Who's had good and bad experiences with the Berkeley Choppo?

[tcbass]

Now that this lure has been out or awhile wondering who really likes it or doesn't like it? Better than the Whopper Plopper, anyone gonna stop using the WP and switch to the Berkeley Choppo?

 

What are your thoughts?

[Happybeerbuzz]

I have a 1/2 oz Chopo. It is a good lure and makes plenty of commotion on the water just like a WP. I just started throwing it so I can’t speak to its durability yet. 

[Scarborough817]

just stick with the original I don't understand the point of saving $3-$5 for berkley (who is a huge corporation and has much more in terms of resources pull when it comes to pricing) to rip off the design. In the long run this deters companies like river2sea from coming up with original ideas anyway since someone is going to rip them off anyway. no i am not saying they came up with the originial design but they made the wp which blew up and then every other company has to have one 

[Brew City Bass]

1 hour ago, Scarborough817 said:

just stick with the original I don't understand the point of saving $3-$5 for berkley (who is a huge corporation and has much more in terms of resources pull when it comes to pricing) to rip off the design. In the long run this deters companies like river2sea from coming up with original ideas anyway since someone is going to rip them off anyway. no i am not saying they came up with the originial design but they made the wp which blew up and then every other company has to have one 

I disagree. This is what the free market is all about. 

How many times have you heard someone say "It's just too much". And guess what, it really is! Unless they're putting tungsten rattles and gold plated hooks on these things, they're worth MUCH less than they're selling them for. So why do people pay too much for a bait like that? Because they cornered the market for a short time. Then Berkley shows up, brings the price to a fair point, and forces R2S to either get off their high horse and lower the price to compete, or they can lose business to Berkley because they chose to charge $10 too much for a d**n chunk of plastic. 

I've used both WP and Choppo now, they both are indistinguishable from each other. So why would I go pay $5-$8 more for the same d**n thing, same quality, same fish catching ratio.  I'm sure you've heard of Creme Lures? Mr. Creme invented the first plastic worm. When was the last time you used a Creme worm? 

I get supporting small business, but lets not act like these guys deserve this corner of the market just because they ripped-off the idea first. Personally, I will not be purchasing any more ploppers. I go through 5-10 of them a season. I lose a few in trees at night, pike usually get the others. Even saving just $5 per bait means I saved myself $50 at the end of the season. It all adds up. I will be buying Choppos for the same reason I shop at Walmart for my T-shirts. It's cheaper and does the same job as a t-shirt from the boutique clothing store down the block. 

[DomQ]

25+ bucks for one where I shop. I haven't purchased one at regular price since they launched nor will I ever. Just like the vision 110, may work well but i can get cheaper with the same results so what's the point.

[tcbass]

7 hours ago, Scarborough817 said:

just stick with the original I don't understand the point of saving $3-$5 for berkley (who is a huge corporation and has much more in terms of resources pull when it comes to pricing) to rip off the design. In the long run this deters companies like river2sea from coming up with original ideas anyway since someone is going to rip them off anyway. no i am not saying they came up with the originial design but they made the wp which blew up and then every other company has to have one 

 

Well, according to WRB the Roberts Mudpuppy from the 1930’s is the original and everything after that is a copy including the Joe Bucher Top Raider and Whopper Plopper. 

 

I got two Choppo’s on sale for a total of $10 which is still less than one Whopper Plopper. So, I’ll have to try them side-by-side with a friend. 

 

Plus, for many people $13 for a lure is too expensive. 

[Log Catcher]

I bought one of the small Choppo baits during the BPS spring sale. I have used it once and caught one bass on it. I am like @Brew City Bass in that I won't pay the price for the Plopper when the Choppo will do the same thing for a much cheaper price. 

[Glaucus]

I'm not going to buy a Choppo when I already have several Ploppers, but I lose Ploppers to trees embarrassingly often, and when the last one gets lost I'll be making the switch to the Choppo unless R2S brings the price down to compete.

[NorthernBasser]

7 hours ago, Scarborough817 said:

just stick with the original I don't understand the point of saving $3-$5 for berkley (who is a huge corporation and has much more in terms of resources pull when it comes to pricing) to rip off the design. In the long run this deters companies like river2sea from coming up with original ideas anyway since someone is going to rip them off anyway. no i am not saying they came up with the originial design but they made the wp which blew up and then every other company has to have one 

Joe Bucher Top Raider, which has been around loooong before the Whopper Plopper.

 

*edit I see someone already mentioned this. 

 

 

 

[ClintIsKING]

I looked for them recently at my shop and didn't see them. Want to get one and try it. I don't use my two WPs very often because I haven't had much success. More of a confidence thing in my head I suppose because I do know they catch A LOT of fish for people.

[Glaucus]

1 hour ago, ClintIsKING said:

I looked for them recently at my shop and didn't see them. Want to get one and try it. I don't use my two WPs very often because I haven't had much success. More of a confidence thing in my head I suppose because I do know they catch A LOT of fish for people.

Could be where you're fishing them. There's one pond I fish where they won't touch a Plopper period, but use a Popper and they slam it. And then at my home river I can use a Plopper from sun up to sun down and catch Smallies all day long as long as the water isn't hard. 

[Bluebasser86]

I like the Choppo. It's a little cheaper, but that's not why I bought them. It's also available in slightly different colors and just because a bait looks outwardly the same, doesn't mean it functions the same. Ploppers are very effective here so I have a bunch of different sizes and a few different brands to keep my options open.