Are poppers effective at night.

[dhess]

Hey guys. Just picked up my first popper its a 45mm black river 2 sea. Are they any good or are they crap?

Anyway my question is: are poppers effective used around structures in the river at night or are they best used during the day?

Dom

[Feral]

Night , early morning and late evening are best time for poppers.

[kiara_poltegerist]

dhess wrote:

Hey guys. Just picked up my first popper its a 45mm black river 2 sea. Are they any good or are they crap?:unsure:

Anyway my question is: are poppers effective used around structures in the river at night or are they best used during the day?

Dom

haha, do you mean the R2S popper or do you mean poppers in general?

To be frank with you, poppers are excellent lures, and they provide excellent visual eye candy as well . The explosive surface strikes that you get on them literally make your heart stop! very addictive game :laugh: :laugh:

I havent used R2S poppers before, so I cant really give many comments there, but I believe that they are a copy of the Megabass Pop-X. Does the popper have a pair of holes where the gills are meant to be?

Some excellent poppers which I've used are the Megabass Pop-X, Pop-Max, Storm Chugbug, Halco Roosta and the Jackson RA Pop. The Rapala skitterpop is quite a good topwater as well. Of the lot, IMHO, the Storm Chugbug is the best in terms of price vs effectiveness.

Poppers can be used throughout the day (especially close to structure- cast beyond the structure, and pop your lure aggressively past the structure for fish holding tight on it), but topwater strikes are generally more frequent and aggresive during early mornings, evenings and after rain. During the day, a slightly slower or dead-sticking retrieve is required, as the fish will most likely be below the thermocline.

Poppers work great at night too- GTs, threadfin salmon, barracudas, big-eye jacks and mangrove jacks will climb all over a popper that comes within striking range. However, I would recommend larger poppers for popping at night tho, as the fish are mainly making blind passes at the popping and splashing sound, and a larger lure would mean a larger target for the fish to hit (increased chances of a hookup, and larger hooks would stand a better chance of sticking into something.

[Angus]

Karma to you Kiara.

I think i just learnt more about poppers than i have from most magazines.

Cheers.

Angus

[dhess]

Thanks for the awesome replies!

Like you mentioned Kiara the river 2 sea does have holes where the gills are.

Can't wait to try it out. Will have to pickup a chugbug too.

[Dazzamcgee]

evenings are the best time...for burn outs hahahah:evil:

[kiara_poltegerist]

dhess wrote:

Thanks for the awesome replies!

Like you mentioned Kiara the river 2 sea does have holes where the gills are.

Can't wait to try it out. Will have to pickup a chugbug too.

yea, i figured so. It's not that great a popper from what I've seen, but it's usable tho. The original Pop-X is much much better. The holes that you see at the side are the patented Bubble chambers. The Pop-X, you can either Pop it slowly back to you, or you can even walk it back to you like a pencilbait as well. The bubble chambers create a bubble trail to attract fish as the lure comes back to you. For normal poppers, you cant use them to walk the dog, and as such, it's quite hard to keep them in a certain area or near a certain big of structure, so Megabass came along with the design of the Pop-X which walks the dog on the retrieve, and as such, stays in the target area longer.

What fish are you going after with your poppers? For the Chugbug, as a guideline, the best all round use size is the medium (8cm) size. If some big bruisers around, or when you're fishing at night, I think the biggest size'd be better. The most effective retrieve at night and at dawn from my experience is a constant chugging retrieve (done by constantly ripping the rod downwards back to you and retrieving line at the same time). For daytime fishing, it's best to dead stick your lure abit- pop the popper really hard 3 times while retrieving line at the same time, then let it sit or drift for 5 seconds or so, then continue again. Normally big GTs or barracudas will come right up behind the lure when it's stationary and slam it the moment it starts moving again!

but having said that, do experiment with the retrieves and stuff. Fish habits do vary quite abit!

have fun and post some great pix!

Tightlines mate!

