I like to make these little guys for fishing in the evenings in the lake I live on. It’s a bit like a slimmed-down Hula Popper which was always one of my favorites when I was a kid. I make them so the hook ride point up to minimize snagging weeds. I also allows me to give them a full dress skirt which presents a larger profile attrating the attention of larger bass.
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Nice. Do you fish it with a fly rod?
Good looking fly. Brings back some memories.
Rick
Yes, of course, I use my 7wt for larger patterns and poppers like this one. For the smaller patterns I switch either to my 5wt or 3wt if I fishing for bluegill. The challenge here in central Florida is that when fishing for Bluegill you also stand a good chance of hooking into a big tilapia, Tilapia don’t fight hard like a bluegill, but they get upto 10 lbs and do make some strong runs when first hooked of when they get near the kayak. The largest I’ve caught is about 5-6 lbs, but they’re good eating.
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Nice fish and a good surprise when you’re fishing.
Looks awesome. How do you make the bodies?
I carve them from Balsa wood. To say that I carve them is a bit of a stretch since there is auctually very little carving involved. Just simple roughing to the “general” shape and then sanding. On most patterns it takes me about 10 minutes to fashion a body. Here’s a short “tutorial” on one pattern. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
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James, do you have the Mayan cichlids in your area? My brother winters near lake okeechobee and he says that they fight like a ten pound bluegill when you can find them. He’s strictly a bait dunker (one little #2 streamer in the arm and he lost interest in learning to fly fish) but knowing what flies work could tell him what bait to use.
We don;t have Mayan Ciclids up here, at least not yet. The only “exotics” we have are Plecostamus which is a sucker-like bottom feeder that was probably introduced from the aquarium trade and Blue Tilapia. I catch Blue Tilapia on my fly rod when fishing for Bluegill or crappie. They fight a bit like a catfish in that they make some very strong runs but no jumping. They get pretty large upto ten pounds, but the largest I’ve caught have been in the 4-5 pound range. They are pretty good eating and since they’re considered an invasive species, I have no problem keeping a few to eat.
This infographic is awesome. Thanks for sharing!
They’re all over the place here in SW Florida. I usually fish #8 or #10 buggers but have caught them on pretty much anything I’ve thrown. They’re highly aggressive.
I live in Lakeland which is midway between Orlando and Tampa, so they’re not up this far yet. That said, I read an article the other day that the Igquanas and Bermese Pythons are now showing up in St. Pete and Tampa, so I imagine that the exotic fish will be up this far in a few years. I fish for pretty much any species of fish, and with very few exceptions, I practive C&R, so I’ll welcome new species.
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