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!!!

Kelkay,
those look great!!!!

Great job!

Thanks guys. I appreciate it. TCF please post a pic of your poppers. I don't hate my poppers now, just the way they were previously. If you had seen then, you would understand. The paint was all bubbled up on the yellow ones, and then the thin paint pen I used on the green ones left marks all over it. I just need to eliminate what doesn't work, and keep what does. I started tying flies in Jan. This is my second attempt at poppers. I can send a pic of my first one, it is a plain Jane yellow one, but I thought I did a good job on it.

Kelly

Looks like you kept after it and got the final result you were looking for. Those are lovely, just lovely. And don't worry too much about the number of legs you get in them, that is more for your sense of aesthetic than the fish who will murder those poppers if they are in a popper murdering mood!

Thanks Robin, that does make me feel better. I will post more pics later.

Kellkay,
Those are gorgeous. And they might even inspire me to try doing some poppers...

Thank you Gray. I have put feathers on two of them, not too happy with the results. When I get them all finished up, hopefully in a little while, I will post pics of the completed ones. I also will post another pic of other flies I've done lately.

Kelkay: Your poppers look great. I wish mine turned out as well. You can buy three foot long sticks of balsa wood at hobby stores and use them to form bodies with a little sandpaper. Paint till you are happy with them and then get some of the Devcon epoxy while in Walmart for about 2 bucks. I prefer the 2 ton, but you can use the 5 minute if you prefer. Using the epoxy takes a little while to get used to. After you get it mixed, cover the popper with the epoxy and grip the hook of the bug with a clothes pin so that you can turn it over as the epoxy sags. This will add a bit more durability to the bug. If you get some epoxy in the eye of the hook, don't worry about it for now. When thru, heat a bodkin and burn out any epoxy in the eye of the hook. If you don't get the mix correct then the epoxy will be permenantly tacky and the only fix that I know of is to simply cover the whole mess with Sally's Hard As Nails.

You can go nuts of this stuff if you like...I had a friend that would go on a hard body jag about every three or four years and we would get used to it. We would all spend about a month building poppers till we were all sick of them and then in about another three or four years we would do it again. Mike would even get out the air brush and fire up the compressor in the garage to paint them.

One year at Rendezvous, Walt spent three days building a dozen bluegill poppers in size 14 made out of balsa and each with 14 coats of paint. He spent three days to make a dozen of those precious flies. This fly tying Is a sickness I tell you.

It is a great hobby to play with when it is too hot to go fishing as long as you don't count the cost or the time.

Big Dale

Thanks Big Dale, sure sounds like a weekend job at least. I move slow as molasses....LOL. I appreciate all that you put into that post, it helps a lot.

Okay these were two of the best ones from today. I was running out of hackle, saddle hackle, and feathers for the poppers. The feathers I am using are left over from the bass fly tying kit, except the grizzly hackle, which I bought on clearance. Fly tying can be expensive, don't let anybody tell you any different! But it sure can be fun, and challenging at the same time.

awesome looking poppers bro!!!!

those look very nice & professional (bro)

Thanks for the compliment builderal, but I am a woman...no problem you had no idea. That is why badassbaits is laughing...cause he knows I'm a woman...so I guess it is sis....hehehe. It's all good...

Awsome Sis!!! I'm very impressed (and a little jealous).

Well thanks TCF. That was very nice of ya. Notice I just showed you the best two...that's cause the others weren't as good....hehehe. Now we gotta see how they fish soon!

I am curious for those who use epoxy...I have some 5 min I think...Devcon that I have been afraid to use so far. Does this type of epoxy stick in the hot summer heat outside say in 100 deg weather? I am just wondering because I am thinking of trying to do another type of popper, but not sure which coating I want to use. (I had a fly that I made at the beginning of my tying experience back in the winter...I cannot remember what I coated it with...but it was sticking in my tackle box in HOT weather.) It may of been the head cement, heck I can't remember. I have CRS syndrome at times.

What I would do is coat a test popper with some of that stuff, leave it in the car a few days and see what it does.

Good idea, man that would sure test the limits alright.

Kelkay, Those are some purdy poppers for sure and I know the time invested in one of those poppers truly makes them painful to lose That is why I like the ear plug foam popper. I can make 5 to 10 an hour and have done so at the last BVFF club meeting. I know that it's probably less artful and a more practical way to build a popper but it doesn't hurt much to lose one I have wondered what a coating of epoxy would do to the foam and will find out shortly . Keep up the good work Kel, its a good skill to know!

HLS, you have inspired ME with your poppers. That is what made me want to attempt them in the first place. I have plans to make your ear plug popper. I also saw a video on You Tube on ear plug poppers. I think I will have to go to the store and pick up some ear plugs. I always love seeing your flies. Let me know how the epoxy holds up for you! You are right about them being a painful fly to lose, because they are very time consuming. I think it is time for an ear plug popper now.....hehehe.

it appears that popper-mania has grasped many on this site, earlier this year I bought a bag of foam cylinders on eBay and have more than I can possibly use, so the first 3 people to send me a PM with address will get seven of the foam cylinders, they are 7/16" diameter and a hair over 1 1/2" long, sliced up they probably good for 3 poppers a piece...sooo party on....popper-pa-looza

PM SENT......hehehe.

YEAH I got number two position. I can hardly wait to get them! :-)

2 down...next pm gets the last ones

I have never had a problem with the epoxy getting sticky due to the Texas heat...and I have a black pickup. The only time I have had a problem with it being sticky is when I mix a little too much of the hardner in the mix. The Devcon 5 minute has been reported to yellow in time but not the 30 minute epoxy. It only takes about a minute longer for the 30 minute epoxy to reach the point that it no longer sags, so that is the kind I use the most. It is also kind of fun to put a couple of drops of lacquer or acrylic paint into the epoxy mixture to get a beautiful and very tough cover for your bug.

If you are going to try testing the epoxy in the Texas heat of the car then you might also try an experiment using Sallys Hard As Nails for the final coat.

I also bought one of those little 7 buck bottles of Loons Hard Head in clear and thin it with rubbing alcohol to use as a final coat. You also have to rotate this for a few minutes, but it makes a beautiful and hard final coat. I find using epoxy to be a pain in the butt, so I use the Loons Hard Head most often. It also makes a beautiful final coat for painted heads on streamers.

Both Loon Hard Head and the epoxy are best done using a fly turner while they are drying but they are expensive to buy or a pain in the butt to build. You can sometimes find a little 4 to 10 rpm motor at an electronics supply store, or modify one taken from a microwave or barbeque to build one. I suspect that others will chime in with their ideas on what has worked for them.

Big Dale

Thanks Brimbum. Yes I have already tried Sally's Hard As Nails on these last poppers I've made. The coat is awesome looking. Now I guess I need to try them in the hot vehicle...Well, I will try ONE...hate for all that hard work to go to waste...hehehe.

I do not have a fly turner. I have to have that to use epoxy or it will sag?

Kelly you need to try them on the fish instead of your car.

Hehehe...EXCELLENT point there Clifford.

The epoxy will sag, but as an alternative to a turner, you can put the hook in a clotherpin and simply turn it over when it starts to sag. Do that a few times and then it will quit. They call it 5 minute for a reason, but the 30 minute stuff only sags for about a minute longer.

It just takes a little getting used to. Like a lot of tying materials, it takes them a little while to train us.

Big Dale