Poppers

[GrumpyBloke]

I have never used poppers before but would like to try them on hols in the Gambia next week.:yeah:
Can someone recommend a make that is strong enough to survive Barracuda without the hooks straightening.

[Fly Caster]

I should think the storm chug bug will be up to it the trebles on mine are pretty meaty if you think they are not strong enough then why not buy some heavier gauge ones and put them on yourself.

[mickeythemackeral]

Listen if you start tlakin about poppers on a forum the drug squad will track you down :O:D jokes lol
I dont really knwo much about plugs but good luck in gambia ;)

[Fly Caster]

Listen if you start tlakin about poppers on a forum the drug squad will track you down :O:D jokes lol
I dont really knwo much about plugs but good luck in gambia ;)

hahaha:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Asp]

Upgunn the trebles yourself, use a short length of wire as a snood to a swivel.
In any event they wont last too long, not with Cuda' hitting them. Long enough to get you some sport though. Good luck.

asp.

[GrumpyBloke]

Thanks , will check local shop in morning and take some stronger trebles just in case.

[Kingfish81]

Have a look at the yo-zuri hydro poppers. Quite a few on ebay... Good solid trebles on them... :)

[GrumpyBloke]

Just got back , cant comment on the poppers I took as it was to rough and dirty all trip.Will try again in November.

[PanamaJack]

Have a look at the yo-zuri hydro poppers. Quite a few on ebay... Good solid trebles on them... :)

They also have the additional advantage of being through wired.

Just back to GrumpyBloke's original enquiry, and I know it's too late for this trip - he's back, but there's always the next trip - but have you thought about using tube lures for Barracuda? They're a length of surgical rubber tubing about a foot long, through wire rigged with two trebles with a barrel lead in the head end to provide casting weight. In silhouette, and if cranked quickly they resemble Needlefish, one of the Barracuda's favourites.

I've certainly found them very effective, especially in shallow waters in the Bahamas.

Unfortunately I've yet to find a source in this country. It might worth be trying Veals of Bristol though or finding someone that's going to Florida.
Dave

[lucky]

The Halco Roosta Poppers are supposed to be quite tough. They're made in Australia but I'm pretty sure you can order them from the States.

[PanamaJack]

The Halco Roosta Poppers are supposed to be quite tough. They're made in Australia but I'm pretty sure you can order them from the States.

Hi Lucky
The Aussies use them for smaller GTs which will certainly test most connections! There's a bit on this thread about them - http://www.bluewatermag.com.au/feb05feature2.asp. And our 'enry (Gilbey) has similarly targeted Barracuda on the Bahamian flats on Halco poppers albeit, I suspect, not with the Roosta - http://www.henry-gilbey.co.uk/essay_bahamas.html.

I'm similarly not aware of any UK stockists for the Halco range but I know that one of the French tackle shops - Sebile's in Caen (Normandy) - which has an on-line ordering service does. They've currently got 40% off the Roostas - down to 12.60 Euros. There seems to be a minimum order size though to qualify for free postage. Unfortunately there's no English translation on the site so it's either back to school days (in my case) or Babelfish on http://www.altavista.com's home page!
Dave

[lucky]

Hi Dave - do you have a link to Sebile's site? A search on Google didn't throw up anything.

[PanamaJack]

Hi Lucky
It's amazing the way something like Google can create seemingly differing lists, but here's Sebile's site - http://www.alfos-peche.com/catalogue-halco-33.html.

A number of other French sites though do seem to stock them:

http://www.ultimatefishing.fr//index.php?catid=20_187_188_199

http://www.leurres-peche.com/r51_p631_s/Roosta-Popper.html?page=

http://www.megapeche.com/e_commerce/fiche.cfm?produit_id=2202&cat_id=46

And I even picked up an Italian one in my blunderings - http://www.cacciaepescatognini.it/pesca.php?id_tipologia=14&id_sottotipologia=41!
Dave

[doug]

Panama Jack. Ref tube lures for Barracuda. I make my own.

Get a lenth of heavy duty earth cable

Cut it to a foot long & slice it down the middle.

Get a large treble hook, a 6/0 single hook, a barrle lead 1/2oz should and large swivel. join all 4 together with wire I run the wire through the eye of the single and whip it to the shank then super glue it. make sure the single is halfway along the tube.

Place the mount inside the the length of cable superglue the two halves togeter.

Cheap and Barracuda can't seem to resist the green/yellow colour.

[PanamaJack]

Hi Doug
That certainly sounds effective and cheap. I have to say I normally stock up with a few each time I'm in the 'States. And red's also a colour that works for me.

