the very first prototypes were the inverted hook versions. As BrianS mentioned, it wasn't an easy puzzle to solve. First obstacle was finding a hook with a really long shank. I've tried the largest (size 7/0) wide-gap worm hook that I can find but that sucker was super heavy and thick.
I ended up using a 65-lb wire leader material and 2/0 octopus hook to form an inverted trailer hook. This gave me the option to set the right gap between the bobbers and the hookpoint:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0788b_zps07fd7b28.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0788b_zps07fd7b28.jpg.html)

I use 20-lb maxima to secure the bobbers. They are then glued together, then tied down to the hook. Tie forward first, then fold over and tie again: Very secure connection and haven't had a set come off yet:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0797b_zps1ba40cb9.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0797b_zps1ba40cb9.jpg.html)

I use generous amounts of super glue especially when tying the trailer hook and bobbers down.
Cut off the main hook at the bend once the fly is done. Side view of the finished fly:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0802b_zps4d323ebb.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_0802b_zps4d323ebb.jpg.html)

This version is surprisingly very weedless. It lands hook-point up most of the time because most of the weight is in the a$$ end of the fly and all of the materials are below the bobbers. If it lands upside down, I just give it a small twitch and it flips over right away. It just glides over rocks, weeds, branches, sparse tullies...

The hook-point down version came about after a very frustrating morning field-test session. On one drift through a rockwall, I had 12+ blow-ups on the original inverted hook version with only one fish hooked and landed. I figured they smallmouth or smaller lmbs that didn't fully commit. Went home and tied some with the hook-point down. Hit the same rock wall the next day and went 6 for 7 using the new version. I was very happy with the results but feel that both versions have their place. I'll definitely be using the original inverted hook style when fishing heavy cover.
One weak point of the fly is the integrity of the bobbers. The epoxy tends to come off after 4-5 aggressive strikes from some feisty fish. Once the bobbers are unglued, the fly doesn't track as well or move as much water. Solution for now is to re-apply the epoxy. Might have to bring some epoxy on the boat for emergency repairs :D

Here's the materials list:

1. Main hook: 5/0 Owner 5100-151 worm hook
2. Trailer hook: 2/0 gamakatsu octopus hook
3. Tail: Chartreuse flashabou, Chartreuse bucktail and Chartreuse hen hackle
4. Body: Chartreuse baitfish emulator
5. Legs: Chartreuse silly legs
6. Thorax/head: Chartreuse estaz and red chenille
7. Head: Pair of Thingamabobbers glued together with epoxy. 25-lb Maxima is tied to the bobbers and used as the tie-down point.

Some more field-test results from 2 days ago:
This smallie just slurped it off the surface:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_1058b_zpsabf254bb.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_1058b_zpsabf254bb.jpg.html)


This lmb absolutely exploded on it, cart-wheeling on the way down. I thought it was a much larger fish from the commotion it made. You can see the bobbers un-glued.
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_1065b_zpsd3b63f4a.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_1065b_zpsd3b63f4a.jpg.html)

Thanks again all. I'll be out there as much as I can doing some field testing.

[mar]

Just another quick update: I might have a solution to the epoxy issue. I ended up totally covering both bobbers with epoxy; only leaving a thin layer and letting most of it drip off the bobbers. It made a nice solid piece out of both bobbers. It added a little weight to the fly but it didn't seem to affect the castability and action.
Took it out for a spin this morning and the fly survived. The bobbers are still glued together after several blow-ups.

Fearless little guy:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_1206b_zps4fab94d1.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_1206b_zps4fab94d1.jpg.html)

A bunch of these 'not so small' ones:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_1211b_zps558dbc96.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_1211b_zps558dbc96.jpg.html)

Fish of the day:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_1203b_zps5f3d0a71.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_1203b_zps5f3d0a71.jpg.html)

Even got an incidental catch. First ever striper on the BS Popper:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_1219b_zpscbf334d2.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/mar224177/media/DSC_1219b_zpscbf334d2.jpg.html)

Off the water as the water skiers started showing up.
Happy 4th of July to all!

[BenFishin]

a serious fish catching fly.....it moves so much water, I often think he's getting bit when it's just the retrieve displacing water