DIY Popping Cork

Here's one of my latest projects. I want to try a popping cork with some Zoom tiny flukes. It would seem a popping cork is a saltwater type of thing but that won't stop me.


What we have here is a synthetic wine cork. Stainless safety wire. An aluminum rivet head. Three plastic beads off some costume jewelry I found. Red bead off a crappie rig found out at the lake.

Cork was drilled through. 1/8" bit. The aluminum rivet head was inserted into the bottom of the cork. Safety wire with a loop wound in it. After trying different bead setups. The three beads together give a nice rap sound when bounced against the rivet head in the cork.

A vintage drop sinker finishes it off. Another loop to complete it.

I need to do some water testing using a bucket. Making sure the wine cork can hold the weight of the rig and a small 1/8 ounce jig head. Maybe a 1/16 ounce if the other is too heavy.

Too big of weight because it's sitting too low. It's holding a 1/16 of an ounce jig head. I'm not sure about the plastic wine cork.

So the sinker is getting changed out to a lighter weight. A real cork instead of the plastic one.

I got a bunch of wire. Corrections are easy.

Done. The sinker was cut in half. Real wine cork. Tested with a 1/8 ounce.

Floats about a 1/4" above the water.

fun

I need to make rig that'll hold two or three jig heads to use alone or with the popping cork. Made with wire.

I have two types of wire. One being the AFW, 20# test, 7 strand wire. The other is sourced through Hobby Lobby. Soft Flex it's called. Nylon coated, 49 strand, 26# test. The Soft Flex is much more...flexible then the AFW. Smaller diameter too.

First design. Nothing has been crimped yet. Just seeing if it'll tangle up. If the tiny fluke has enough room to bounce around. Weights of the jig heads.

This will probably be the setup. Using the stiffer AFW 7 strand.

Lesser material used is better.....

Yes Sir, I'm trying to keep it as simple as I can. Jig heads switched out. Spaced apart. I do believe it's ready to crimp. It'll be ok if it doesn't work. I hope it does. Anyway, there's like a total of around $3 bucks in parts.

It's not going to work. It has a serious flaw.

If a fish bites the top jig. It's going to pull cable to where it will kink the cable by pulling it against the sleeve. It'll flatten out the top loop. Basically folding it down. Then during the second use. The top loop will tangle on the main line. Making it worthless. A gamble to if a fish will even hook through all the tangle.

I spent hours on this. Back to the drawing board. Luckily I didn't crimp anything.

This is how the leader made out. Went back to simple. The metal beads came off a Strike King spinner, someone lost out at the lake. Hook rusted dull. So it got cut up for parts.

Final design. Double drop shot. 1/8 ounce tungsten. The Soft Flex cable.

I'm going to be running this thing by itself at first. Then tried with a cork.

I don't want to put something on the forum, that either doesn't work or it's junk.


Went fishing today. This rig was my main, 'Lure'. I ran it deep to where the sinker dragged the bottom. Middle of the water table and surface. Even got it snagged solid on a Belton rock. It had to be pulled out by the pole handle. What snagged was the crimp sleeve hold the sinker. Zero damage anywhere on the rig. It's the bees knees fishing on rock.

Used both soft plastics in the picture. The pattle tail worked the best because they provided a tiny bit of drag. The shad looking ones, worked, but the feeling on retrieve is bland. Both baits swam as designed.

I guess I can call the first leader made as a prototype.

Took a trip to Hobby Lobby. After standing there watching women pick at the shelves like chickens on feed. I bought a small tube of glass beads. They call them, 'Seed Beads'. Flat black in color. Also checked the price of another roll of Soft Flex. $15 for 30 feet. And wouldn't you know it. Berkley has their own line of 'bead wire'. Bright red box without a picture of a fish on it.

Then Wallyworld for some Gamakatsu, drop shot hooks, size #1. Plus a package of pattle tail Zoom.

I noticed the first rig being rather lightweight. It'd cast pretty decent on a Spinning, 7'1" medium fast, St Croix. 20# braid. No mono leader. Meaning there was room for another hook. Or I could have used my lighter pole.

(Edit to add, This rig is not meant for Big mouth. It's meant for Stripe/hybrid, Small mouth. I guess it could be used for Crappie but this was designed to specifically fish Belton Lake.)

Last design on the popping cork. 1/8 tungsten. Two brass beads. This is all it'll ever be.

Catch anything on it? When you do, let us know what. My fishing partner and I talk about how many saltwater fish we catch on the poppin cork and why bass shouldn't bite it as well - but he has tried quite a bit and, so far, not a thing.

Appears that I need to drink more wine !! Nice work !! Your efforts remind me of Richard Gene " the fishing machine " .