When I've used a popping cork while wading or drifting I almost always have used live shrimp, but have also used dead shrimp. Thinking about trying something like Gulp shrimp, DOA shrimp, or artificial shrimp tails with a piece of Fishbites. I was also thinking of trying one of the DOA Deadly Combo varieties too. My question is how good do artificials work under a rattle/popping cork rig as opposed to real live or dead shrimp? Any success stories or advice any of you can share would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

If the Fish are active/feeding, they will SMASH a Artificial. Gulp, D.O.A. Shrimp/Popping Cork combo can be deadly.

Sand eel behind a mauler cork is very effective on the flats. Or over shell reefs, or cuts, or sand bars....

they definitely work. Do they work better than meat? no, but they work good enough to save that $20 /qt. If you get on fish and have confidence then plastics will work on most occasions just fine. The art is getting on the fish and staying with them and casting to where those fish are ...both with or without the cork will work, many times i put on a peg float just to see if the fish are in the upper part of the water column.

How to work them..
redfish i use a small 1" or 2" popping cork with a gulp... Hackberry Rod and gun turned me on to this one. It works great for redfish. Chug it and make it sound like a redfish blowup...
The oval click cork works great as well for reds.

For trout i like the mauler style cigar click corks. mix it up and make it sound like a shrimp with a click and double click... moderate pace with some stops all the way to slow with stops between clicks.

I will be reincorporating this method this weekend when I take my father fishing. Used to fish a cork a lot, but have gotten away from it the last couple of years.

we use a alameda 3" rattler with gulp shrimp with very good success. it's not that much cheaper than shrimp though. the newer gulp is softer than the old ones and tears up easily.

Tandem speck rigs work well under a popping cork too.

yep - they work - experiment and have FUN !!!

Thanks for all the info guys. Picked up some 3" Gulp shrimp in Natural and New Penny colors. Gonna wade Shamrock Cove or East Flats in Port Aransas this coming weekend once the winds subside.

Gulp new penny shrimp under popping cork is a great combo

I was using plastics with DOA popper and Cajun thunder popper and have noticed that I seem to get better results with live shrimp. But then again my results are kind of limited to fishing current in the Pack Channel. No boat yet so limted to shore fishing. Just started fishing the Island spots this past September.

I was using plastics with DOA popper and Cajun thunder popper and have noticed that I seem to get better results with live shrimp. But then again my results are kind of limited to fishing current in the Pack Channel. No boat yet so limted to shore fishing. Just started fishing the Island spots this past September.

I caught my first speck off popping cork this afternoon.
(I'm still kinda new to salt fishing)
I was at Clear Lake Park. near the docks off mud lake.
First time poppin cork produced for me.
http://www.fishingscout.com/blerts/0CyvQx

excellent !

excellent ! that's a start