How do you properly fish a hulapopper?
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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at 11:46 pm and is filed under Fishing Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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on February 9th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
MADELEINE
Simply toss it in the river.
on February 11th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
ESSERY
reel it in a bit, then jerk it for the “pop” reel it in a bit and repeat untill the bass is pissed off enough to attack it.
on February 14th, 2009 at 7:26 am
THORNE
get a boat, a fishing pole, a beer (maybe 2?), and a life (^_^)….can we say owned?!?!….Hence my name (imma ownyah).
on February 15th, 2009 at 10:34 am
DESIREE
Cast it out. Let it set still untill the waves it created are gone. Give it a twitch, let it set, twitch. Experiment with how hard and fast your retrieve is untill you get hits. good luck.
on February 17th, 2009 at 3:35 am
CHARLIE
Which ever retrieve brings results. Seriously, you have to experiment with different retrieves, until you get one that brings the fish. Cast it near any form of cover, let the lure sit until the ripples dissipate, and then pop it. I start with a steady retrieve of small pops, and move up to a very slow retrieve with loud gurgles. They 1st key is fishing the hula popper with cloudy skies, and calm water. The 2nd key is the cover. Casting near cover will draw a reaction strike, or a strike out of anger, for the hula popper is invading the bass’s territory. Pay attention to the sound of the pop’s you are making as the bass strikes the lure, as well as the cadence. Most often the same retrieve will draw multiple strikes. If a bass strikes at the lure, but misses, keep popping. I have had some of the nicest bass I’ve yet to catch slash at a pop-r, miss, and re-strike at the lure, the second or third time making a connection. If a bass slaps at the lure, you need a color change, or a size change. When the bass takes the bait, wait a second until the lure is out of site, otherwise you will pull the bait from the bass’s mouth, instead of getting a solid hook set. Have fun and tight lines.
on February 19th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
BELDEN
There are two basic types of poppers, one pops or chugs and the other spits.
One of the first widely marketed surface poppers was the Hula Popper. The Hula Popper was designed to imitate a frog and the addition of a skirt separated it from most other surface poppers.
All of the original Hula Poppers were made of wood, as were most of the original topwaters. Today only one or two lure companies still make their surface lures out of wood, virtually all are now molded from hard plastics.
The chugger style popping plug worked much like the Hula Popper. However, it was designed and colored to imitate an injured fish. Although both the Hula Popper and Chugger would spit water out in front, both made a fairly loud pop in the process.
The spitting type surface lure came along in the late 1970’s, some 30 years after the Hula Popper and Chugger type plugs. The Pop-R was among the first spitters. Instead of making a loud pop, the Pop-R would pop and also spit water several feet in front of the lure at the same time.
The shape and angle on the face of these three plugs determined how they functioned and the sound they made on the water’s surface. All of these lures came in a variety of sizes with the 3- to 4-inch, with 1/4- to 1/ 2-ounce sizes being the most popular. AU three lures are still marketed, and avidly fished, today.
The Pop-R type lure has been most frequently copied and is used more by modem anglers. Shad or sunfish colors are more popular on the Pop- R, while frog colors are still popular for the Hula Popper.
All of the above lures are now marketed with rattles inside the bodies for added attraction. Some of the Pop-R knockoffs made in Japan and other places have specialized paint jobs and special feathers on the rear treble hook and can cost more than $20 each. Light action rod and reel combos are best for presenting and working popping lures. A pistol-gripped rod will save a lot of wear and tear on your wrist. Line weights from 10- to 17-pound tests will perform best.
The lure is cast along side an object such as a tree, rock, dock, etc. and allowed to rest a few seconds. Then using your wrist either sharply, or lightly, you “pop” the plug two or three times. Then you allow the lure to rest for 10 to 30 seconds. This series of jerks is continued about half-way back to the boat.
Old-timers believe you should wait for all the small waves from the lure to subside before starting your action following your cast. This may or may not be the truth, since many of your strikes will occur during the time the plug is being actively popped.
You need to experiment with the degree and intensity of popping needed to attract fish to the lure. On some occasions one very slight pop may be sufficient. On another occasion pop ping the lure all the way back to the boat as fast as you can may do the trick.
Bass can be brought up from depths of over 30 feet in clear water from the action of surface poppers.
Bass feeding at the surface are caught most frequently during low-light periods. During the first or last hour of daylight, topwater action can be sensational on some waters. Generally the clearer the water, the better the topwater action. Also the quieter the water, the better the topwater action. Boating activity can kill a topwater bite quicker than any other disturbance.
Schooling activity can circumvent the light intensity factor. Anytime you see schooling activity, tie on a shad topwater imitation and you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.