TOP OF THE POPS!
(Total Flyfisher Magazine)
Looking for a new kick with your trout fishing? Poppers offer unique, visually exciting sport for those seeking top water thrills. But how do you get the best out of these bold, brash flies?
They splash, they gurgle and they pop. Anything but subtle, these lures certainly turn a few heads with the wake they create. They also do a fine job of driving trout crazy. But perhaps the biggest draw of fishing poppers is the sheer excitement of this delightfully different method. Indeed, if your staple tactics are starting to turn a little stale, a fistful of poppers can offer a welcome adrenaline shot.
As with many of fishing’s weird and wonderful ideas, we have our American friends to thank or blame for the popper. For many years the yanks have been casting countless surface lures, from cork and deer hair to synthetic foam, at predatory fish such as largemouth bass. Smart anglers quickly noticed that they also scored well with trout, which explains their more recent arrival on our shores.
Pop Stars
So what distinguishes a decent popper? What makes these surface lures so unique? With their buoyant bodies, bright colours and rubber legs you would find one of these little beasts hard to mistake for anything else. Most patterns also have a concave front which literally “pops” across the surface, hence the name. For the trout fisherman, a size 6-10 pattern makes an ideal mouthful, although larger patterns can be useful for other species such as pike and bass. Colour schemes are as varied as you might find in any stillwater lure box, with bright, eye catching hues always popular. My own preference here is for something dark or black which will provide a strong, easily located silhouette when the trout look upwards.
Moving on to tackle requirements, don’t even think about throwing a meaty popper on a delicate wand. An eight weight set up feels about right, preferably a fairly powerful, fast action blank. Look for a floating line that offers good turnover, with a beefy forward taper at the business end. A positive set up with a little clout is certainly an asset for this method, where finesse is not our objective. Our leader is a simple, robust affair- I opt for eight to nine feet of quality 8lb mono, such as Berkley. Bear in mind that in addition to the solid hits you might encounter, constant casting and often vigorous retrieving can weaken even the best mono that money can buy- hence the strength required. The fish will not be examining the leader carefully in any case. In spite of its excellent toughness and lack of stretch, fluorocarbon sinks and therefore doesn’t really fit the bill.
In fact, the more you think about it, the more these surface lures fly in the face of the usual commandments for presenting an offering at the surface. The cast itself can be anything but subtle. Your best starting point is to keep an eye out for moving fish and aim to drop your popper not bang on their heads but nearby. Don’t worry about a soft landing; quite the opposite is actually more desirable and I like to pull the fly line back just prior to landing to produce a meaty “plop” on the surface. Allow a few seconds for nearby trout to turn and get a good look before you start your retrieve.
A popper is a fly that demands a lively action- no surprises there. With a lively pull you may even hear an audible “pop”. From a steady series of twitches to a rapid roly-poly retrieve, it is a case of gauging the reaction of the fish and encouraging the kind of chase scene that would put the Dukes of Hazard to shame. And chase it they will! In essence this is what makes the method so exciting and frustratingly addictive. At times you’ll find that every cast results in trout following close behind the fly. Converting these follows into takes is a different matter however and the very crux of the challenge.
Weighing up the conditions and the mood of the fish is critical to success. Given active, bold follows your best option may be to keep the tempo high and actually speed up the retrieve as the pursuers close in on the popper. Denying trout the time to think or examine our gaudy offering is the idea here. At other times however, when conditions are less than ideal or fish take longer to react, incorporating a few pauses is the way to go. On occasion, I’ve seen trout take the lure when it is sitting perfectly still, although it is usually movement which provides the key. It is not unusual to witness fish browsing the target, then backing off, then returning almost as if debating whether or not to make a grab. And there lies our problem- turning curiosity into something more decisive.
I am convinced that the same process is often true of lures presented at depth. The difference here is that we get the thrill and frustration of witnessing every bit of interest in plain view! It can be disconcerting at times, but an answer may be a simple case of experimentation. A change in size or colour may work, or more often a change in speed and presentation. But if you find yourself tearing your hair out, the addition of a second “trailer” fly can be the perfect antidote.
“Popper & Dropper”
Whether the trout hammer the popper or not, a vibrant surface lure inevitably generates interest. Stocked trout are undeniably aggressive, competitive creatures. Let’s not deceive ourselves on this score- a loud “plop” at the surface is a feeding trigger that rainbow trout know only too well. Even less naive fish are wired to investigate the arrival of something lively or edible looking at the surface. We can use this response to our advantage even when the popper itself serves solely as a wake up call or feeding trigger.
Sometimes the conditions themselves may make for testing fishing. For example, those bright, muggy days where fish are visible but prove moody and surprisingly tough to catch. Whatever the reason, the “popper and dropper” can be a deadly tactic. The set up is simplicity itself and requires a minimum of hassle: a nymph or mini lure is simply attached direct to the hook bend of the popper via three of four feet of fluorocarbon. Many smaller flies fit the bill here, although larger lures may cause ugly casting issues. My personal favourite is a Daiwl Bach, which won’t spoil the cast and takes some beating.
With a dropper in place, a somewhat slower retrieve works better. Keep it lively and the trout will continue to follow the popper. When you see a fish in hot pursuit down below, simply stop the retrieve and let the wet fly drop down to its eye level, before offering another little twitch. With a natural nymph you may not even need any additional movement, just watch for an opening mouth or the fish turning with the fly before striking. If the trout are further out, the popper itself provides an indicator and you should strike at any decisive movement.
The “Popper and Dropper” is thus the perfect way to capitalize on the popper’s powers of attraction on a trickier day. The two flies complement each other beautifully; your surface lure draws in fish, whilst a smaller fly below provides a smaller, more realistic and less suspicious target for those cagier trout. I must admit, the dropper often tends to take the bigger samples on the day and probably those wiser, less trigger happy specimens that will follow but often not take big lures. Given good visibility it can be a highly selective tactic at close range; you can easily lift clear of smaller fish, allowing the nymph to drop down into the danger zone only when a bigger trout comes into view.
Kings of Commotion
If your fishing is becoming a little short on excitement then, a handful of poppers could be just the ticket for some proper thrills and spills. Equally, don’t be too shocked if you find this breed of surface fishing deadly as well as fun. Given the right conditions, and I prefer a mild but overcast day, you could make a killing. But equally, on one of those dog days where the going is tough, the popper can really wake up sluggish fish which can then be tempted on the dropper below. Either way, you’ll have a blast.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle when trying poppers is the simple fact that they are unusual. You might get a few funny glances as you cause a commotion at the surface, but this is soon forgotten once you get the fish interested. In essence, even the more traditionally inclined among us have used surface lures such as muddlers to good effect. Perhaps the approach is not so outlandish as it seems? On our visit to Hatchlands Fishery, as pictured, a local fishing club party had found the fish hard to tempt on the usual lures and nymphs. Warm conditions had perhaps dampened activity in the main lake. Generating a wake at the surface with a popper proved a great way of stirring things up and getting the fish interested on the day.
So why not ditch the text book and try something a little different for your next day ticket session? Shop bought poppers are a great starting point and you can happily pick up half a dozen attractive samples for around a tenner. For the fly tying enthusiast, this may just be the start of an enjoyable new challenge and various UK companies now offer ready made popper bodies with which you can fashion your own deadly creations. The possibilities are many for this underused method and I’ve scarcely even mentioned the subject of other fly rod species. Pike, chub and bass are all viable alternative targets for the adventurous angler. In fact, wherever you fish, kicking up a commotion with these irresistible surface lures is excellent fun.
