Well how are you all doing on making poppers? I am doing a bit better today than yesterday. I went and bought some fabric paint thinking it was the kind with the tip you can squeeze the paint out on......ha. Just the tip was there, no tip applicator. So really I needed a paint brush and couldn't find one around the house. So I decided to go to another hobby shop and bought more paint pens. I dipped the messed up poppers in jig paint, and then let that dry. Then I used the paint pens to make designs on the foam popper. They are drying. I decided to put some big old baby doll eyes on one of the poppers. The eyes may pop off, but they are glued on for now. I plan to go over the whole body with Sally's Hard As Nails when the eyes are all glued, and the paint is dry. Right now they look sort of amateurish to me, but they will have to do. If I am not too embarrassed by the finished products I may post a pic. I made one previously that looks rather nice I think. I haven't used it yet. It took such a long time to get the popper to look good. I am beginning to wonder if they are worth all the work. At least they are ORIGINAL looking........LOLLLLLL.

I have put my poppers on hold untill I develop a sense of what in the hell I'm doing...I'm sure yours look fine, you should see the goofy looking things I'm making, of course the fish probably don't care (do fish laugh ?)...by the way, I used acylic paint on the bodies, I super glue eyes on (even new store bought ones), although I don't think eyes are essential for successful poppering of bass

Well we will have to get together fishing again soon as we can, weather permitting. I will show you my poppers, and you can laugh all ya want. I did better than I thought so far.... but trying to do a Sneaky Pete with legs was too hard. I heated up a needle and ran it into the styrofoam to run the rubber leg through it later. The needle got stuck. Then I did another try and got another one stuck. Threw that popper away and commenced to messing up the next popper body before I decided I didn't need rubber legs running out of the popper....I must watch a You Tube or something to see how they do it. You heat up the needle or bodkin until it turns red...then hurry and put the hole through the popper, and hurry and get the needle OUT, fast, or it will STICK in there like glue. Oh well...at least they look cool so far....since I put on the eyes. I wonder how they will fish.... guess you can be a guinea pig for me.

To me they aren't...can get better that I can make for much cheaper than I can make them at WalMart.

But making your own is special...fortunately the fish don't care.

Agreed. Well at least the foam bodies aren't too much. The paint and supplies can add up when you buy several paint pens though...yikes. BUT, once you do that, the cost factor should go much more in your favor. The problem is...are they worth all this time and attention? I am still trying to decide that. The rest of the flies I have made are fun, and a breeze compared to these poppers...and I am not kidding. The only way to do them is several at a time. The first one or two you can do in a single batch, after that you are just taking too much time that way. Today the poppers who survived the hot needle and bodkin get to get a couple of coats of shiny Sally's Hard As Nails, then they will each get fitted with a wonderful hackle/feather ensemble.

Well my poppers got their second coat of Sally's Hard As Nails. I wouldn't put them in a regular fly box for out in the heat though. I made that mistake before and they will sort of stick to plastic then...does epoxy do the same thing? I think they will be fine for any other weather but summer. Now all I have to do is let the last coat dry, and add feathers...hehehe.

I do know that the bass LOVE Peck's Poppers!!

Yes they do. I have several Peck's Poppers now. They mostly seem to have the rubber legs sticking out for the smaller poppers. I need to be able to figure out how to do that without messing up the popper body. I am going to look on You Tube for help. If anyone has a video on attaching rubber legs to a popper, please post it.

I have a huge needle that I use to run the rubber legs through the foam. I double a piece of leg material, pull it through, and cut it in half at the needle eye. Then I pull it a little less than half way through put a spot of superglue on it and then pull it slightly. Works great. No video, sorry.

