Megabass Pop X

[Drew03cmc]

Anyone else have any success on the Pop X? I've been using one in PM Raigyo recently and have gotten some killer strikes. Caught fish on the pause, in between pops and walking it. I'm using a Pro Max 1600 on an Ethos 6'6 M. Any advice on how or where to use these baits? This one bait has made me buy several more. 

[Rodney Smith]

The Megabass Pop x in Sexy French Pearl is one of my top 5 baits. I have Rico’s, Splash it’s, and Yellow Magic’s, all of which are good, but that one little bait is special. I have not only caught a lot of numbers with it, but many fish in the 5-8 lb range. I throw it on an Expride 6’10 ML spinning rod. Catching a nice fish on that set up is a lot of fun.

[Drew03cmc]

5 hours ago, Rodney Smith said:

The Megabass Pop x in Sexy French Pearl is one of my top 5 baits. I have Rico’s, Splash it’s, and Yellow Magic’s, all of which are good, but that one little bait is special. I have not only caught a lot of numbers with it, but many fish in the 5-8 lb range. I throw it on an Expride 6’10 ML spinning rod. Catching a nice fish on that set up is a lot of fun.

I've used it on a spinning rod, see above, but my spinning rod has braid and I move the bait too far, so I think I prefer the little casting reel a little more. I may get a ML casting rod for it though.

[Deleted account]

Good popper, will catch lots of fish, but not my favorite by far.

[Rodney Smith]

What is your favorite popper?

[Drew03cmc]

4 hours ago, BassWhole! said:

Good popper, will catch lots of fish, but not my favorite by far.

What is your favorite?

[FishingGeekTX]

Fish at normal topwater times/conditions, obviously.  Dusk/dawn/night are typically best.  Overcast, muddy water, can often extend that through the afternoon.  I always try a topwater now and then just because I love it.   It goes without saying to try topwater if you see topwater feeding

 

Poppers excel in areas where fish are holding to visible cover, or in some cases may be in submerged cover or hotspot that is "not too deep".  It also works well as a slow presentation, if fish are not wanting fast moving/reaction style topwater.  Working a popper next to such cover or hotpots, is nice because it maximizes your time and presentation right where you think the fish are.  If there are a lot of weeds, it may be hard due to trebles (frog or buzzbait if possible).  Similarly if fish are spread out, I would fish a faster lure to allow me to cover more water (buzz, walking, plopper, etc.)  If I am bank fishing and only have a few prime areas to cast, I often choose a popper to let me really work the area slowly. 

 

Cast.  Let it sit up to your patience level (I can't make it much past 10 seconds at worst...some go much longer).

I quickly reel slack/jerk, to get a good "blurp".  If you jerk on slack line, it may just re-orient the lure and push water, and not get the cup "blurp" action.  Let sit again.  Repeat until out of cover ( I do faster pauses after the first, personally).

You can then work it faster back to boat/shore, pause occasionally.  If fish aren't really hitting it on retrieve or out of cover, just get it back fast and cast it back out to maximize chances.  If fish are not hitting, you can try a much more aggressive action and retrieve, to see if that generates strikes.  If that doesn't work, time to try something else

 

[Deleted account]

3 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

What is your favorite?

One of the house brand ones believe it or not. What I find with poppers, just like crank baits, but even more so is that they are all different. Ricos and Yellow Magics are great poppers, but there are different versions of both. They and the Splash-it, along with a few others are copies of the old Michael Popper, which is still one of my favorites. There is a Matzuo (don't laugh) that crushes for me at times, and a few others that have a place and a time. I also have several modified Pop-Rs that are very good. I find that in addition to the lip, the rattle, angle at rest, and the feather trailer can make a huge difference. There are 3 main actions I want to get out of my poppers that usually get it done, and I can alter the wrist action/timing thing to get it from most poppers, but I have the muscle memory of the ones I know best, and that is why I also always throw them with the same setup (well almost always). The reason I don't love the Pop x (or it's big brother) is that they have a more dedicated action that doesn't lend itself to the nuances I want to impart. Don't get me wrong, both great baits.  

[Drew03cmc]

Thank you. These discussions over the nuances of certain baits versus others are what I love. 

[zell_pop1]

My favorite popper is a Lucky Craft G-Splash. It spits, pops, walks...why did they discontinue it?

[WRB]

Back in the early 80's everyone was modifying Pop-R's by sanding down sides and lower lip and painting them pearl white adding white/chartruese chicken feathered rear nickle hook.

The Micheal popper came from Japan was smaller with all the right action and super sharp hooks ending the run with the mod Pop-R's. 

Iovino was one of the 1st to import poppers from Japan with the Splash-it. Megabass came out the open gill design adding a little more bubble stream and didn't catch on at first with higher price and kept a secret for a several years.

I caught my biggest popper bass on the small Micheal. Most anglers don't fish these poppers fast enough, like a surface jerk bait making it look like a panic bait fish. For the price it's hard to beat a Splash-It with Owner hooks and chicken feathered rear hook at $14 vs $18 for the Pop-X, both are good.

