Popper Building Question

[teachmarkey]

Hi everyone,

I know there have been questions and stories about building popper flies posted here, but I'm having trouble finding the full, basic instructions. There are a few questions I'd like to have answered:

A. How to build poppers from wine corks (cutting, length, shaping)
B. What's a good, inexpensive hook to learn with? (size, shape)
C. Similar directions for foam flies?

I'm most interested in using corks, rather than purchasing pre-shaped bodies. I fish Rhode Island waters, and I'm targeting bass, but any warm-water critter will do.

I'm looking for tips, videos, books... whatever you have found useful.

Thanks in advance!
p.s. I'm posting this in the fly tying forum, too.

[Gigmaster]

Actually, a cork is a 'pre-shaped' body. You can get the little ones at Ace Hardware, and other places.

You can shape them with a Dremel, but they work fine just like they are.

Just cut them in half, and cut a small longitudinal groove for the hook. Glue the halves back together with the hook in it, tie on a tail, paint it, and you're good to go.

[teachmarkey]

Thanks, Gigmaster! Didn't think about small corks. What do you suggest gluing with? Superglue?

[Gigmaster]

Sure. Or 5 Min epoxy, or Thompson's Tightbond (the best for wood, in my opinion, even if it does take 12 hours to completely dry...). That's how we tied poppers back in the days before spinning deer hair became popular ( sometime in the early 60s, if I remember right). If you want your flies to really look neat, dress the hook before you put the hook in the body. There used to be 'popper' hooks that had a small kink in the middle to keep them from spinning in the body, but they may not make these anymore since deer hair and foam became so popular. If you use enough glue, you don't need a special hook, anyway. Just watch your hook gap. Select a hook about 1 size larger than you think it should be, and the gap will be about right. Or, you can just use wide-gap hooks. Another 'trick' to making cork poppers is that, instead of painting eyes on them, you can glue on those tiny doll eyes you see at Walmart, and other hobby places. The pupils in them are loose, and will 'rattle' every time you twitch the popper, and it drives bass, and bluegills insane[

QUOTE=teachmarkey;476899]Thanks, Gigmaster! Didn't think about small corks. What do you suggest gluing with? Superglue?[/QUOTE]

[fr8dog]

For hooks:

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/mustad-...ks/810334.aspx