Homemade Bass Popper Flies: What Do You Think?

[HLNichols]

I painted, epoxied, and tied these two bass popper flies today. I am new at it and still trying to master it. What do you guys think? Tasty fish snacks, or painted feather bundles?

 

This one is inspired by a chartreuse topwater lure. I am going to continue making these and I am thinking about going to my pond tomorrow to try them out. I appreciate input!

[Kevin22]

Looks good to me! I'd throw it! 

[HLNichols]

Having attachment problems. Here's the second! This is made in the style of a perch/firetiger topwater lure.

 

 

[Crestliner2008]

Very nice!

[deadadrift89]

Some bass gonna eat'um ;-)

[CountBassula]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VopC0g5UViM

[flyfisher]

they look decent especially for a first try.  A few criticisms that may or may not hold true once you start fishing them

 

They a little to overdressed.  The tails look a little long and i could see them fouling on the hook pretty often.  They also look like they may not float upright well due to all the hackle prior to the tail material.  If you look at most commercially available poppers they have basically one turn of hackle if any at the end of he popper body.  It also looks like you used marabou for the tail which is definitely a good choice but again, make sure it isn't to long or it will foul up the hook.

 

I haven't tied poppers in a while but when i do i keep them pretty basic, assuming they are not spun deer hair that is.  Basic popper or slider body with minimal hackle and a short tail.  The other option is to use deer hair or even foam and tie what looks like dragon fly bodies on the back as legs to mimic a frog, especially while at rest.

 

They definitely look good and i am sure they will catch some fish.  Just keep track of the positives and negatives of your design and modify on the next batch and things will get even better

[HLNichols]

they look decent especially for a first try.  A few criticisms that may or may not hold true once you start fishing them

 

They a little to overdressed.  The tails look a little long and i could see them fouling on the hook pretty often.  They also look like they may not float upright well due to all the hackle prior to the tail material.  If you look at most commercially available poppers they have basically one turn of hackle if any at the end of he popper body.  It also looks like you used marabou for the tail which is definitely a good choice but again, make sure it isn't to long or it will foul up the hook.

 

I haven't tied poppers in a while but when i do i keep them pretty basic, assuming they are not spun deer hair that is.  Basic popper or slider body with minimal hackle and a short tail.  The other option is to use deer hair or even foam and tie what looks like dragon fly bodies on the back as legs to mimic a frog, especially while at rest.

 

They definitely look good and i am sure they will catch some fish.  Just keep track of the positives and negatives of your design and modify on the next batch and things will get even better

 

Thanks! That's some really helpful advice. I didn't really have a recipe to follow, so I wasn't entirely sure what to use. This is really helpful. 

[flyfisher]

When you start trying to tie flies what is a good method, at least for me, is to break the fly down into three sections, the head, body and tail sections.  Then you figure out what materials they are, how much and how they are applied.  Once you do this for a few flies you can start mixing and matching materials to get an effect you are looking for.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=skip+morris+fly+tying&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=7136692539&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1674103998377541548&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6ard8rr188_b

 

The top two books on this search are really good for beginners.  While you may not use all the flies the techniques build on each other as you progress and you will use them on other flies as well.

 

The next book i always recommend is Production fly tying by A. K. Best.

http://www.amazon.com/Production-Fly-Tying-Collection-Variations/dp/0871087812/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375233873&sr=1-1&keywords=production+fly+tying

 

This book challenge a lot of the traditional methods in tying flies as his theory is tying in bulk is the only way to learn a pattern.  He also breaks things down like i mentioned above, it is where i got the idea from  

 

Good luck and keep on tying!!

[Will Wetline]

I'll second flyfisher's recommendation of Skip Morris' "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple."