A Cheaper Popper

[Mark]

I've been using a modified Skitter Pop for years to catch stripers. Although it's a freshwater bass popper I modified it with a single in-line hook on the back. I have retied the bucktail on the hook numerous times as the tail inevitably gets sparser with use.

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It has served me well catching breaking and non-breaking stiripers. Last week it notched a 21 inch speck and 2 bluefish. However, I almost lost it recently. One day, I know I will indeed lose it either through breakage or to a feisty fish and a weakened leader.

So I looked on-line to order a few more and I was shocked at the price. I just cannot bring myself to pay double digit dollars for a single lure. I wouldn't have paid that much for it originally. I looked for alternatives.

I found a tackle supplier that provides popper bodies, Jann's Netcraft from Ohio. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/ I have used them before for fly tying and jig making supplies.

I ordered 6 pre-painted popper and bodies (they rattle) at roughly $2.50 each and 6 Owner inline hooks. The bodies are nicely painted and appear to be sturdily constructed.

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I tied bucktails and flashabou on the hooks from my present stock of fly tying materials and used a dozen of my split rings to produce the following 6 poppers for approximately $4 each.

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Anyone can do this. Frankly, the bucktails are optional. They probably appeal to me perhaps more than the fish and give me a little more confidence in their use. I'm certain these poppers would work with a bare hook making these topwater baits an option for those who do not have the extra materials or cannot tie.

So, if your sensibilities or your wallet will not allow you to cast a $10 lure, consider assembling your own.

[captmikestarrett]

Nice but once you throw a Rico or Iveno Splash it at 28 bucks each, at those picky pesky LGMouth you begin to understand why they cost so much. But for blues and convict bass I most likely would throw the lures you made up first. Blues try to steal the bait from each other and "ping" cut off. I surely would not want a blue wearing a 28 buck ear ring around. It just would not match his shoes.

Capt Mike

[baitball]

Mark,

Those are some nice-looking homemade poppers - well done!
Can't wait to hear how they do catching fish.

[Big Mike]

Mark, those look great but I'd have to invest in an air brush kit to get the cool paint job. I think about cost as well but with a bag of Gulp setting me back $7 for 10 and I can go though that in an outing it's all relative. A hard bait that could last all year, or in your case longer is a relatively frugal buy. Of course I don't get the satisfaction of catching a fish on a lure I made.

[Mark]

Nice but once you throw a Rico or Iveno Splash it at 28 bucks each, at those picky pesky LGMouth you begin to understand why they cost so much. But for blues and convict bass I most likely would throw the lures you made up first. Blues try to steal the bait from each other and "ping" cut off. I surely would not want a blue wearing a 28 buck ear ring around. It just would not match his shoes.

Capt Mike

No problem. I'd rather catch a $4 bass than a snooty $28 one!

[bignose]

And you wonder why guys use hawsers for leaders and rope for line!
$28.00 for a lure is nuts! I don't like using some of the trolling rigs we buy for just that reason. A couple of breakoffs (find a crab pot the hard way!) and you're ready to lose your mind.

I wonder if it is coincidence that as lines got stronger and fewer lures were lost / sold that the prices went up exponentially?

Or is it a "name brand" thing?
Put a Japanese name on a lure and jack the price up.

Possibly the "winning lure" syndrome?
A lure wins something like the Bassmaster Classic and ends up on a magazine cover, and within weeks the manufacturer hoists the price, the "Law of Supply and Demand."

I have tried some of the off market lures sold by Jann's (and other companies) and found them to be lacking. The plastic was a bit brittle (bounce one off of a dock and they crack) and the wire harnesses came loose.
Yeah, they looked pretty out of the box and your dressing was beautiful, almost too pretty to fish, but they didn't hold up too well in heavy usage. If you remember the old Atom Poppers, they were ugly as sin but they caught their share of fish.
Rockfish aren't as picky as fisherman are as too how the lure looks. LOL
I hope your experience is different than mine.

[Mark]

I hope so too, Stu.

[Slobber Bob]

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Funny my cousin just gave me a massive tackle box full of lures that they don't use and that is one of the lures in it. Same color and size!

You got a speck on it to, huh? If it was local, then that's quite a good catch based on my experience with specks here on the Shore.

[Shady]

Those look great! How big are they?

[mchottie]

Its amazing what a little DIY dressing them up will do!

I have a Glass Ghost XR10 (recommended by Ron) something big hit it this morning, but I couldnt set fast enough. Looking at it when we loaded up, I need to JAZZ up the bucktail like we did with Harry at the BPS meeting

[bignose]

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It's ugly but it worked!

[Mark]

Funny my cousin just gave me a massive tackle box full of lures that they don't use and that is one of the lures in it. Same color and size!

You got a speck on it to, huh? If it was local, then that's quite a good catch based on my experience with specks here on the Shore.

21 inch speck from ESVA. My largest striper on it is 29 inches. That was near Calvert Cliffs. I think it's a good size...big enough to attract larger fish, small enough to hook schoolies.

[Mark]

Those look great! How big are they?

About the same size as my dressed Skitter Pop -- 5.5 to 6 inches including the bucktail:

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[mchottie]

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It's ugly but it worked!

I grabbed a few of those at the Ft Smallwood flea market this spring.

[Mark]

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It's ugly but it worked!

It's not a beauty contest, Stu.

As you well know, lures often still work when their paint, fur and feathers have been worn away. We make them pretty for our eyes.