I suspect watching Barracuda 'nail' Needlefish it's the speed of retrieve that provokes the strike. Occasionally you can see them, when they’re not particularly hungry but still curious, ‘cruising’ behind the lure with just the odd tail flick. Slow down and they lose interest, speed up and sometimes – very occasionally – they’ll strike. But normally they spot the boat and veer off. Although I remember one that was so focussed he stay with it and it was only when I whipped the rod tip around the transom that he spooked and leaped clear of the water. They’re a lot better gamefish than many people give them credit for.

I normally try and land the lure 20 to 25’ away from a cruising fish and, as I said, wind fast. Once however I was Bonefishing (with the fly) on the remote Westside of Andros (Bahamas) – I was on the front – when we spotted a really big cruising fish. My boat partner who was a ‘dyed in the wool’ ‘fluff chucker’ picked up my light spin rod – 6lb test – and attached one of my tube lures. After several abortive casts he landed the lure where we’d told him. But he never had the chance to come tight! There was just an explosion of water – the strike was so savage that the line just broke. I suspect it was around about the size of this one - http://www.scbi.org.uk/pages/News_WhatsNewNfc200403.asp - that one of our Club members caught in the Seychelles. (You’ll need to scroll a reasonable way down that particular web page.)
Dave

[lucky]

Hi Dave - thanks for those links but you also might be interested in one I'e just come across. It's a tackle shop called Campbells Pro Tackle in Western Australia - here's the link http://www.campbellsprotackle.com/store/cats/lures.asp#cat40 They do the Roosta 105 (30gm) for A$12.95 and the Roosta 135 (48gm) for A$13.95- it says 60gm on their site but that must be a typo, I'm sure they're 48gm. They also stock the big 115gm Haymaker version. If you ordered a few the postage from Oz probably wouldn't be that much but I haven't checked out their postage rates yet. The lures however, priced in Aussie dollars, are quite a bit cheaper than even the discounted ones from Sebiles. You can order on-line.

Cheers.

[PanamaJack]

Hi Dave - thanks for those links but you also might be interested in one I'e just come across. It's a tackle shop called Campbells Pro Tackle in Western Australia - here's the link http://www.campbellsprotackle.com/store/cats/lures.asp#cat40 They do the Roosta 105 (30gm) for A$12.95 and the Roosta 135 (48gm) for A$13.95- it says 60gm on their site but that must be a typo, I'm sure they're 48gm. They also stock the big 115gm Haymaker version. If you ordered a few the postage from Oz probably wouldn't be that much but I haven't checked out their postage rates yet. The lures however, priced in Aussie dollars, are quite a bit cheaper than even the discounted ones from Sebiles. You can order on-line.

Cheers.

Hi Lucky
Well done! Perhaps you could post again once you've found out what their postage rates are.

Once thing I haven't been able to establish, and I've even tried looking at the Halco web site - http://www.halcotackle.com/roosta_135.asp - is whether they're 'through wired'. I suspect the 135 and Haymaker must be - they certainly have upgraded hooks and split rings. But I'm uncertain about the smaller 105. Any idea?

Looking at the Campbell's e-commerce site I notice they also stock the Tremblers. (I've used the 'giant' one very effectively for Wahoo - it vibrates and has got a very tight action when trolled at 7 to 9 knots.) In its smaller sizes I wonder how effective it might be as a casting lure, fished sub surface? That said I might even be tempted to try some as Pike lures in the faster rivers - like the Avon and Stour - for Pike. They'd almost fish by themselves.
Dave

[Henry Gilbey]

I have found no popper yet that "pops" like the Halco ones, at times it is quite alarming how much water they spit out in front of them.................not sure about them being through-wires, but I kind of imagine that if they are god enough for some big Aussie fish, they are good enough for us.

The lures work, plain and simple.

[Marcus]

i tried poppers in school..got into alot of trouble for them!..turned me into a right pleb they did!..going bright red and dribbling..

"Whats new i hear you say!!"..

Yeah yeah..

Marcus

[lucky]

i tried poppers in school..got into alot of trouble for them!..turned me into a right pleb they did!..going bright red and dribbling..

So that's how you became a Moderator eh Marcus.

I'll try and find out about those postage rates for you Dave.

[Marcus]

are you implying you need to be red faced and dribbling to become a moderator??..

In which case,you are correct!

[lucky]

are you implying you need to be red faced and dribbling to become a moderator??..

In which case,you are correct!
That's very reassurring Marcus - Dave I've emailed Campbells about their overseas postage rates - hopefully I'll get a reply overnight.

[transporter boy]

I have never used poppers before but would like to try them on hols in the Gambia next week.:yeah:
Can someone recommend a make that is strong enough to survive Barracuda without the hooks straightening.

