All on a Popper

[J. Rentch]

Visited an Eastern Shore pond today and caught three different species on my 5Wt with a small red popper: Bluegill, LM Bass, and a Pickerel. Had to use a net to land the Bass and Pick, I was afraid they would break the tippet. The Pickerel did bite through the tippet, but I had it in the net, lucky for me.
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The popper will need some repair after the Pickerel got through with it. Missing some legs and one eye.
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[DanMarino]

I dig it! Looks like lots of fun. I need to get a pickerel on the fly sometime. That looks like a popper Mark would make.

[J. Rentch]

Good eye Dan, it is!

[J.A. Veil]

John - You are really getting into the fly fishing game. Good work.

[Mark]

Outstanding John.

I wish I had joined you today.

I just made you two pickerel leaders for your next fly outing. They won't get bit off.

I have more of those poppers too. I like that particular size -- small enough for bluegills, big enough to entice bass and picks.

[J. Rentch]

Thanks John, long way to go, but am enjoying the new venue,

[DanMarino]

Catching fish on the fly with poppers is addictive! Next step is making your own poppers then catching fish on your own creations!!!

[ronaultmtd]

My Brother gave me Dad’s old fly fishing equipment...1970’s fiberglass eight foot Wright and McGill rod, old Martin auto reel loaded with floating WF flyline that is about as old as I am...all bought at Oklahoma Tire and Supply in Hot Springs, Arkansas...but it was a fish catching outfit in my Dad’s hands...a 5 pound smallmouth bass on the Caddo River...a two pound warmouth Bass...six pound LMB..so many big bluegills you can’t imagine..Dad could roll cast a rubber spider under the tree limbs and drop it noiselessly within inches of the bank...incredible talent...think I will try to use it just for old times sake...

[Mark]

My Brother gave me Dad’s old fly fishing equipment...think I will try to use it just for old times sake...

You definitely should!

[thedutchtouch]

do you save your chewed up flies or toss them? i feel like that would be a pretty cool "trophy case" collection for your wall. something i might do if i figure this fly fishing thing out... or if i get a wall I can decorate at home lol

[Mark]

do you save your chewed up flies or toss them? i feel like that would be a pretty cool "trophy case" collection for your wall. something i might do if i figure this fly fishing thing out... or if i get a wall I can decorate at home lol

Occasionally I'll rehab a popper by tying a new tail on it. I do the same with jigs. But most of the time, especially for streamers, I toss them. If the materials can be easily cut from a streamer hook I may do that to salvage a hook. But to be honest I usually have a good stash of hooks and don't resort to that very often.

I did save a perch spinner that I used to catch 61 perch on a single outing. It hangs on the wall near my tying bench. And a few weeks ago, I retired this popper:

Popper Retired.jpg

It caught 18 or 19 bass and a similar number of bluegills on two outings within a week. The last bass it hooked was 20 inches. So I thought it deserved a rest.