Small Poppers - I'm Done With Them

[Dave_W]

For now anyway....

I cleaned out my small poppers from my bass boxes due to recurrent problems with deep hooked fish. They're being replaced with larger flies. By small, I'm referring to poppers with the typical fingernail sized and shape head combined with a tuft of tail material. These flies were generally about 2" in length counting tail material.

These poppers were great fish catchers for me and I liked 'em based on the fact that so many popper hits were from smaller bass and I believed that smaller poppers had a better hook-up ratio on smaller fish. They were also easier to cast for distance. Bigger SMBs liked 'em too.

Unfortunately, too many larger bass were getting these flies way back in the gullet and this sometimes resulted in bleeding as the downturned hook set into the vascular network around the gill juncture. I wasn't seeing such deep hookings with nymphs or streamers, only with poppers.

The longer pencil style poppers that I often use were also engulfed as well, although the body shape of these poppers seemed to keep them a bit further up in the throat.

Since SMBs regulary hit much larger surface lures and flies, I'm switching out my small poppers for bigger stuff, more in the 3+" size range. Better to miss some of the smaller fish than hook anymore big ones too deep.

Have you noted this? Do SMBs seem to take your poppers in deep? What size poppers do you typically fish for SMBs with?

 

[afishinado]

Dave_W wrote:
For now anyway....

I cleaned out my small poppers from my bass boxes due to recurrent problems with deep hooked fish. They're being replaced with larger flies. By small, I'm referring to poppers with the typical fingernail sized and shape head combined with a tuft of tail material. These flies were generally about 2" in length counting tail material.

These poppers were great fish catchers for me and I liked 'em based on the fact that so many popper hits were from smaller bass and I believed that smaller poppers had a better hook-up ratio on smaller fish. They were also easier to cast for distance. Bigger SMBs liked 'em too.

Unfortunately, too many larger bass were getting these flies way back in the gullet and this sometimes resulted in bleeding as the downturned hook set into the vascular network around the gill juncture. I wasn't seeing such deep hookings with nymphs or streamers, only with poppers.

The longer pencil style poppers that I often use were also engulfed as well, although the body shape of these poppers seemed to keep them a bit further up in the throat.

Since SMBs regulary hit much larger surface lures and flies, I'm switching out my small poppers for bigger stuff, more in the 3+" size range. Better to miss some of the smaller fish than hook anymore big ones too deep.

Have you noted this? Do SMBs seem to take your poppers in deep? What size poppers do you typically fish for SMBs with?

The smallies have been really hungry for poppers most trips this year. I've also noticed quite a few deep hookings with poppers.

My go-to size for smallie poppers is size 4. Big enough, but not to small where smaller fish usually engulf the fly. The exception is, I do use a white panfish popper during a white fly hatch, but will change it out for a bigger one if the fish start taking it down too deep.

I was out fishing the Susky yesterday for smallies and caught 30+ fish, all on poppers. Most were decent sized fish but with a few smaller ones mixed in. I only had one deep hooked fish and the and the popper came right out. One thing I find helps is to have long-nosed pliers handy to unhook the popper without damage.

Also keeping slack out of your line and setting quickly usually helps with not hooking deeply. If there's slack and/or you're not right on the strike is when most problems happen.

 

[Tiogadog]

Here is one method to remove those deeply taken flies.

Full disclosure: I have not tried it. It looks counter intuitive, but this guy is one of the best around.

 

[dc410]

I've been tying up most of my Smallmouth poppers on size 4 hooks and have done fairly well this season on top. These poppers end up being about 3" long or maybe a hair longer overall. I haven't had many deep hook ups but have to admit I haven't caught many big fish on poppers this year. I don't think I even fished a pencil popper this year for whatever reason.

 

[jifigz]

I fish gurglers almost exclusively in either size 6 or 10 and even with the small size 10's have hardly any fish take it deep.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

I've been using size 2's this year and have only had one somewhat deep hookset. Size 2 is good for smallies, because it keeps the little ones from wasting too much of your time, and still is small enough for a decent size fish to inhale.

 

[krayfish2]

+1
If I have poppers or hair bugs, they are between 2 and 2/0

 

[jifigz]

If I only fished sizes ranging from 2 to 2/0 I would be missing out on all of that fun that the plentiful and pugnacious redbreast sunfish offers.

 

[krayfish2]

Well.....I'm not looking for sunfish so it keeps the little fellers off my line which is okay (most days). I've had 6" Smallmouth hit / landed on a 2/0. Eyes are bigger than their stomach. Lol

 

[jifigz]

krayfish2 wrote:
Well.....I'm not looking for sunfish so it keeps the little fellers off my line which is okay (most days). I've had 6" Smallmouth hit / landed on a 2/0. Eyes are bigger than their stomach. Lol

I love fishing for redbreasts in the summer. After all the colder weather months are when I take my smallmouth fishing seriously. Summer is just a fun screw around time in my opinion. Warm water that you can swim in while fishing and lots of fishing biting topwater makes it fun, but much better bass fishing is just starting to arrive.