Here is what I do Kelkay... Its pretty easy:
- Get a very small drill bit, hold it in you fingers, and drill a hole across the body of the popper. The cork or other popper bodies are so soft you can drill the hole with your fingers.. you dont even need a drill or other tools to do this.
- Once you get the hole drilled, get a real big sewing needle, one with an eye big enough to thread 3 or 4 of the rubber legs through it. Sometimes you have to force the legs though. I do one at a time, and once I get one in, I stretch it to make it thinner and get the next one through the hole. Now when you have 3-4 legs though the eye, pull it so 2/3 the leg is one one side, and 1/3 on the other side of the needle.
- Now stick the needle through the hole you just drilled. Come out the other side, and as you do that, this short 1/3 leg section should have come out the other end as well, and the 2/3 other section is back on the other side. Now pull the legs off the needle,and you are done. I will put a drop of epoxy right at both sides of the holes to keep the legs in place.
and voila' your done!

LOL TCF I guess we were typing the reply at the same time!
Were such a helpful bunch, arent we!

I bought a few big needles, good thing cause two of them are stuck in one popper...lol...Do you not heat your needle? The are hard foam poppers, not like an ear plug that you can just drive a needle through.

Christian, your way sounds easy, but I don't have a drill. In the future if I acquire one, I will use your method.

Kelkay, I think you missed my point. You dont need a drill. The bodies are usually soft enough you can make a hole by just twisting the drill bit using your fingers.

I just love poppers... you guys are inspiring me to tie some more!!!

So a drill bit then? Yes that would work if I had one. I will see how cheap I can get one for, thanks.

ok guys-
1) try looking in your garage and find a can of krylon spray paint - color really isn't very important. it works great - dry's overnight. walmart
2) after you put a coat or 2 of hard as nails add 2 or 3 coats of spray on lacquer - it will make them a lot harder.walmart
3) spray on glitter - walmart/hobby lobby
4) the eye's with the little posts (you have to snip the post)work best and will stay on.
5) a hot needle works great for making holes - then use your thread loop tool to pull it through.
6)model paint (walmart/hobby lobby) is great - lots of colors/brush/thinner- all comes with them.
7) tie the rear feathers or tail on 1st
8) i use a hot glue gun ($2 - hobby lobby) to fill the slot

Sounds good builderal...

Clifford, I thought I had Peck's Poppers...but I have BETT's, and some other brand...not sure if I actually have the Peck's, or the Accardo. (sp?) I may have a couple, may not. I have some of the Ms. Prissy ones too. I know one I have is made of cork and not styrofoam... I have some small corks I could use to make a popper that I got in a bass tying kit...but I never used them yet. I may try them out later. Who sells the Peck's Poppers? I shop at Ganger Mt, and Academy for nearby places. Every now and then I go to BPS. Other than that it is ordering time...which I can't do until I get these computer virus problems cleared up.

Bass Pro sells Peck's Poppers. I use the size #1 popper (large) for bass and cast it on a 6/7-wt rod.

Okay thanks. Next time I go to BPS, I will pick some up. I hate to go there right now cause if I go.....you know I will find so many things I NEED......ROTFL. (want is more like it) I thought my gardening addiction was expensive, but fishing has far and away surpassed that financially now...whew.

Pecks are made/owned/sold by Accardo, without the packaging you can't tell the difference between Betts and Pecks...If you want one that will last (and spend more $$) then I suggest Superfly foam bodied bass popper available at Academy, they are very durable although I usually pull the eyes off & superglue them back on well (although I have caught plenty of fish on eyeless ones)...my problem with balsa and cork is that the paint jobs usually dont last a day of fishing with them. Of course all these are pretty much asthetic points that the fish don't concern themselves with...throw what ya got

I will have to look for them, I don't recall seeing them there. Thanks! I imagine you are right about the cork...my cork fly that I bought got tore up by I guess a fish...and it looks bad. I may of thrown it away, maybe not. I think I will post a pic of my latest creations from the past couple of days or so.

The poppers aren't finished yet with feathers, but here is what I have done so far...

On top are the James Wood Bucktails, then there is a cap spider with funny legs, and then there are the unfinished poppers. Notice I only got one leg in the one popper...I couldn't make myself damage it anymore trying to get another set of legs in...lol. Anyway they look MUCH better today. Yesterday I was ready to toss them in the trash.

If you think those are ugly I'll never post pics of my poppers. Those are looking great!!!