Bass Popper hooks

[The_Sasquatch]

I want to start tying some poppers, but I don't have hooks that large. What's the standard hook used for such things?

 

[McSneek]

I can't remember the ID # on the hooks but any you buy in a fly shop should indicate they can be used for poppers. I think my small mouth poppers inventory came from a pack that included hooks and matching heads. The heads were the pre-formed ones with the slit that you can mount as a popper or slider. The curvature of those hooks would have been fine if you were going to spin a hair popper on them.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I never tied a popper in my life. With the slits, what do you use to seal it up then? How do you secure the foam head to the hook?

 

[McSneek]

Put a thread base on the hook shank. Super glue the popper head on that. Mine have never come off. You are only tying materials on a small portion of the shank behind the popper head. I think the ones I have are a hard foam or similar material. They do not absorb any water even where the slit was cut. The heads are white and can be painted any color you like.

 

[Fishidiot]

I use standard streamer hooks - really anything with a long shank. Hook depends (of course) on the size of the fly. I like the "pencil" style popper heads available in most fly shops that are made of a sort of hard resin with a slit across the bottom. I prefer to make the face convex using a Dremel tool. I fix the hook in the slit with epoxy and then paint and finish the head.

 

[BradFromPotter]

A good inexpensive hook that I like is the mustad 3366.
http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/sproat-hooks/810305.aspx

 

[dc410]

Squatch,

I just started tying poppers also with some guidance from Fishidiot. I bought the Wapsi perfect poppers (pencil type poppers) that came 10 in a pack with hooks included. I painted them first with acyrilic paint. Then I mounted them to the hooks with 30 minute epoxy. The 30 minute stuff does an excellent job sealing up the bottom gap and is tough as nails. I added some marabou and a little krystle flash for the tailing. I finished them by coating the entire body with Sally Hanson's Hard as Nails enamel in the "disco ball" flavor. This enamel is clear with a rainbow glitter look. They really turned out pretty cool. There are a number of steps involved but they are fun to make. Good luck.

 

[McSneek]

dc410 wrote:
Squatch,

I just started tying poppers also with some guidance from Fishidiot. I bought the Wapsi perfect poppers (pencil type poppers) that came 10 in a pack with hooks included. I painted them first with acyrilic paint. Then I mounted them to the hooks with 30 minute epoxy. The 30 minute stuff does an excellent job sealing up the bottom gap and is tough as nails. I added some marabou and a little krystle flash for the tailing. I finished them by coating the entire body with Sally Hanson's Hard as Nails enamel in the "disco ball" flavor. This enamel is clear with a rainbow glitter look. They really turned out pretty cool. There are a number of steps involved but they are fun to make. Good luck.

These should work. No need to get to fancy with a lot of tail materials.

 

[brain]

i'm working on some right now.
i'm a believer that cork is king. i have used foam both hard and soft, and it works. but i have tied cork poppers and foam poppers in the same size and color combo, the cork will out fish the foam every time. i will not use those hard foam bodies.
i like the hooks made for poppers, with "S" kink in the shank.
then i just super glue the cork onto the hook, once the glue is setup i use gloss testors enamel paint. i have played with colors over the years, but a white body is just hard to beat. white is so hard to beat, it is the only color i use on the body any more. collar and tail can vary but a black collar with a white tail is my go to popper.
start to finish pictures to follow.

 

[brain]

#1
the bare hooks, i like mustad hooks and factory fresh cork bodies. these are a size 8 fly.

#2
the hooks with freshly crimped barbs super glued onto the hooks.
i prefer the slider style. i also trim the "cup" off the body to square it up a bit.
i also do not worry much about gap in the slit on the body. if the gap is wide, i'll give the body a pinch as the glue sets up.

 

[sandfly]

cork is heavier than the foam bodies and will set lower in the water along with a better splash. i use all the different bodies but prefer cork. mustad kinked hooks are the way to go, cover hook shank with thread though it will glue to popper head better than a bare shank..

 

[jkilroy]

TMC 8089 bass bug, great has a super wide gap

 

[mooney4]

Hey Sass, I have been tying popper this summer. The Wapsi kits are a great start. You can also get just the hooks or bodies separately
I can bring some of them with me if your going to the tying seminar at the Lehigh center. Its a whole lot of fun and you can go as far as you want to in creativity

 

[Fredrick]

sandfly wrote:
cork is heavier than the foam bodies and will set lower in the water along with a better splash. i use all the different bodies but prefer cork. mustad kinked hooks are the way to go, cover hook shank with thread though it will glue to popper head better than a bare shank..

^+1