How much -

use2wuz

use2wuz

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would you pay for this handcrafted popper at a Craft Show? US Quarter is for size reference (not MSRP) of this #2 popper. Body is hand shaped foam, hand painted eyes coated with UV epoxy. Tail is “EP” fibers tied with 6/0 thread, double whip finished and resin coated - all on a #2 Surface Seducer popper hook. I’m doing some market research. Thanks, U2W
 

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Not sure. The only poppers I've brought at local fishing flea markets have been made out of balsa or other woods and made for spinning gear. They usually went from $5 to $8. One thing I do see at these shows are what they call buck tail teasers, basic buck tail fly, no eyes. They sell them for $2-$3. I keep trying to talk myself into tying a bunch up and renting a table, but I'm just too lazy. You don't see a whole lot of fly fishing stuff at these shows. I'll usually look at the flies that are for sale, including small poppers, most were in the $1-$3 range. You might be better off looking on line or in fly fishing catalogs to see what the market will bear. If I were at the show, and I will say that's not the style of popper I fish, I'd pay $2-$3 for it.
It's a good looking bug.
 
problem is you are competing with Amazon that sells foam bass poppers for $1.30 or so. Your flies need to be unique in some way that mass produced ones can't be.
 
problem is you are competing with Amazon that sells foam bass poppers for $1.30 or so. Your flies need to be unique in some way that mass produced ones can't be.
They are - in that they are hand shaped, can catch fish, and hold up to more abuse than the mass produced crap - pure function is what I aim for and not a lot of rubber legs/12 blends of tinsel etc. We sell a bunch of other stuff at these shows too - so getting rich off fly sales needn’t worry anyone. I appreciate your input - the photos are just a prototype and finished products will be complete in time for an October show.
 
so getting rich off fly sales needn’t worry anyone
That's a good attitude. The guy I use to buy the hand-made balsa and cedar wood plugs from was much cheaper than most of the other tables. I think he did it because he enjoyed doing it and wasn't concerned about making money. I did hand shaped my soft foam poppers when I first started making them, because the only popper bodies available then were hard foam. Once the soft foam bodies became available I switched over to them. It saved a lot of time and I could experiment with colors and styles. I still sand them occasionally if I want to change the shape a bit.
The one thing that may work against you is the lack of legs. Mainly because of what you see in fly shops, fly catalogs or on line are poppers with legs. I use legs on some mine, pan fish and some bass, but never more than two pair. When I get into pencil poppers, I do away with the legs, but make sure the tail has movement. Some of the nicest poppers I've seen are ones that are air-brushed. Beyond my capabilities.
One question, what type of UV resin are you using? These days I use a flex resin on all my foam flies. From what I can see you've got a nice thin coat on the bodies. Still if you're using soft foam, don't let anyone squeeze them if you're using a hard resin, it will crack. Years ago I received a soft foam hula popper tied on a single hook. A beautiful fly, but when I squeezed it the epoxy coating cracked. Never fished it. It's in my unique fly box. Good luck. I hope you sell a bunch of them.
 
That's a good attitude. The guy I use to buy the hand-made balsa and cedar wood plugs from was much cheaper than most of the other tables. I think he did it because he enjoyed doing it and wasn't concerned about making money. I did hand shaped my soft foam poppers when I first started making them, because the only popper bodies available then were hard foam. Once the soft foam bodies became available I switched over to them. It saved a lot of time and I could experiment with colors and styles. I still sand them occasionally if I want to change the shape a bit.
The one thing that may work against you is the lack of legs. Mainly because of what you see in fly shops, fly catalogs or on line are poppers with legs. I use legs on some mine, pan fish and some bass, but never more than two pair. When I get into pencil poppers, I do away with the legs, but make sure the tail has movement. Some of the nicest poppers I've seen are ones that are air-brushed. Beyond my capabilities.
One question, what type of UV resin are you using? These days I use a flex resin on all my foam flies. From what I can see you've got a nice thin coat on the bodies. Still if you're using soft foam, don't let anyone squeeze them if you're using a hard resin, it will crack. Years ago I received a soft foam hula popper tied on a single hook. A beautiful fly, but when I squeezed it the epoxy coating cracked. Never fished it. It's in my unique fly box. Good luck. I hope you sell a bunch of them.
The lack of “legs” is why I’m selling them - never saw a wounded baitfish with legs 😉 - the messy prototype is not an indicator of my QC measures - there will be three thin coats of UV epoxy on these - they won’t pass the hard squeeze test - but will stand up to many fish. I’m working on developing a hard urethane foam body as seen in the attached photo - the EP (type) fiber tails will be a thing for all my poppers - I really appreciate the input! Thanks!
 

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I’m working on developing a hard urethane foam body as seen in the attached photo - the EP (type) fiber tails will be a thing for all my poppers - I really appreciate the input! Than
Those two look great. I haven't seen that shape in hard body poppers. My main reason for not using them these days is I use permanent markers for my colors and they just do not look good on the hard body. I also prefer a through the body mount for the hook rather than mounting it on a slit.
 
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