Favorite Top Water Popper

[Yak Fish]

Hey guys, I was out on the susquehanna river today, upstream from the flats looking for smallies. I got a some nice blowups on my poper, a smack it jr, but no hook ups. In fact, it seems par for the course on that lure. I get a lot of strikes but few hookups. I think the hooks could be upgraded.

As a result, I'm looking to see what your favorite poppers are and give those a shot.

For what it's worth, I couldn't have been happier being out there as the sun just started coming up. I never fished the river and I couldn't believe how beautiful it was as the fog rolled down through the valleys. Water was crystal clear. I drifted right over a school of about 20 carp all in the 10-20 lb range.

[Strummerfan]

They aren't "poppers" but my two favorite topwater lures are Arbogast's Jitterbug and Heddon's Super Spook. There's a reason they haven't changed since the beginning of time.

[Mark]

I fly rod on the Susquehanna and Upper Potomac. I do not use conventional tackle there.

My favorite popper other than those I make is the Gaines Bass King Popper in size 4.

http://www.fishusa.com/Product/Gaines-Bass-King-Popper

It's great for SM bass on the rivers and LM bass in lakes and ponds.

The float angle is perfect and the hookup rate is excellent. If the bass are truly interested, they won't miss it and you won't miss them.

Sounds like you had a beautiful day in the river.

[BassMoore]

I like jitter bugs and tony torpedos. But my fav poppers r the cheap ones from basspro.. they r 2 bucks n have the perfect spray n pop

[Shady]

Also not a popper but I've caught quite a few striper on a bomber badonkadonk surface lure.

On a side note, I just got in an awesome box of lures including many poppers from Hurricane Tackle. These will be a part of the raffle at the CBKA tournament. Come out and try to win them and you may find your new favorite!

[Raptor]

Hey guys, I was out on the susquehanna river today, upstream from the flats looking for smallies. I got a some nice blowups on my poper, a smack it jr, but no hook ups. In fact, it seems par for the course on that lure. I get a lot of strikes but few hookups. I think the hooks could be upgraded.

As a result, I'm looking to see what your favorite poppers are and give those a shot.

For what it's worth, I couldn't have been happier being out there as the sun just started coming up. I never fished the river and I couldn't believe how beautiful it was as the fog rolled down through the valleys. Water was crystal clear. I drifted right over a school of about 20 carp all in the 10-20 lb range.

Yak fish

A little trick I learned with a Smack-it Jr. is to tie a Clouser Fly off the back treble hook ring with 8"-10" of 20# mono as a stinger. If they miss the Smack-it they very often get the fly. The major set back is that the line tends to foul on the back treble when you cast if you are not very careful. Trolling is no problem. I've caught Rock two at a time with this set up.

Terry

[sparky1423]

+1 on the badonkadonk, I thought it was a large top water lure till I hooked a 12" striper on it. I also like the rebel pop-R with a double treble

[Mark]

I've caught lots of LM and SM bass on the surface. I think it's the most exciting way to hook a fish. However, there are times when a popper just won't work. For whatever reason the fish ignore it. When that happens (and usually it takes me a long time to realize it because I like throwing poppers so much) I will switch to a quieter surface fly like a slider. It darts just below the water line and immediately returns to the surface without chugging water. A Sneaky Pete by Gaines is an excellent slider.

A couple of weeks ago I just could not entice the bass at Mattawoman with a popper. I switched to a Sneaky Pete and immediately hooked a bass.

I wish there was some conditional factor I could recognize that would indicate when throwing a popper as opposed to a slider was merited. I have yet to figure that out and I have to rely on the fish to tell me by their acceptance or rejection of the popper.

[ES Fisherman]

Hey guys, new member here. For smallmouth/largemouth I really like the smaller storm chug bugs. For stripers larger chug bugs and smack-its are my go-to.

[DOGFISH]

For freshwater: Baby Lucky 13, in frog color.

[Choupique_Steve]

I have to second ES Fisherman's opinion on the Storm Chug Bugs. I haven't gotten to do a whole lot of fishing with poppers since I've been in Maryland, but back in Louisiana, they were solid producers for redfish, speckled trout, and largemouth bass. I even hooked up with and landed a ~50lbs blue cat on one. I typically use the 3-1/4" one, even for LMB. I do change the hooks out for saltwater, however, and I find that once you lose the shiny trailer on the rear hook, the bait becomes slightly less productive until it is replaced. They've also produced well for me for Northern Pike in North Dakota, though I prefer a buzzbait when fishing for those critters on topwater.

[Mark]

Which top-water approach do you folks use for stripers most often:

1. Sight fishing for breakers
2. Casting to likely areas (without seeing the fish) and hoping they are present and will come and get it
3. Trolling

[Yak Fish]

Thanks guys.
Although I think I may have trouble fishing a lure call badonkadonk :-)

[Yak Fish]

For stripers, I troll most often. There are places where I know they'll hit on topwater so I'll target them specifically. Trolling small umbrella rigs and 3-5" diving plugs in the fall has been the most reliable method for me. In fact, the great fall striper season is almost here. Late September to early November is usually pretty awesome.

[kevinfry]

Back when I hit the Columbia River hard for smallies, I noticed that late in the season they were crazy about dragon flies. would launch themselves clear of the water trying to snatch them out of the air or off vegetation. When I started seeing that O switched to the best dragon fly imitator i know ......clear Torpedo. Let it sit, then twitch it just enough to turn the prop once.....KaPow!