Set for Smallies

[DanMarino]

I was at Walmart this morning and found these for $1.50 each. I'm set for smallie fishing this year. Can't wait for the warm weather and top water action. A Rebel Pop-R was my top smallmouth producer in 2014, so now I have a few other colors to try. Can't beat them for the price.

[Capt C-Hawk]

good buy, those catch a lot more than just smallies.

[mweber02]

Every now and then my local Walmart marks the wrong lures with clearance prices. Gotta love it.

[DanMarino]

good buy, those catch a lot more than just smallies.

Like what else Capt C-Hawk? I've pretty much only caught smallmouth bass with an occasional bluegill and one aggressive crappie for some reason. Do stripers go after them?

I've never tried either of these colors, so It will be interesting to see if they work any better than the silver with black back that I used all of 2014.

[Romo]

They are definitely smallie killers but snakeheads and largemouths love them too!

[Capt C-Hawk]

Largemouths for sure, and Gene Mueller mentioned them every week in his fishing reports as a choice striper lure.

[M1A4ME]

I've never caught much of anything on a pop R but I've seen others do it, that's why I bought some. Are you fishing streams/rivers or lakes/ponds?

River fishing lures for me/family were always tiny torpedoes for topwater and mepps spinners for everything else.

Trolling in deep/clear lakes we used fire tiger colored crankbaits (Bomber 6A, Storm Rattletot).

When the smallmouth are up shallow and feeding early in the spring the chrome and blue rattle traps will get you some vicious strikes and at summer, at night over grassbeds the chrome and blue rattle traps work, too. I wouldn't have believed they could home in on a fast moving underwater bait like that but they do. Topwater (jitterbugs or very slow reeled buzzbaits) yes, in the deep clear lakes.

[Romo]

They work everywhere! I'd say 75% of my bass fishing is done with topwaters and the other 25% with jigs. My freshwater popper staples are stillwater smack-its, rapala skitterpops and rebel pop-rs depending on what kind of water/conditions I'm faced with. The smackits have a rattle and can almost be worked like a spook, the pop-r really "pops," and the skitterpop has more of a light gurgle for a subtler presentation. I've had my best results with pop-rs specifically when using a very slow, deliberate popping cadence. You don't have to throw water 6 feet up in the air but you do wanna make it pop. I get most hits on the pause. Sometimes I let it sit for 30 seconds or more. Just like any other topwater the fish will tell you when you have it right.

[DanMarino]

This one worked for me well last year in the Upper Potomac, Monocacy, and at Pretty Boy reservoir.
I'll likely swap out the hooks on the new Pop-R's for some a little larger. If I get crazy I might even add a prop to the back just to see what happens.

I had a blast catching smallies on an ultra-light setup.

[M1A4ME]

That's one of the colors I've bought, silver with black back. I also have white with the red head.

At Buggs Island Lake my old fishing buddy used to say they worked good a week or two after the bass where moving off their beds back towards deep water.

When are they good in the rivers/streams? About like the tiny torpedoes? Late July through the end of August? Well, that's the range on the Greenbrier and Meadow Rivers at home.

[Romo]

All year long! Was looking through pics trying to find some of the smallies I got on them this year but could only find one. This one was in September from Green Lane Reservoir. They were also hitting this well in my local river, the Schuylkill, all summer

[bignose]

The 1/8 oz. Pop-R in black and silver or Tennessee Shad is my favorite freshwater lure, especially for Smallies. I will fish with one from late April, on.

A couple of tweaks that help:
Tie in a little extra pearl or chartreuse krystal flash in the tail. It makes a huge difference.
Paint the front face fluorescent orange (the Shad colored lures already have an orange face). It makes the lure much easier to see under low light conditions or when tossed into the shade.
Attach a small split ring (size 2 or 3-don't want to get too heavy with this) to tie into. It gives the lure much better action than just connecting directly to the eye.

Notice the little rattle ball on the transparent model. Always shake the solid colored ones before you buy them. Sometimes they don't have the ball, which also makes a difference, both in sound and how they sit in the water.

[whenican]

At my Walmart I bought some clearance lures but didnt pay
Attention while it was being rung up at the wrong price. I had to
Go back to customer service to have them re- do it to get my money back.
Always watch the price being rung up or you will pay nonclearance
Prices for clearly-marked clearance lures. Those lures work for me.

[Runnin]

You all watch out. Tom cleaned ny clock with the Pop R's once or twice last year. He's got the majic Ju Ju when it comes to working thise things.

[DanMarino]

Haha. Thanks Gary. That was a fun trip for sure. Looking forward to getting out again with you on the Potomac this year.