First time Whopper Plopper

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Yesterday I loaded up the boat for the 1mile trip to the river and threw top water for the first time this year. I started out with my old standby skitter pop and quickly caught a few and could see it being a good day. Switched over to a 75 whopper plopper for the first time and found the bass liked it as well, maybe better,  but the jury is out until the end of the season. It sure is easy to fish though, chuck and wind vs. twitching. A very relaxing way to fish.

The bait is enormous compared to the 1/4 ounce or less baits I'm used to throwing. The weight does have its advantages with bucking wind and casting under low hanging limbs. When the bass jumped I felt they threw the heavy bait easier was the downside. Not a big deal though for a recreational angler who is more concerned about getting a bite than landing a fish.

It seemed durable, I sent it several times smashing into rip rap on warp speed casts under limbs. There was no sign of damage to the bait. A musky will probably be the undoing of my plopper, seems like a bait they would smash.

I was using fireline and had issues with the line wrapping around the hooks so I added a 6" 20# fluoro leader for next trip. Also the fluoro will give me a little protection from pike/musky. The issue is not unique to ploppers of course, I had just respooled to fireline from fluoro as I tired of dealing with sinking line in the current.

Cabelas is having a sale on them this weekend- sub $10, more on the way! 

[FryDog62]

I much prefer the 75 WP over the 90 for SMB.  Doesn’t nose dive and I think the “tone” of the prop on the 75 seems to resonate better with the smallies.  I’d rather move up to the 130 before I’d use the 90. 

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6 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

I much prefer the 75 WP over the 90 for SMB.  Doesn’t nose dive and I think the “tone” of the prop on the 75 seems to resonate better with the smallies.  I’d rather move up to the 130 before I’d use the 90. 

Good to know thanks. I picked up a couple 110's for night fishing and musky. Apparently the 110 and up have beefier hardware.  

[Glaucus]

For excellent Whopper Plopper footage, ideas, and ways to fish it, where, when, and how on the rivers, watch NDYakAngler on YouTube. He is the king of River Smallies on the Whopper Plopper. He was slaying them just as well with the 90 before the 75 came out. With the release of the 75 last year, I thought for sure my 90s would become obsolete, but what I have found is that once in awhile, for whatever reason, sometimes the 90 gets hit when the 75 doesn't. The 75 is far better and the one I use most often, though. Anyways, NDYakAngler just posted a new video 14 hours ago. He caught 5 20 inchers on the 75 in one day.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Glaucus said:

For excellent Whopper Plopper footage, ideas, and ways to fish it, where, when, and how on the rivers, watch NDYakAngler on YouTube. He is the king of River Smallies on the Whopper Plopper. He was slaying them just as well with the 90 before the 75 came out. With the release of the 75 last year, I thought for sure my 90s would become obsolete, but what I have found is that once in awhile, for whatever reason, sometimes the 90 gets hit when the 75 doesn't. The 75 is far better and the one I use most often, though. Anyways, NDYakAngler just posted a new video 14 hours ago. He caught 5 20 inchers on the 75 in one day.

 

 

Yes, i purchased one after watching his video a few months ago. I was never a fan of prop baits but there were too many testimonials that it works. 18" ers are fairly common on my stretch, I may see a few over 20" each season if I'm lucky enough to get out enough. Anything 17" or bigger is a nice one in my opinion.

[tcbass]

The WP 75 is my favorite followed by the 110. 

 

I dont one use the 90’s anymore. Too many problems. 

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Any ideas why this thread was removed from the smallmouth section?

[Bluebasser86]

I use the 90's more than any other size. Never experienced the issues that others have with them. I swap the stock hooks for lighter EWG short shank hooks to make them ride higher and fish them on braid with the rod tip up. Start reeling right away so the nose doesn't have time to dip. These are my 2 favorites that have seen lots of service and several sets of trebles.

[Koz]

I'm not a fan of the 90's. The tiniest bit of floating debris will gunk them up. For me, the 110's and 130's did well last year but I haven't had a single strike on a Whopper Plopper this year. Maybe I'll buy a 75 this week and give it a chance.

[Chris186]

I bought a 130 when they first came out, that was the only size they had back then. To this day I haven't caught anything on it, but I am determined to this year! I also won a 90 in a tourney, but that thing never worked right for me. I needed up giving it to a friend of mine and he said they same thing, guess I must have got a defective one.

[NE-KID]

I have the 75 and I can not get any bites on it as of yet. So hopefully when I go back out to the lake I will catch a monster on the whopper plopper and hope for the best.

[tcbass]

2 hours ago, Chris186 said:

I bought a 130 when they first came out, that was the only size they had back then. To this day I haven't caught anything on it, but I am determined to this year! I also won a 90 in a tourney, but that thing never worked right for me. I needed up giving it to a friend of mine and he said they same thing, guess I must have got a defective one.

 

 

I thought the 130 was too big. Used a 110 and loved it but switched to a 75 and love it more. My friend uses a 90 a lot of the time and he loves that, so, who knows. lol.

 

 

I'd get a 75 if I were you. 

[flat]

Interesting to hear about the issues some are having with the 90, glad I skipped over that size.

I've done a little fishing since adding a short fluoro leader to my fireline, seems to be the answer for braid wrapping around hooks.

I took the time to learn the FG knot and it's definitely an improvement over the Albright I've been using on my senko rods, no more leader tag snagging up in the guides. Most of my shipment came in so I'll be set for awhile.

[MN Fisher]

I toss my 90 and 110 on my Fuego loaded with 50# braid, no leader. I don't have an issue with the line wrapping in the hooks and my 90 runs as smooth and trouble-free as my 110, so I don't know what the issue is.

[flat]

When I fish fluoro a few shakes will often untangle the line. With 14# Fireline ultra 8 no amount of shaking will help, the line occassionally wraps around a hook twice, so I need to unwrap it by hand. This is my crankbait rod so its dual purpose.

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4 hours ago, flat said:

When I fish fluoro a few shakes will often untangle the line. With 14# Fireline ultra 8 no amount of shaking will help, the line occassionally wraps around a hook twice, so I need to unwrap it by hand. This is my crankbait rod so its dual purpose.

Another issue I had using the 14# braid was the line went half way into the hook split ring.  Not the kind of issues I want to deal with while holding in heavy current and lots of obstacles in the water. 

[Comfortably Numb]

On 6/9/2019 at 1:31 PM, tcbass said:

The WP 75 is my favorite followed by the 110. 

 

I dont one use the 90’s anymore. Too many problems. 

Exactly what I was going to say.

[AlTheFisherman313]

If you have pike and musky run a leader on ploppers, or choppos. They will hit those things all day. Nothing too crazy, just a little insurance lol. 20-25 maybe 30 I wouldn’t go higher. Your not getting sawed off by a pike unless he’s lucky and hits the line dead on or is massive and thrashing wicked. Believe it or not I know a guy who runs a musky charter and never uses above a 50 pound leader!!!!!! Well I’m talking casting lol. Trolling you may want the 80. But you wouldn’t troll a plopper anyways lol