Whopper plopper. . .why the hype??

[RPreeb]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

It works, but it isn't that much fun to fish.

For me, if I'm catching some fish, I'm having fun.  I don't ask for anything more than that.  I'm never going to catch any real hogs out here where I live, so my sights aren't set that high.  If this thing catches me a few fish, I'll be happy with it.  

 

I never even had any intent to buy one.  I was in Cabela's and it was there on the rack in front of me.  Some force beyond my control made my hand reach out and pluck the box off the peg and drop it in my cart.  When I came out of my trance, the Plopper was in the bag and I was getting into my truck.  If it doesn't work, it's not my fault... I was under a spell.

[J Francho]

Just now, RPreeb said:

I never even had any intent to buy one.  I was in Cabela's and it was there on the rack in front of me.  Some force beyond my control made my hand reach out and pluck the box off the peg and drop it in my cart.  When I came out of my trance, the Plopper was in the bag and I was getting into my truck.  If it doesn't work, it's not my fault... I was under a spell.

Similar experience, lol.  Except I was in a F&S store.

[Hog Basser]

First time out, my 130 in rainbow trout caught me three 3 lbs. bass in a span of about 30 minutes.  Sold! 

 

I now have about 4 additional colors.  And it casts a mile.  

[burrows]

I thought the hype was over for a wile now.

[Spankey]

I jumped on that bandwagon last year after seeing post from the year before. I bought 3 of the 90's they work fine. They will catch grass on the surface but that's ok. 

 

But honestly in my opinion they ain't all that and a bag of chips. I have others that are more productive and really would rather fish. But they work. Maybe they will grow on me more this season. 

[gim]

I have 2 of them, a 110 and a 190.  The 110 is in perch color and the 190 is neon green.  I use the 190 for muskie fishing.  I haven't had much luck with either one yet but they are well made lures and I'm convinced that they will eventually work at some point, so I'll keep trying them.

[iaYakker]

It's simply consumerism. That's all it is. It's new, it's exciting, but there's no hard evidence it's more effective than a buzzbait/popper/prop baits/etc. You can get some huge hits with all of em. People will just convince themselves that it is more effective because they use it more often as a result of the consumerism.

 

Just try it for yourself. It just depends on the day. But don't get me wrong, it would be nice to have if you get a day where that's what the fish would rather go after.

[Koz]

23 hours ago, bobbyg said:

. . .convince me why I should buy one.

 

Personally, I think this is a pretty good reason:

 

I've had success on the 90, 110, and 130 sizes in Bone. Munky Butt 110 has been OK. I also have the black 130 and in over a year I have never had one hit on that lure, even though others swear by it.

 

For me the WP has worked best in the hot, summer months and during that time of year it's one of my "go to"lures. Other times of the year it just doesn't produce for me. I guess the best way to put it is if I ever lost my 110 in the bone color I'd go out and buy it again.

 

[IntroC]

IMO a spook is more of a fish catcher than a plopper. I would even go so far to say a popper is more productive than the whopper plopper. I’ll have to give it a little more water this year. I try not giving into hyped lures. It’s usually just attributed to good marketing.

[Riazuli]

I didn't understand the hype either, until I tried it.  I was always a jitterbug fan and think I was just apprehensive about trying something new.  The action of a wp is excellent...the fact that the tail end hangs down seems like it would be more enticing for fish, and you can vary the retrieves more, where a jitterbug pretty much just has one steady retrieve, with pausing if wanted.  The wp can be played like a popper, buzzbait, it can be burned, or chugged slowly.  Overall, it's very versatile for a topwater lure. 

[MassYak85]

Two summers ago I swear I had one tied on 90% of the time. It just flat out got bit nearly every time I used it, in almost every condition I tried. Something about it seems to annoy the fish more than make them feed. The way smallies just destroy them sometimes you'd think it had insulted their family. One time I casted it near a submerged rock pile and watched a smallie torpedo from 30 feet away and just punch it out of the water. Then I let it sit, and it came back a 2nd time, and the third time it finally got hooked. It was the most aggressive I have ever seen a bass. 

