Whats the best retrieve for a Topwater Popper?

[airborne_angler]

I haven't thrown a Popper in a while and did for the first time about a week ago with some success. It was an ultralight Hula Popper,and being that it was pretty small,I got lots of swirls from Bluegills. I did hook up with 2 Bass,a nice Hybrid Sunfish and a few Green Sunfish.

The method I was using is that I would cast out,wait for the ripples to disappear,and begin a slow popping retrieve. On every pop I waited for the rings to go away,before twitching it again.

Is this too slow for  retrieving a popper? Is a faster rythmic popping a better retrieve?

Most of the time,while the rings/ripples would be going away after my initial cast,"something"(likely Bluegill) would come up and swirl at it. Very hypnotizing,love seeing that action on the water.

So whats everyones favorite method of retrieve with a popper?

[LAO162]

I used to doe a lot of pausing & twitching.  This year I started using a faster rhythmic return.  Both approaches work (or don't).  If one method isn't working, switch to the other.

One advantage of a rhythmic return is that the fish can identify it from a distance and zero in on it.  Also, if the water is still and the sky is clear, a faster retrieve helps to prevent the fish from getting a very clear look at the popper.

Leon

[Primus]

I agree with LAO162 to try both, one way that works well for me is one big pop (try to spray a lot of water) followed by walking the bait quickly for a couple of feet, pause for a 1/2 to a full second and then repeat. My favorite popper is either the Excalibur Zell Pop or Yellow Magic, they both look very lifelike when you walk them in the water.

[Raul]

Let me give you an example:

One day I was at this pond, the water is crystal clear, there 's lots of vegetation rising from the bottom and if you look closely there are pockets and holes on the weedbed, the day is clear blue skies and the pond looks like glass, I cast the popper right next to a hole in the weedbed, I wait until the ripples dissapear, give it a hard jerk and the bait pops loudly ( PLOP ! ), every single fish in close vecinity to the hole runs away at warp speed like if the devil were after them .... bad approach  :-/, so after watching the results I change tactic, cast the bait, wait until the ripples dissapear and wait a little bit more, twitch the rod tip gently just enough to make the bait ripple the water, wait, twitch again, wait, twitch again and WHAM !; I repeat the same and catch another fish ---> the fish are telling me they want the bait presented that way that day.

Couple of days later, same pond, same bait, same crystal clear water, same clear bluebird skies but now there 's a breeze blowing, tried the same technique I tried a couple of days before, after 30 min with no results I change, cast the bait, let the ripples dissapear, plop, plop, plop and WHAM !, I repeat on the next cast, repeat on the following cast and WHAM ! ---> the fish are telling me that they want the bait presented that way that day.

My friend, there 's no "best" retrieve for a popper, you have to find out how they want it for the day by trying different ways and different speeds.

[luz2blaze]

thanks for the post and great info that follows guys  8-)

love top water fishing!

[Little Luey]

Let me give you an example:

One day I was at this pond, the water is crystal clear, there 's lots of vegetation rising from the bottom and if you look closely there are pockets and holes on the weedbed, the day is clear blue skies and the pond looks like glass, I cast the popper right next to a hole in the weedbed, I wait until the ripples dissapear, give it a hard jerk and the bait pops loudly ( PLOP ! ), every single fish in close vecinity to the hole runs away at warp speed like if the devil were after them .... bad approach :-/, so after watching the results I change tactic, cast the bait, wait until the ripples dissapear and wait a little bit more, twitch the rod tip gently just enough to make the bait ripple the water, wait, twitch again, wait, twitch again and WHAM !; I repeat the same and catch another fish ---> the fish are telling me they want the bait presented that way that day.

Couple of days later, same pond, same bait, same crystal clear water, same clear bluebird skies but now there 's a breeze blowing, tried the same technique I tried a couple of days before, after 30 min with no results I change, cast the bait, let the ripples dissapear, plop, plop, plop and WHAM !, I repeat on the next cast, repeat on the following cast and WHAM ! ---> the fish are telling me that they want the bait presented that way that day.

My friend, there 's no "best" retrieve for a popper, you have to find out how they want it for the day by trying different ways and different speeds.

very informative as usual. thanks for commenting Raul.

[Catt]

With all lures we must establish a rhythm that will trigger a response from the bass; the rhythm will change from day to day and even hour to hour.

[Skinnyh2ofishin]

You CAN'T fish it wrong!

Just as the great advice that has already been given, let the fish dictate what they want.  Everyone has a story where the fish would hit when the lure was barely moving one day and another day they just about couldn't reel the lure back to the boat fast enough!  

Change up your retrieve every few casts until the fish tell you what they want and just pay attention to exactly what you're doing with the lure on each cast so you'll know what it was you were doing.

[BassDeaton01]

Thanks for all the great info on the replies! I love topwater fishing and all of this info definitely helps me out!

[iceintheveins]

Generally I like a pop - pause type retrieve. I experiment with the numbers of pops, intensity of pops, and the length of the pauses. Normally it's like pop/pause, pop-pop/pause, you get the idea. I like using 5 - 10 second and longer pauses, even when bass are active.