Homemade Poppers from broom handles.....?

[webbfunk]

So, was sweeping out the entertainment area at home today and somehow manage to snap the broom handle ( accident I swear ). Mrs is upset, I instantly thought there is a silver lining to this.....I can try and make a couple of my own poppers.

For any one that has tried making one out of a broom handle.....how do you get the concave nose happening? ( what tools / techniques ?)

[Cowfish13]

I drill out a medium sized hole, and then I use a chisel to scrap the other wood away so you get a good cup face on it. I've made two poppers like this and I caught a decent sized Queenie on on of them

[webbfunk]

Thanks Cow. Easier than I thought it would be.

Does it make much a difference how smooth the concave is?

[Feral]

For a real rough and ready fix, and requires some more work on your part, empty an appropriate amber bottle, attach the lid to the front of the flat faced bit of broom handle with an appropriate eye screw, and you have a popper! Note you may need to empty several amber bottles to get it correct.

You may also find the lid requires regular replacement, requiring the emptying of more amber bottles....

[Nog]

I've found to help casting and keeping the face up on the surface is to drill large 1/4 inch hole in the arse and shove a small sinker up it. also for the face a dremel type tool works a treat. Pick up an Ozito from Bunnings cheap. i also epoxy a strong swivel into the front for attaching to your leader.

Norm

[Nog]

I've found to help casting and keeping the face up on the surface is to drill large 1/4 inch hole in the arse and shove a small sinker up it. also for the face a dremel type tool works a treat. Pick up an Ozito from Bunnings cheap. i also epoxy a strong swivel into the front for attaching to your leader.

Norm

[Do$tylz]

Feral wrote:

For a real rough and ready fix, and requires some more work on your part, empty an appropriate amber bottle, attach the lid to the front of the flat faced bit of broom handle with an appropriate eye screw, and you have a popper! Note you may need to empty several amber bottles to get it correct.

You may also find the lid requires regular replacement, requiring the emptying of more amber bottles....

gee Feral... that sounds like a bit of hard work...

[Cowfish13]

webbfunk wrote:

Thanks Cow. Easier than I thought it would be.

Does it make much a difference how smooth the concave is?

Not particularly. My two have both been pretty rough, but they work just as well as a store bought one. In all honesty though, it's pretty tough to make a popper that doesn't work to some degree. As long as you scrap out enough wood (you can drill several holes to make this easier), it'll pop well enough and should stay in the water rather than skipping out

Also, make sure you have a good method of making eyelets. Try twisting some wire around a screwdriver until you get about a 2" long bit of twisted wired (should look similar to a twisted leader) and then use some 24hr araldyte to glue them in. If it's a smaller popper though, obviously it won't need to be that long

[MoparKevUk]

Shouldn't you be drilling all the way through the popper and attaching a treble to one end of a bit of wire that has a loop at the other end for the leader/swivel?

[Feral]

Yep, but easier is to cut a slot half way through (along the popper, underneath it) with a hacksaw, lay the wire in with what ever hook mounts you want on it (IE mounts for two or three trebles) then epoxy it in.

[MoparKevUk]

Good idea. What paints are the go?

[pbask]

Before starting, cut a length of the broom and drop into a tub of water. The "chunck" will roll in the water and float in only one position every time. This determines the TOP of your popper and so it allows you to work with the natural properties of the wood.

I do not concave the face, just cut at 60 degrees and make certain the eyelet is towards the TOP of the face. This will make the popper "pop" everytime. Additional lead in the tail will assist with casting into the wind and help the nose stay upwhen starting the initial reel back in. I use paper clips for wire, that is twisted and placed into drilled holes filled with Arildite. White paint seems to work well, but it is mainly the speed and splash that works best.

I have caugth many fish when I retrieve the popper all the way in and let it stop in the suds for 20 seconds. The fish will strike the popper as it disappears in and out of the suds around the rocks.

The hook placement is critical for the fish you are chasing. Yellowtail will follow and gulp the tail of the popper, so a good treble in the tail is needed. But the trevellay slam the "head" of the popper at 90 degrees to its travel, quite often hit the popper clear out of the water, with no hook up. You need to place the treble as close to the head of the lure. I am still experimenting with single, double, treble hooks on the front set. Also the front and tail hooks need to have clear space between them otherwise you may find that the hooks tangle and become useless when fish hit the lure.

Popper fishing is very visual and the greatest thrill is seeing the fish following and the greatest disappointment is when they donot strike. The temptation is to slow the lure, but all this does is turn the fish off, it is better to accelerate the lure and only consider stopping when the suds start near the rocks. This mimics bait fish hiding in the suds and the trevalley hunt through these suds for the bait fish. Be prepared to be blown away as these fish can grow to 40lb + and are capable of crush hooks and busting you up around the rocks.

Enjoy and be safe,

cheers Phil

[bootyinblue]

MoparKevUk wrote:

Good idea. What paints are the go?

Trust British Paints.... sure can!