Liquid gold is good, so i've been told.:) :) :) :) :) :)

[lucky]

Dave I've now heard back from Campbells in Oz. I asked them for a price on sending approximately 300gms (about eight lures) to the UK. Here is their reply:

"EMS post courier would be AU$50.
Standard AIR MAIL (no tracking) would be AU$24 and Economy air (10-14 day) AU$20."

There's currently about A£2.50 to the UK pound so A$24 Standard Air Mail would be about £9.50. I've also emailed Halco and asked whether their 105, 135 and 175 lures are all through wired but am yet to have a reply.

Cheers

[PanamaJack]

Thanks Lucky, those rates aren't too bad. And I suspect with half a dozen lures Customs and Excise aren't going to get too excited over Duty and VAT.
Dave

[lucky]

Once thing I haven't been able to establish, and I've even tried looking at the Halco web site - http://www.halcotackle.com/roosta_135.asp - is whether they're 'through wired'. I suspect the 135 and Haymaker must be - they certainly have upgraded hooks and split rings. But I'm uncertain about the smaller 105. Any idea?
Hi Dave - I've now heard back from Halco and apparently none of the Roosta Poppers are through wired. Here's their reply....

"None of the Roosta range are through wired but we have never had a failure in regard to the hook hangers or towing point. For example the biggest lure in the range – the 195 Haymaker was tested and we could not pull out the eyelets with our testing gear that goes to 200kg, so we figure it’s strong enough."

I think they'll probably do for my purposes.

[PanamaJack]

Hi Dave - I've now heard back from Halco and apparently none of the Roosta Poppers are through wired. Here's their reply....

"None of the Roosta range are through wired but we have never had a failure in regard to the hook hangers or towing point. For example the biggest lure in the range – the 195 Haymaker was tested and we could not pull out the eyelets with our testing gear that goes to 200kg, so we figure it’s strong enough."

I think they'll probably do for my purposes.

Hi Lucky
Point taken! Mine also. Yo-Zuri tend to rely on their 'through wiring' - connecting the 'towing' to the hook eyelets with their saltwater poppers which again I'm comfortable with.

That all said I remember once with a 2 1/2 hour fight on 16lb test, that we ended up pushing to the 'max', with a 120lb plus Tarpon - in the Pacific off the coast of Panama - on a Rapala Sliver. That amazingly stayed intacked. In the end I suspect it the line got cut through on the edge of its gill plate.

I guess a lot of it's balancing your tackle and, if necessary, using upgraded hooks and split rings.
Dave

[ms1000]

The tube lures that are used for Barracuda could be made easily using silicone.

The translucencey of the silicone would mimic needlefish perfectly and would maybe work better without the waited head and "skipped" through the first metre and across the water. If anyone has seen needlefish chased theyd know what i mean there.

Im going to the garage to make some prototypes,ill post up some pics of the effort and all the fish i dont catch!

[sabretooth]

i have a few chug bugs, is it possible to fish them off a boat and how would you reccomend fishing them?
dave

[PanamaJack]

i have a few chug bugs, is it possible to fish them off a boat and how would you reccomend fishing them?
dave

Hi Sabletooth
I guess from an overseas perspective - the original thread was enquirying about fishing poppers for Barracuda - they look a tad on the light side. And I've no experience of fishing them.

That said though they were originally designed by Storm for freshwater Largemouth Bass fishing. And you usually need to fish those close to dense cover, so I'm sure they're robust enough especially for Bass-ing in this country. My only concern would be with the hooks. Are they saltwaterproof?

Any rate there a good article by Steve Butler (of BASS) on this url - http://ukbass.com/downloads/chugbug.pdf. He's describing fishing over shallow marks from the shore, but I'm sure the techniques would equally work casting to structure from a boat.

Just another couple of bits that might be of interest. Firstly a note I picked up from a 'Stateside web site:


Out of the package, I noticed two different factory-installed hook configurations on my Bugs. One Bug had one size smaller hooks than the other Bug. The bigger hook set caused that Bug's tail to sit lower in the water, and was the Bug I used in wind-driven choppy conditions. The other Bug with the size smaller set of hooks sat more horizontal and skated zigzaggedly across the surface better than it dug under and chugged, so I used this Bug during the windless calm periods of the trip. Did the different size hook sets really matter? Who knows. I had confidence and felt I'd have good luck by making that different usage between the two different hook configurations.

Might be of interest if you're trying to fine tune or vary your retrieve?

And then there was this article - http://www.bassfishin.com/article52.htmabout the technique of fishing them in freshwater. Again perhaps there're lessons that can be adapted?
Dave

PS One last point that translucent tail, and the red face, certainly look excellent 'triggers'.

[oakley_ten]

Listen if you start tlakin about poppers on a forum the drug squad will track you down :O:D jokes lol
I dont really knwo much about plugs but good luck in gambia ;)

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

I was gonna say something like 'try a sex shop' you pillow biter, you!'.