[Brian D]

Kiara - you write well - easy informative reading - thanks

[blue_mako]

Kiara where abouts are you using the poppers, it doesn't sound very Brisbane River like to me.

Most smaller surface lures work well in the Brisbane River. I have caught fish on Smiths Towadis which are a good dog walking, top water plug. Also I've been with Tim and have seen River 2 Sea Bubble Pops in action. It gets a load of attention also.

But yes, early morning, late afternoon are great times to pop. Though I've found just before rain seems to get the fish firing when the clouds come over and once the water is dirtied up you can't even draw a look from a fish.

It's also best if you can pick a dusk or dawn with anything but a low tide, so run in, run out, and high tides are best.

Troy

[dhess]

Tried the popper around some sunken trees and snags early friday morning on the east side o f Coochie Mudlo. No luck:( I guess my technique needs a lot of work. I am very inexperienced with lures.

How fast should I retrieve and what is \"walking the dog\"?

Post edited by: dhess, at: 2007/03/18 20:35

[kiara_poltegerist]

blue_mako wrote:

Kiara where abouts are you using the poppers, it doesn't sound very Brisbane River like to me.

Most smaller surface lures work well in the Brisbane River. I have caught fish on Smiths Towadis which are a good dog walking, top water plug. Also I've been with Tim and have seen River 2 Sea Bubble Pops in action. It gets a load of attention also.

But yes, early morning, late afternoon are great times to pop. Though I've found just before rain seems to get the fish firing when the clouds come over and once the water is dirtied up you can't even draw a look from a fish.

It's also best if you can pick a dusk or dawn with anything but a low tide, so run in, run out, and high tides are best.

Troy

hello Troy. No, I'm not in Bris.. Yet.. .. will over at the end of next month. In malaysia at the moment.

[kiara_poltegerist]

dhess wrote:

Tried the popper around some sunken trees and snags early friday morning on the east side o f Coochie Mudlo. No luck:( I guess my technique needs a lot of work. I am very inexperienced with lures.

How fast should I retrieve and what is \"walking the dog\"?<br /><br />Post edited by: dhess, at: 2007/03/18 20:35

Hey Dhess!

Every popper has an optimum retrieve style and speed, and fish in different places or at different times may find some retrieves more attractive than others. You need to experiment.

Ok.. A few things to try out with your popper -

1- how fast or hard a jerk you need to make the loudest POP.

(useful for dead-sticking or for a slower retrieve during afternoons when its hotter or when the fish are below the thermocline)

* how to do it- have your rod tip down, facing the water, then jerk it backwards suddenly (10-20cm) with the line taut. wind up the slack line before repeating it again.

2- how the popper moves on a \"Stop-Go\" retrieve. There're alot of variations of this retrieve. You can pop the popper 3 times while retrieving line, and stop before doing it again, or you can just Pop 'n stop. The reason for doing this is that different poppers all react differently. Some poppers actually dive sideways under the water when popped, allowing their side profile to be seen, and also at the same time looking like a wounded baitfish struggling on the surface, and others sit tail down when not moved but the cup face spits water when popped.

3- how the popper moves when it's chugging along

best used during early mornings, late evenings, after rain, and generally when fish are more active. useful for searching wide areas and when you're not sure where the fish are holding.

Do it by having your rod tip down, retrieving and jerking continuously (10-15cm per jerk). very often, you'll have mis-strikes where the fish blows up on the lure but misses. Dont stop when this happens. Just continue, most of the time the fish will have another go if the lure isnt too close to you yet. Dont misjudge their aggressiveness! I've had fish slam a popper right at my feet!

4- Ripping a popper

useful when deadsticking or to make an extra loud noise.

Ripping is done by ensuring that your line to the popper is tight, then ripping your rod down and sideways, before tightening the line and repeating it again. Some poppers will make a loud \"Wooosh\" sound, others will throw up a very big bow wave as they move along the surface, and others will run under the surface before surfacing again when you stop.

