Whopper Plopper questions

[N Florida Mike]

Had a customer give me a whopper plopper last week. It was not in the package so I dont know what size it is. Its 3-4 inches long. This one is dark brown on top with stripes and a white bottom.

So I went out back last evening to try it for the first time. We had a big rain all weekend so it produced some flow in the lake towards the little spillway  which is right at my property. 

So  made a long cast and hadnt reeled it 4 feet and BOOM !!! A big blow up. Reeled it in- a nice pound and a half fish. I thought , wow Im onto something!. That was the only blow up, although I tried for a half hour or so.

So my questions.

• What are the best ways to fish this ?

I caught the fish just reeling it in enough to get the prop going. I had let it sit after the cast until the ripples were gone.

• The bait didnt run straight. It didnt spin all the way over but came close. Is their a way to reduce this or is it normal. I tied the bait straight to the line with no swivel.

Thanks.

[Koz]

With the 110's and 130's you usually need to let them sit for a second at splash down so they pop back up to the surface. Otherwise your reeling in the first 3 feet or so with it underwater.

 

Here are the ways I fish mine and they have all produced on one day or another. Like most baits some days a particular presentation works and some days it doesn't. I use the 110 size.

 

1. Straight slow retrieve

2. Straight quick retrieve

3. Slow retrieve and pause for a heartbeat or two every 5-7 cranks

4. Stop and pop. 5-7 cranks on slow retrieve, pause for a heartbeat or two, give it a small pop so I hear the loud "blurp", then crank again.

 

What has not worked for me is using a longer pause during retrieve. For me it has never produced on windy days. When it's a bit breezy, yes. But not on a windy day. Some days the Whopper Plopper is pure magic, and other days it's a big, fat, zero. But I guarantee you will remember the days when it is magic.

[N Florida Mike]

So do you fish it all day or just low light conditions? I havent fished topwater much and almost all the fish Ive caught with them is at dawn for an hour or so , an hour or so at dusk ,or at night.

[JustJames]

With 4" long that might be 90 size. For the 90 size it is easier to cast but not as easy to made it spin just right any debris would make the whole body spin instead of tail. I fish the 90 with braid and held rod high to make it stay on top. 

[npl_texas]

For me it's a straight moderate retrieve the majority of the time. A little more than it takes to get the tail spinning.

 

 I'll change it up if I'm not getting any blow ups.  Stop and start, burn it, etc.

[CJE]

I only have the 90 but 50% of the time the entire body rotates on retrieve. Not sure if that is a design flaw or not. 

[Koz]

4 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

So do you fish it all day or just low light conditions? I havent fished topwater much and almost all the fish Ive caught with them is at dawn for an hour or so , an hour or so at dusk ,or at night.

 

Most of our fishing is in mid afternoon or early evening. In fact, the biggest fish I have caught on the WP (including the one in my profile picture) were mid afternoon catches.

 

I've fished the WP at dusk but really haven't caught much. At that time of day the fish around here seem to like frogs more than the WP.

[Ksam1234]

I have used all whopper poppers and love them. I would sugggest the 110-130. They both catch bass. Some days the bigger 130 can just be a ***** much but I have caught 7 inch bass off that 5inch lure so it does work. I would use a snap swivel to help prevent the turn over spin your talking about. I have always used it with that and never have any problems. For the retrieve it's pretty much either a straight retrieve back or a retrieve pause. Usually pause for 3-5 seconds as sometimes they hit it on the pause.  Favorite colors are loon or bone, never had success with anything else.  You can go slow or fast depending how they want it but usually just enough speed to get the tail spinning and hear that " plop plop plop" sound. It's usually fished in a morning or late afternoon but have had success up tilll 12 in the afternoon with low light cloudy conditions

[Koz]

20 minutes ago, CJE said:

I only have the 90 but 50% of the time the entire body rotates on retrieve. Not sure if that is a design flaw or not. 

That's the one frustrating thing about the WP is the inconsistent retrieval. Usually it's because of even a small hanging weed on the tail hook or a thin weed gets wrapped between the upper and lower body of the bait.

 

I haven't tried, but it would be nice if the two sections popped apart so you could clean it out.

[DSTN]

I've mainly used the 90 size and had good luck with loon, white, and ghost minnow. Pretty much everything I've caught is on a slow steady retrieve, just fast enough to get the plopping sound. The lure is plenty effective so the occasional rolling over doesn't bother me. I've found if I keep the rod tip up and get in the right retrieve speed range the rolling over doesn't happen.

[N Florida Mike]

Thanks, everyone. I tried it for awhile this evening but no takers. 

[CJE]

16 hours ago, Koz said:

That's the one frustrating thing about the WP is the inconsistent retrieval. Usually it's because of even a small hanging weed on the tail hook or a thin weed gets wrapped between the upper and lower body of the bait.

 

I haven't tried, but it would be nice if the two sections popped apart so you could clean it out.

I used fishing line to pull some of the garbage out. Holding the road tip high cut down on the spinning today. I’m going to pick up a larger model to see if they have them same issues. They just flat out catch fish even with the flaw for me.

[tcbass]

18 hours ago, Koz said:

That's the one frustrating thing about the WP is the inconsistent retrieval. Usually it's because of even a small hanging weed on the tail hook or a thin weed gets wrapped between the upper and lower body of the bait.

 

I haven't tried, but it would be nice if the two sections popped apart so you could clean it out.

 

 

It's definitely not a weedless lure, but most non-weedless lures don't work well when they get weeds attached.

 

 

I've found that on the 110 (and 110 only) you can grind the two halves of the together and it grinds the weeds up, or I can just pull them out.

 

 

I've found that I catch the most fish on the initial landing and letting it sit or during a steady retrieve. Not too many on a stop and go, but I know that that also works.

[Boomstick]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 7:30 PM, CJE said:

I only have the 90 but 50% of the time the entire body rotates on retrieve. Not sure if that is a design flaw or not. 

That'sa common issue especially with the 90.