Some soft foam poppers I tied up for bluegill....http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...psec2f6a02.jpg
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Some soft foam poppers I tied up for bluegill....http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...psec2f6a02.jpg
Very nice tying/work. Hope they catch a mess for ya.
Thanks! Hope they can be put to use soon!
Excellent work! Maybe these thunderstorms will let up so you can use em...
That is a good looking fly box. I would encourage you to try a dropper underneath, bream killers are probably my favorite, easy to tie and effective. Two'fers are a lot of fun.
Nice looking poppers.
Thank you! Now we get to deal with Tropical Storm Andrea so have to wait to try them out.
You ever try tying the Stealth Bomber, it's a pretty easy tye and I have had good results with them.
Are you near the Villages?
Have a buddy that is a guide that showed me how to tie the Stealth, gonna try it soon as the weather improves. And no. I am not near the Villages, I am on the coast, Melbourne
Excellent. What do you use to shape/carve your heads?
I use a tool made by Soggy Bottom Fly, it goes into a dremel tool and I use an emery board to shape it. Works very well and fast. I then use a razor blade to cut a slit for the hook, which I put a base of thread on and glue it with Zap A Gap.
Pic of the toolhttp://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps58b40746.jpg
That is an interesting looking tool. Does it make a center hole while cutting out the body and then the center hole closes itself because of the foam? I will have to look the tool up and order one. I love to use poppers and use cork on most of the ones I have made because of the cost of the per-made bodies. Thanks for posting the tool.
We had close to 5'' of rain over the last week here in the upstate of SC. Our lakes are full for the first time in many years so I think the poppers will be a great lure once the water clears. :)
After looking again I see this tool is used only for shaping the body. Thanks for posting the info.
I use the foam cylinders in different colors to make the bodies. One word of caution though, DO NOT use the above tool to turn cork, I have already ruined one tool trying that, and I was told not to by the maker, but I had to try anyway. To say that it didn't work out is an understatement. Ended up with a severely bent tool and I have yet to find the piece of cork....
LOL the things we try!! I have found that you can buy the cork that they use for ear piercing, works great for small poppers and is already shaped.
That is a beautiful paint job. Do you have an airbrush or just the master of the rattle can? I like the scale look on the back although I don't really think the fish can see it. One thing about that foam body you can beat the feathers and legs to a frazzle but the body will still be intact.
I think dots on the belly of the fly probably have more effect than eyes to, although I religiously paint or glue eyes on every popper I make. Of late, I have wondered if the body isn't really just a support system for the feathers and legs which may be the real lure or attraction of the popper fly.
Bass popper. I turned the body with the tool, brushed acrylic gold paint on it, spray painted the scales, put the eyes on and covered it with Liquid fusion. The hardest part for me seems to be getting the cupped face right. And I put red dots on the bottom too! You can see http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps8c6ed305.jpgthem in the pic above in the lower right. And I also think the legs make a difference, as I see the fish will sometimes just grab a leg and not the body.
With a slant to the face the only way I know to get a cut is to take a ball shaped grinder or possibly a cylinder sanding disc and grind it off after the body is shaped. If I use a flush (square) face I can use an Exacto knife or emery board to remove the material while shaping the body. I use a rechargeable Black & Decker tool that doesn't run as fast as a Dremel and I use a straighten small L-hook in the chuck to hold the blank body for turning. The small L-hook has a diameter of maybe 3/32 in. with a wood screw thread on it.
Hi RHenn,
Like the rest, beautiful poppers! Very nicely done.
Regards,
Gandolf
Thank you very much!
That bass popper looks great and I agree that the rubber legs can be a big plus.
Here is the tool I use in my Dremel to carve the front. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dremel-Hi...r#.UfMJZ23y1ZM
I like a deep pocket so it makes a good popping sounds. Here is one I made using a feather and you can see the front.
Attachment 12098
Looks great! I have a dremel stone I use for the front. I like the paint job, how did you paint it?
I used a pheasant feather. You put down a layer of slow drying epoxy then fit the feather the way you want it. Once dry you put on two coats of fast drying epoxy. Takes a calm hand to keep the feather straight.
Do you trim the feather prior to laying it in the epoxy?
You pick the feather the size of the popper. The only trimming is done at the front of the body. I trim the feather with a razor blade after the first epoxy is dry. I don't work the front of the feather over the bend going into the front indenture but leave it sticking out from the body. Once trimmed you take a emery-board and smooth before placing the finish coats of epoxy.
Here is another in a brown feather. I first painted the body in a color that matched the light color of the feather and then added a few small red dots. I think it blended very well.
Attachment 12110
I should say, I don't fish with these as they take to long. They are in a display box :)
Very nice!
You must be much neater in your work than I. All of the paint and epoxy has to been on the bug body before I touch a feather of rubber leg. Nice job, great paint job.
Took Jesse's advice and put some dots on the bottom:http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps14d346b0.jpg
Not trying to one up you, but several years ago I found some ant stickers, I liked the look but cannot say I have caught any fish as a result.
Attachment 12138
That looks cool, where did you find them?
It ha been so long ago I am really not sure. It was one of those things I saw and bought on impulse. Probably Walmart.