[Bluebasser86]

All but about 4 fish in this video are fish I caught on a Whopper Plopper 90 in Sooner color. A Plopper outfishes any other topwater on this lake by a huge margin. I had several weeks in a row I was there for guide trips and that's all my clients fished the entire day regardless of conditions.

This was the day that started it for me. The smallmouth were destroying a 130 Plopper in the shad color, looking more like muskie strikes than bass.

 

[Turkey sandwich]

35 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

All but about 4 fish in this video are fish I caught on a Whopper Plopper 90 in Sooner color. A Plopper outfishes any other topwater on this lake by a huge margin. I had several weeks in a row I was there for guide trips and that's all my clients fished the entire day regardless of conditions.

This was the day that started it for me. The smallmouth were destroying a 130 Plopper in the shad color, looking more like muskie strikes than bass.

 

 

your rod clutter in the second video is incredible. lol

[Bluebasser86]

5 minutes ago, Turkey sandwich said:

 

your rod clutter in the second video is incredible. lol

It was a frustrating day until I picked up that Plopper. Still, not unusual for the front deck of my boat to resemble a pincushion. 

[Turkey sandwich]

To me, it's become very hard to beat because of it's ridiculous versatility.  It allows you to cover water fast like you would with a walking bait, and rip up the surface aggressively like you would with a buzz bait (with the added benefit of being able to stop it like you might a prop bait).  I did really well fishing them under lots of conditions last season and it became the first topwater I reach for 80% of the time.

1 minute ago, Bluebasser86 said:

It was a frustrating day until I picked up that Plopper. Still, not unusual for the front deck of my boat to resemble a pincushion. 

I was waiting for the rod on the right to lose its battle with gravity and fall into the lake.  Not that my yak looks that much  better after a puzzling day.

[FryDog62]

On 2/22/2018 at 11:00 PM, bobbyg said:

Those are some good lookin smallies!! Now you got me excited. Color?? I ordered Bluegill and Terminator

I typically use bone color for smallies and monkey butt for largemouth.  But I’m not sure color matters that much.  It’s the deep, rich tones of the prop that gets them IMO   

[padon]

Eh,idk just another bait to me.I've used them and caught fish on them especially smallmouth in river but then I've caught plenty on torpedoes in the same river under the same conditions too.I'm it saying don't buy them ,they work and I'm sure some days they work better than anything else. But that's probably true of a lot of lures.

[FishDewd]

I have some soft frogs, a small torpedo, and a small popper. Until I get something to bite on those, I don't see the point of adding another topwater bait that I either don't know how to use properly, or doesn't work for my area. Whichever it may be. Me, most likely.

[WI_Angler1989]

Here's why I decided to try the Whopper Plopper. Clearly they aren't "magic" or massively innovative, but they work for a lot of people. 

 

 

I'm a through and through smallmouth guy so this makes me very happy. If this type of thing doesn't do it for ya... then I don't know what to tell you! 

[Ratherbfishing]

They are...just okay.  It takes too long to get the tail turning so you definitely want to cast beyond your intended target (if you can).  There are other topwaters I like better and I'm not sure they are worth the money I plunked down for it but other people rave about them so more power to them.

[LxVE Bassin]

The water better be clear with no floating particles or grass because they will roll if anything gets caught in between the blade.

[CTBassin860]

They catch fish. Plain and simple. I got my first one in a MTB before the hype.

[Smokinal]

 

This 6-8 was on a bone 130 on a day where that bait caught that fish, a 6-3, 3 5's and a couple 4's

 

 

 

[bh91]

If only the stutter step got this much hype too

[NorthwestBasser]

On 2/24/2018 at 6:02 PM, LxVE Bassin said:

The water better be clear with no floating particles or grass because they will roll if anything gets caught in between the blade.

Very true, and that will ruin your line retrieving it back like that on a long cast. Simple fix, add a swivel. It's a straight retrieve bait so that won't be a problem and when the body rolls instead of the tail it won't twist your line