Well, tht's just some of the things i normally do with my poppers Dhess. The best thing to do is to experiment and find out what the fish there like best! . If I get to fish with you when i'm over in Bris, I wouldnt mind showing you a few tricks tho . Most fish wouldnt turn their noses up at a popper. I've even caught Mangrove Jacks on them in the estuaries here (won a bet on that :laugh: ). The surface strike is simply addictive! If there're barracudas or long toms in the area, they'll climb all over your topwaters when they're in a feeding mood!

* One thing to note- normally if the water is very clear, or if we're targetting structure, we normally only pop the popper till it exits the target area. after that we just reel it in full speed to get to the next cast faster.

** Walking the dog is basically making your topwater go from side to side on the retrive. It's generally done with pencilbaits (e.g Storm Thunder Dog, Yo-Zuri Arms pencil, Rapala Skitter walk and Megabass Dog-X), but it can be done with some poppers as well. Hard to explain to you, but i dont mind showing you how it's done when I'm there tho.

*** If you're fishing relatively light lines for bigger poppers (8cm+), it's advisable to tie on a leader of 30cm or so. Not soo much as a bite leader, but it's because topwaters have a bad habit of getting tangled in light lines when they land or during the cast (especially if you've doubled up your line before doing your knot). Not only causes headaches, but also weakens your line.

Post edited by: kiara_poltegerist, at: 2007/03/25 03:12

[dhess]

Hi Kiara,

Fantastic post! Karma coming your way.

You've explained a lot.

Definitely keen to go for a fish with you when your here and get some hands on instruction.

Dom

[jeff f]

all hail the poper meister;)

[Tim a]

Kiara I think I'll have to show my riverspot and watch you do it!

[kiara_poltegerist]

haha, no no.. guys, i'm only sharing what I've learnt through experience . anyone can do this, given the right information, lures and techniques. I'm no maestro or miracle fisherman. Just practice.

Fishing is always made better by doing a little homework and thinking before . I've been lucky as well to get an ex-Duel- Yo-Zuri lure designer as my boss and teacher here as well, so yea, he's taught me a whole load of things .

normally i prefer to go after bigger fish with topwaters, but nvm, i'll bring some Pop-X and some smaller topwaters there, and we'll see whether any of the bigger fish in the river are willing to have a go at my topwaters!

[chubbstar]

:woohoo: You just helped me out heaps mate. Karma to ya. BRC here I come!!

Speach when taking trophy \"I would like to thank the popper master Kiara bla bla bla\"

hehe I'm going to take a cold shower now:blush:

To help out fello Popper freaks: How to use Popper Video
/>http://hobbies.expertvillage.com/videos/advanced-fishing-poppers.htm

And how to walk the dog
/>http://hobbies.expertvillage.com/videos/advanced-fishing-walk-dog.htm

Jayson

[ellicat]

Interesting to note in both vids he said to use heavier mono line as leader.

[chubbstar]

Yeah mate I noticed that also. That seams to be the general tip around all the sites that I've been looking through. I think I'll give 8lb a go first, then maybe move to 12lb leader.:dry:

Also a lot of them are saying to sand the paint of the river2sea poppers. Makes them catch better they rekon. A lot of Popper fisho's are talking about the surecatch range as being good catchers, and cheap also.

mmmm a lot to think about. I'll be hiting the tackle shops tomorrow I think:woohoo:

Jayson

[ellicat]

Don't forget to save some dollars for ze AFO shop:P

[chubbstar]

I just had a look around for the Megabass Pop-X.

:ohmy: $29.95 down from $34.95, They can keep them:angry: Looks like I'll have to learn how to wittle wood.:laugh:

[Dan23]

I probably would have bought one. Don't tell me where.

[jeff f]

chubbstar wrote:

I just had a look around for the Megabass Pop-X.

