Years ago while shopping with my wife some were, I picked up a mixed bag of cork stoppers for a couple bucks and just yesterday realized that some of the smaller ones are perfect for popper flies. The great thing about them is all you have to do is trim them to length and make a groove for the hook. I found a place called Widgits.com that charges $.10 each with free shipping. Does anyone else know any good sources?
Greg
i buy mine from orchard supply hardware for $1.00 for 25 every size from the tiniest bluegill popper to a huge bass popper
I get mine ot Home Depot. John
Also, check at Lowe’s if you have one in your area. Our Lowe’s has them in many different sizes.
It’s much more fun to get them with the bottle attached.
Cork has been a popper material of choice for many generations of panfish and bass anglers.
It works, and is kind of nostalgic to use.
Has some drawbacks, though. To get a good finish (not just looks, but to seal it well) you have to use multiple coats of paint/finish. They tend to be a bit fragile, and ‘heavy’ for their buoyancy (some of this due to the finish coats required, no doubt).
Balsa has some of the same issues.
I really prefer foam, but, if you like cork, a couple of ‘hints’ learned from years of playing wih it:
Lacquer, the plain old stuff, is the best finish for cork. Buy it in white as ‘sanding sealer’ from any good paint store. Thin it down 30% with lacquer thinner and ‘dip’ multiple coats to ‘seal’ and smooth the cork. Each coat ‘dries’ in just a few minutes. Lacquer cures in ‘thin’ coats, leaving little in the way of ‘solids’ behind, so it reduces the weight. It will take three or four dipped coats to ‘seal’ the cork.
Add colors either with colored lacquer or markers (colored lacquer is the ‘traditional’ method). If you have an airbrush, you can get some really fantqstic efffects with lacquers. Stetch an piece of old nylon stocking over the body and spray through it to get a ‘scale’ pattern. You can make a stencil from sheet plastic for relistic body side markings. Use a cheap set of drill bits to make eye spots-three color eyes look really cool.
Lacquer finishes will ‘react’ with stuff, like rubber legs or such, so you should add a THIN epoxy top coat to prevent this and protect the finish. Thinned down ‘2-ton’ Devcon Epoxy Glue makes an excellent top coat.
The ‘acrylic’ craft paints sold at any craft store will also work, but they leave ‘heavier’ coats and care must be taken, especially on small bugs’ to keep them from sinking due to ‘too much’ paint ( a lesson I learned the hard way…).
Good Luck!
Buddy
Huuummmm!
Intersting info Buddy.
Suspending poppers; must push a lot of water when pulled, like ringing the dinner bell for fish!
Did your heavier popper sink all the way to the bottom, or suspend between the surface, and bottom?
Take care,
chris
Here are my first two Cork Stopper Poppers.
#10 Nymph Hook
Cork Stopper cut to length. Green nail polish and stick on googly eyes
Tail-Yellow dyed grizzley
Hackle-Black
#8 Streamer Hook
Cork Stopper cut to length. Green nail polish and stick on googlyy eyes
Tail-Back Hen Feathers
Hackle-Black
I tested them in the sink and they float pretty good. Not to sure what hooks I should use but I’m thinking Extra long dry fly with a straight eye or popper hooks.
Greg
Chris,
Don’t really know.
When the went beneath the surface, I figured I’d goofed, and found one that actually floated…
Neutral or slightly negative buoyancy is an interesting concept for fly fishermen. Difficult to accomplish, due to differences in water densities.
Another idea to explore.
The ONE is out there…
Good Luck!
Buddy
I did some cork popper, but found tha they did not stand up aas well as the foam poppers I do.
I use foam sheets and a spray adhesive to glue them together. Then I have some punches that will fit in the drill so I can cut them out.
I drill thru the foam with a 1/64" bit, have, threAd wrapped on the shank and superglue it on.
They last a long time and you can get whatever color you want with them.
I found the coark would split after a time even being superglued on.
Take this for what you thinhk it is worth, but it is my experience.
Rick
I’m with Rick on this one. I’ve made hundreds of poppers with cork in all sizes and more than a few balsa wood poppers. The Plastic Wood filling, the sanding (multiple times), the sealing (multiple times), the painting (multiple times) and finally adding the tail hackle and material and don’t forget the rubber legs was a week long process. Foam is just too easy and too cheap compared to cork or balsa. Pickerel were a particular nemesis for my cork bugs. In fact, I still have Plastic Wood stuck to my many thumbs from those old days of cork and balsa. 8T
One thing I’ve done with wine corks is to use them for fly display stands, if you want to display a few or just a place to hold them while you’re tying. Just have to cut a flat bottom.
I seem to be a minority here but I love cork poppers. My favorite is Lefty’s Potomac River Popper. It is very simple. I also make a slider with a marabou tail. In the past I have used Ace Hardware cork stoppers. I use 5 minute epoxy and kink shank hooks. The poppers last forever. I have only had one or two fall apart in 15 years. Some I have repainted after the paint chipped from banging on rocks. I have also added new tail material to old poppers. They do take more time up front but I think it is worth it. YMMV.
I just bought a bag of wine corks at the homebrew store - high quality cork. Hopefully it will work well.
Have fun!
I thought everyone would be looking here, at Canadian Tire in the automotive section. Not sure why they are there in that section, seems like an odd spot to get them but they were in storage bins with a pile of other little automotive parts, various sizes. They were quite cheap, I think 15 cents a piece, picked up a dozen to try, they look a little different than the foam batch I made.
Dwight
I too am a fan of cork. I get most of my corks in craft or hobby stores. I try to pick the ones with the fewest pits. I have had good luck with smooth finishes using artist’s white gesso, 1-2 coats. It dries very thin and light and fills in most of the holes. Then 1 coat of water based color and a tin top coat. They most always float fairly high. I also stopped using kink shanks. I use just plain old aberdeen hooks from wal-mart. I use zap a gap and have never had a popper head come loose. I’m rough too, I tend to remove the hook by holding the popper head. I do tend to cut a thin slot and the hook fits snuggly into the cork to begin with. I must admit though, that recently I have been doing more balsa than anything.