 

[govtmule]

GO BIG OR GO HOME!

 

[jifigz]

govtmule wrote:
GO BIG OR GO HOME!

That's why I fish for smallies in the colder months. Winter time is big fish time!

 

[fly_flinger]

jifigz wrote:

That's why I fish for smallies in the colder months. Winter time is big fish time!

Not having done much cold weather smallie fishing, I have a few questions.
1. Do you use smaller flies than summer
2. Do you use flashier or less flashy than summer
3. Dead drift or impart some action

My winter WW species fishing has primarily been for muskies but it's nice to at least catch something from time to time so it would be good to know a few smallie tricks to help with the catching part.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

I really should try to do some fall/late fall bassin' this year, but it's hard to pull myself away from the trout and the stripers once I get started with them.

 

[afishinado]

fly_flinger wrote:

jifigz wrote:

That's why I fish for smallies in the colder months. Winter time is big fish time!

Not having done much cold weather smallie fishing, I have a few questions.
1. Do you use smaller flies than summer
2. Do you use flashier or less flashy than summer
3. Dead drift or impart some action

My winter WW species fishing has primarily been for muskies but it's nice to at least catch something from time to time so it would be good to know a few smallie tricks to help with the catching part.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Like anything related to fishing, there are no hard and fast rules for successful fishing and catching. But as a general rule, more "low and slow" in the colder water rather than "high and fast" with warm water temps. In other words, bump 'em in the nose...and hang on!

 

[jifigz]

fly_flinger wrote:

jifigz wrote:

That's why I fish for smallies in the colder months. Winter time is big fish time!

Not having done much cold weather smallie fishing, I have a few questions.
1. Do you use smaller flies than summer
2. Do you use flashier or less flashy than summer
3. Dead drift or impart some action

My winter WW species fishing has primarily been for muskies but it's nice to at least catch something from time to time so it would be good to know a few smallie tricks to help with the catching part.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I would use any of the same patterns I would use in summer except for surface stuff, of course. But I generally go fairly small and natural color. Dead drift or impart minor action but definitely get it close to the bottom.

It does depend on the time of year, however. In November the smallmouths are often still quite active and fishing can be fast and furious with less need to get a slowly worked fly on the bottom. From December through early March, however, it pays to get it slow and deep.

The hardest part is finding the fish. They are found in the same places year after year though. It is my firm belief that some stretches of waters will be totally void of fish as they may travel some miles to wintering sites. I would say in most systems this isn't the case and a rather short move is more typical. Either way, knowing your water well and finding the fish is 90% of the battle.

 

[henrydavid]

I've been using mostly size 4-6 poppers all summer, one thing I noticed is the mood of the fish will sometimes dictate whether they inhale the popper or not.

I had a fairly epic day last Wednesday, the previous day with the bright sunlight I tied on a size 6 yellow popper and the smallies were taking it readily but mostly only on a dead drift. The following day I had broken my popper backcasting onto the shore rocks so I tied on a size 4 green popper. Started drifting it with a few takes then decided to try and pop the hell out of it and to my surprise it was exactly what the bass wanted. The hits came hard and fast and I must've gotten 20+ fishing it that way. I did notice many of the fish were hooked inside the mouth, none that were what I would call "deep hooked" and none that I couldn't extract the hook with minimum effort but I feel that the aggressive strikes were the reason.

 

[Baron]

Dave,
you brought this up the other day with regards to ting longer hooks. Would it be possible to see some of what you're seeing as good. Saturday was my first day out for Panfish this year. I cut 2 or 3 bluegills loose cause the hook was out of site. Forceps would've also injured the fish. This is also the first time in my life I'm considering going barbless.......can't believe I'm saying this....

Would you have any photos you could send? I'm getting ready to place another fly order and want to get it right. Still fishing for trout and will be off and on all year but want to be more prepared for panfish.

 

[Dave_W]

Baron wrote:
Dave,
Would you have any photos you could send?

Here's an example of my preferred style flies for bluegills - long shank and small bend (I think these are #16). Keep 'em simple. I don't like long tails or legs as the bluegills grad them. With flies like this the 'gills usually grab at the back and get the hook. With the long shank, you will be able to get them unhooked much easier. Have your hemostats close by anyway.

Definitely flatten the barbs on your hooks. I do this for virtually every fly I tie for every species (I also flatten barbs on my conventional lures, especially treble hooks). Barbless is the way to go.

 

[tomgamber]

I'll second the Gurgler recommendation. These have been absolutely deadly for me the last coupe years I have used them. Never caught so many bass small or largemouth on anything else.

If its sunnies i'm chasing its sponge spiders or if I have to way out i might drop a small bead head on a pupa hook under an indicator and do the slowest retrieve i can without sinking the indicator. i rarely hook anything deeply using either of these methods.

I also flatten the barb on everything i tie myself.

I'll add that before I discovered sponge spiders, I used to use whatever buggered up half-chewed flies in my box i was ashamed to show to any self respecting trout. I didn't do a whole lot worse. So if anyone ever again asks if they are overthinking this, the answer is probably, yes.