Ready for Blues and Stripers

[Fishidiot]

Ready made, hard plastic floating popper heads can be fairly versatile. You'll need some epoxy to set the hook into the head and a rotating dryer is handy for the glue and finish. Many of these pre-made popper heads lack a cupped face so I'll usually use a drill to cut this concave surface into the front of the fly. They're hand painted with acrylic and sealed with a clear coat. While I don't catch a huge number of stripers on popper flies they're fun when the fish are hot and looking up. Blues and cudas will demolish poppers - but what the heck. We can make more.

 

[sandfly]

have you ever used cork floats and cut them in half. works great and cheaper than then the hard bodys.

 

[Fishidiot]

Yup. I agree, cork is fun and versatile too. I used to use cork exclusively for terrestrials back in the 1980s before colored foam became so readily available and (much) easier to use on small flies. For big bass and salt applications, cork is still viable although I usually prefer the pre-made bodies for this sort of thing. I like the tapered body shape and trimming cork to get this shape is troublesome. I've tried shaping wine corks on a lathe when I've been turning wood dowels to make casting plugs but also found this was more trouble than it's worth. On the other hand, if you like an untapered popper head mounted Bob's Banger style, than cork is fine. Another drawback to cork is it is softer and doesn't hold a paint job quite as well. Nevertheless, cork is fun and definitely worth experimenting with.

 

[sandfly]

You can get these in a bag for around $6.00 to $8.00 for 25.depending on size. then just cut in half. using a dremal shape your face to how much pop you want. then paint. they also make them in cork as well. i like the cork as it sits better in the water, and cast better. the pic of the naturals is on e-bay.

 

[Fishidiot]

Excellent idea Sandy!