School Me On Top Water Poppers ?

[bassin is addicting]

all mentioned are good...

Pop-R is hard to beat for the price....BUT...do change the hooks...

[J.Vincent]

I personally like: white, chrome, bronze and Firetiger . And I like Poppers to be 3.25"  or longer, I rarely throw anything smaller. I've found the longer poppers can be walked and chugged, and this offers a varying presentation with the same bait. 

[ChrisD46]

1 hour ago, Active_Outdoors said:

I personally like: white, chrome, bronze and Firetiger . And I like Poppers to be 3.25"  or longer, I rarely throw anything smaller. I've found the longer poppers can be walked and chugged, and this offers a varying presentation with the same bait. 

I know "traditionally" poppers have been most popular on the smaller side (i.e. 2" to 2.5") but now you are hearing about the trend to go 3" + .  I'm looking to try a few of the models mentioned in this thread . For starters , the Booyah Bass Pop in Bone Shad (smaller size) and either the Ghost (bronze ,clear, white) or maybe the *Bream color  in the larger size. I figure you have shad spawning now so the smaller size in the Bone Shad color that spits would be a good option while the Ghost or Bream  that is more of a chugger in the larger size would be a better bluegill imitator . Of course , I could have it backwards as well (lol) !   *Regarding the Bream color - surprised to read it's not as popular or doesn't get bit as much as other colors ? ... You would think it would be a good choice as most brands offer the Bream / Bluegill color ?

 

Lastly for the wildcard  - I was looking to see what poppers Academy had and noticed their house brand  : H2O TWP poppers - Never seen a review but I have to say their colors have quite the detail , especially Baby Bass and Bream    ... Of course , how they balance / sit in the water and chug / spit are key to the inherent quality of a popper and most of the time you get what you pay for.   

[Munkin]

On 5/24/2018 at 1:55 AM, WRB said:

The 1st modified Pop-R type lure I recall was a Michael from Japan that cost $16 in ‘91, same time the Daiwa TD minnow hit the market. Shocked at the price when domestic lures were $4.00. The Michael changed my mind fast and was a bass catching lure far superior to the Pop-R. 

Lots of lures start in the west coast.

Tom

Those TD minnows are worth every penny. 

 

Allen

[the reel ess]

Fish will still bite the Pop R and you can almost get two for $10. I'd probably get the silver/black and baby bass colors. I actually have the bone and silver/black now. I doubt fish care much about the color.

6 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

 

Lastly for the wildcard  - I was looking to see what poppers Academy had and noticed their house brand  : H2O TWP poppers - Never seen a review but I have to say their colors have quite the detail , especially Baby Bass and Bream    ... Of course , how they balance / sit in the water and chug / spit are key to the inherent quality of a popper and most of the time you get what you pay for.   

I was just noticing the same bait. It has all 5* ratings on the site.

[FishDewd]

I got an XPS the other day using my BPS rewards points to buy it... nothing like a free lure! I wanted something that looked something like a perch since we don't have shad in any of our waters here., but I also wanted it to be bright for murky/stained water conditions. I found one that should work, granted I did want one a tad bit smaller. The small ones were too small, and the big ones were too big... figures. Anyway, I have it tied onto a 7' MH Berkley lightning rod.

 

 

 

To be tested soon... hopefully next week if it's nit over 100* outside again.

[justbassintime]

I only throw the RICO popper. I became a firm believe when I was fishing a large payout tournament. The top water bite was on and I was catching 4-5 fish to my partners one. I also would go right behind other boats throwing poppers and catch fish. 

[scaleface]

The bottom lure is a standard Pop R , the top is a vintage Rebel popper , dont know what it was called . I call it a chugger . This lure is noisy. A sharp but short snap of a rod   [5'5" ' or 6" pistol grip ], will spit water  over 6 foot . I have had a few 50 to 100 fish days by casting this to  standing timber in deep water and making   as much noise as possible . The best time is on  brutally hot summer days . I havent used this technique for over a decade because my body can no longer tolerate high heat for any length of time . I also have a large vintage Pico Pop that I use the same way .

 

[ChrisD46]

10 hours ago, scaleface said:

The bottom lure is a standard Pop R , the top is a vintage Rebel popper , dont know what it was called . I call it a chugger . This lure is noisy. A sharp but short snap of a rod   [5'5" ' or 6" pistol grip ], will spit water  over 6 foot . I have had a few 50 to 100 fish days by casting this to  standing timber in deep water and making   as much noise as possible . The best time is on  brutally hot summer days . I havent used this technique for over a decade because my body can no longer tolerate high heat for any length of time . I also have a large vintage Pico Pop that I use the same way .

 

Good on you - old school , pistol grip 5'6" rod and rebel poppers ...

[scaleface]

26 minutes ago, ChrisD46 said:

Good on you - old school , pistol grip 5'6" rod and rebel poppers ...

For me  a short pistol grip rod is better than longer rods for top-waters like Spooks and poppers . I believe that most people who use 7 foot and longer models have never tried the shorter rods for top waters and dont know what they are missing .

[Bluebasser86]

7 hours ago, scaleface said:

For me  a short pistol grip rod is better than longer rods for top-waters like Spooks and poppers . I believe that most people who use 7 foot and longer models have never tried the shorter rods for top waters and dont know what they are missing .

Agreed, I use a 6' 2" XF/M Avid with what amounts to a modern day pistol grip and it really allows me to work the bait and make very small movements with the bait that I couldn't do with a longer rod. 

[ChrisD46]

While I plan to buy a few of the poppers listed - yesterday I was digging through a clearance box at a local tackle store and found two Norman Pro Pop poppers : One was clear and the other was pearl colored ... I picked up both for less than $5.00 ... I had never heard of Norman lures before as I had never seen them in a store - apparently they have a cult following by top water experts in the know ?

[Bluebasser86]

1 minute ago, ChrisD46 said:

While I plan to buy a few of the poppers listed - yesterday I was digging through a clearance box at a local tackle store and found two Norman Pro Pop poppers : One was clear and the other was pearl colored ... I picked up both for less than $5.00 ... I had never heard of Norman lures before as I had never seen them in a store - apparently they have a cult following by top water experts in the know ?

You've never heard of Norman's lures?? Or of the Norman's Pro Pop? Like I mentioned, the Norman's Top Dollar is one of my favorite poppers but it's kind of hybrid lure.

[Ray K]

On 5/27/2018 at 7:10 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

You've never heard of Norman's lures?? Or of the Norman's Pro Pop? Like I mentioned, the Norman's Top Dollar is one of my favorite poppers but it's kind of hybrid lure.

Kind of reminds me of the old Dalton Special.

[Mbirdsley]

I see Berkley is getting ready to bring a new top water line out.  Looks to include poppers and spook type lures among other things.

[The Fisher]

I use a Chug Bug 06 in Black Red and kills them. I’ve used silver black Pop R too but not as successful as black red chug bug