:ohmy: $29.95 down from $34.95, They can keep them:angry: Looks like I'll have to learn how to wittle wood.:laugh:

poppers are the easiest thing in the world to make

just get a piece of dowel cut it to the desired length carefully drill a small hole through the center from end to end

then get a drill bit 2 or 3 mm smaller than the dowell and cup the face of it

whittle the end of the dowel down a little and sand it to the shape you want

then get a piece of heavy piano wire about 2 and a half times the length of the dowel and fold both ends over so they cross in the middle antwist it up so you have a loop at each end

push the wire through the dowel and glue it in with epoxy so you have an eye at each end

then paint it and put a coat of clear epoxy over the body

hang some rings and hooks on it and away you go

you can make stick bait/DT type lures the same way

[kiara_poltegerist]

chubbstar wrote:

I just had a look around for the Megabass Pop-X.

:ohmy: $29.95 down from $34.95, They can keep them:angry: Looks like I'll have to learn how to wittle wood.:laugh:

but mate, they're a great lure! didnt have a chance to hit the bass when i was back in bris, but i'd reckon they'd be a great hit with the bass there, and prolly for toga as well!

one of the best walking poppers i've used, it stays in the strike zone longer than most other poppers, so yea, it's great for sluggish or wary fish.

[kevinchen19870316]

fishing lures r like everything else. u get what u pay for.

the design of a popper determines how it sits in the water, how much splash it gives, how it's moving on the water and the ease to cast, etc. i have never tried a megabass pop-x but from my experience with a few brands (from cheap cheap to ecogear, luckycraft and ima) and generally the more u pay, the better the action will be.

[Dan23]

I've had Kev looking out for a PopX on Ebay for me but they keep selling for more than what you can buy them for here.

Still, I have two X80s and a griffon is on its way!:laugh:

[kevinchen19870316]

if only u didn't stick with one color....

[nigehey]

jeff f wrote:

chubbstar wrote:

I just had a look around for the Megabass Pop-X.

:ohmy: $29.95 down from $34.95, They can keep them:angry: Looks like I'll have to learn how to wittle wood.:laugh:

poppers are the easiest thing in the world to make

just get a piece of dowel cut it to the desired length carefully drill a small hole through the center from end to end

then get a drill bit 2 or 3 mm smaller than the dowell and cup the face of it

whittle the end of the dowel down a little and sand it to the shape you want

then get a piece of heavy piano wire about 2 and a half times the length of the dowel and fold both ends over so they cross in the middle antwist it up so you have a loop at each end

push the wire through the dowel and glue it in with epoxy so you have an eye at each end

then paint it and put a coat of clear epoxy over the body

hang some rings and hooks on it and away you go

you can make stick bait/DT type lures the same way

Thanks that's excellent advice given my budget situation!

[obone]

Has anyone had much luck with poppers around the Indooroopilly area? I have been throwing some around recently but have had no success. Only once, I had a swirl next to it, which has kept me motivated to keep trying! But I'm loosing faith now.

???

Joel

[Dan23]

Mate, especially at the moment with all this fresh I think you'd be extremely lucky to get a fish on any lure around Indro. At any time of year really. Maybe gulps? Have you ever caught anything there on lures?

[obone]

I have tried gulps (Nuclear chickens) Dan, haven't had much luck with them. I was speaking to a friend who said he's been getting catties on his poppers but I haven't been able to get it to work. Will a threddy ever take a popper?

Joel

[Cowfish13]

I would imagine that a Thready feeding on a school of prawns may think that a popper is a fleeing prawn. But that is purely a guess.

I've never seen one taken on a popper:S, but in fishing, anything is possible:side:

[pinkey]

Thats pretty cool Joel, now im keen to try , what was the swirl like? When the river is back in full flight im sure you can catch bream on lures anywhere.... especcialy if there realy close in, and you have a little rattling hb .

[kamron]

once you get your first hook up on a popper it can get addictive, best thing to do is go down to big W and buy some of berkley ones(about $5) and just give it a go.I was up at noosa for easter weekend and after half a carton and a bit of a sore shoulder later, I hooked myself a 40cm trev at 3am.First thing in the morning went down to davo's bait & tackle to start my collection of lures.