Tom 

[Deleted account]

26 minutes ago, zell_pop1 said:

My favorite popper is a Lucky Craft G-Splash. It spits, pops, walks...why did they discontinue it?

lack of sales I would imagine. I find I only reach for it and other similarly faced poppers when I'm gurgling or walking side to side, which isn't often. 

10 minutes ago, WRB said:

Most anglers don't fish these poppers fast enough...

One of the best pieces of fishing advise I ever got was fish fast, or fish slow, didn't get it then, but oh so true. Goes for most lures, most of the time.

[Boomstick]

I caught four bass in the past two days on a perch colored Pop X. Great lure and they walk very nicely as well. Often you can fish them with a real slow cadence, but I was getting hits when I fished them much faster or walked them the past couple of days. Two of them came by fishing them over weeds in 3-5 feet of water, and two in a shallower area with no weeds, and I lost a much larger bass in that area as well when I turned my head to see what my kid did.

[Drew03cmc]

23 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

I caught four bass in the past two days on a perch colored Pop X. Great lure and they walk very nicely as well. Often you can fish them with a real slow cadence, but I was getting hits when I fished them much faster or walked them the past couple of days. Two of them came by fishing them over weeds in 3-5 feet of water, and two in a shallower area with no weeds, and I lost a much larger bass in that area as well when I turned my head to see what my kid did.

I need to just fish it more. Tonight is a dusk attempt, black toads, Plopper 130, big black buzzbait, but tomorrow or Thursday will be a Pop X fished over shallow structure.

[Deleted account]

40 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

I need to just fish it more. Tonight is a dusk attempt, black toads, Plopper 130, big black buzzbait, but tomorrow or Thursday will be a Pop X fished over shallow structure.

Poppers, specially the smaller spitting ones are best with little or no wind. I often go out with a popper and a smallish buzz bait this time of year cause with these fronts and storms it can go from still to choppy in a blink. In another couple of weeks, a lot of my local spots go into strict frog mode. 

[Muddy wolf]

I have a 1600 on a 7ft ml baitcaster. It is a fun outfit for smaller plugs of most types. Expressly little poppers. 

[Drew03cmc]

27 minutes ago, Muddy wolf said:

I have a 1600 on a 7ft ml baitcaster. It is a fun outfit for smaller plugs of most types. Expressly little poppers. 

I'm using 8# Hi seas on my 1600 on a 6'6" M right now. It's nice, but I may have to grab a ML casting rod for it, since it would mostly toss weightless plastics, poppers up to 1/3oz max, 1/8oz chatterbaits and 1/8oz buzzbaits. 

[FishTank]

I like the Pop X but the Pop Max is my favorite.   It's just causes more violent strikes but I do catch about the same amount of fish on them. 

[Drew03cmc]

6 minutes ago, FishTank said:

I like the Pop X but the Pop Max is my favorite.   It's just causes more violent strikes but I do catch about the same amount of fish on them. 

The PopMax is a killer bait too, but I'm normally more finesse oriented in summer where water is clearer.

[Muddy wolf]

I have 8lb copoly on mine. I have been known to cast 1/8 oz. lures on it. 

[Rodney Smith]

I’m going to respectfully disagree with the post that says that the bigger PopMax will catch as many fish as the little Pop x (or Rico. Yellow Magic, Splash it, etc). For me, the little catches not only more fish, but also bigger fish. I like the PopMax, but it must be fished on a bait caster. I think the small poppers are deadly when fished on a spinning rod. This allows for long, precise casts. You can put the little ones into tight places around cover that you can’t with the bigger baits. It is also creates a more subtle landing.

[A-Jay]

Pop Max for me ~ 

 

A-Jay

[Rodney Smith]

Awesome video. Looks like open water. Different applications. The PopMax work great as a walking bait/popper. Not as good as the Pop x in a true popper situation with calm water and structure/cover (in my opinion). They both have their place.

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, Rodney Smith said:

Awesome video. Looks like open water. Different applications. The PopMax work great as a walking bait/popper. Not as good as the Pop x in a true popper situation with calm water and structure/cover (in my opinion). They both have their place.

Thanks ~ 

While I'm not exactly sure what a "True Popper Situation" is, I was presenting the bait over isolated clumps of weed submerged in 4-8 feet. (Admittedly not readily visible in the video).

It was Flat calm though.

That seems like a Popper Situation to me . . . and the Bass apparently.

While I can not argue the effectiveness of the Pop X - the extra heft & bulk of the Pop Max seems to generate interest from more of the class fish I'm looking for - all be it less bites over all, but stouter bass.

A-Jay

 

 

[Deleted account]

15 hours ago, Rodney Smith said:

I think the small poppers are deadly when fished on a spinning rod.

Yuk!

Poppers get a dedicated 6' Med BC. Can I fish a popper with spinning? yes, would I? No. But to each his own....