Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

My 2nd popper, hackle getting little better. my wife painted this to. What can I use that's better than marabou for popper's?

Rating:
  • Currently 0/5 stars.

Views: 155

Albums: Flies

Comment

You need to be a member of Bluegill - Big Bluegill to add comments!

Join Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on December 14, 2013 at 9:45pm
Okay thanks, Mark!
Comment by Mark Stine on December 14, 2013 at 9:32pm

Dave I think the "classic" dressing is several rooster hackles (saddle) with a collar of palmered saddle hackle. which is what you will normally get if you buy a popper in the store. What's nice about tying your own you can mix it up add some crystal flash or flashabou to whatever material you pick and the collar can be changed too cactus/ice chenille makes a pretty good one. I painted 28 poppers today three large pencil poppers in bass colors, 12 in gill colors and 12 glow in the dark pencil poppers all are going to be fish imitators and will get marabou tails with a palmered hackle(s) as a collar 

Comment by carl hendrix on December 14, 2013 at 7:10pm

great looking popper!  your wife did a great job painting to!!

Comment by DAVID L EITUTIS on December 14, 2013 at 6:43pm

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSUPER LOOKING BUG BUDDY.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on December 14, 2013 at 6:36pm
Mark, being the popper man you are, what do you consider the "universal" dressing
for a popper?
Comment by Mark Stine on December 14, 2013 at 6:23pm

Nice popper!  marabou is a good dressing for the tail.  Generally I choose it if I am imitating something that swims, like a minnow. If I want to imitate a bug I will choose a different dressing like calf tail, buck tail, or saddle hackles (I use strung hackle when I use it on poppers to keep the cost low). I have even cut small patches of hair from zonker strips or used a short rabbit strip as a dressing.  If I see a bunch of damsel/dragon flies in the area I would use the popper with some saddle hackle.  If I can match the colors to what the gills are smackin I will do that first next I would go for the dark/light versus the time of day. That popper dropper can be Killer sometimes I get it tangled up though. I am working on some pencil poppers will post a pic when they are done.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on December 14, 2013 at 5:48pm
David, I use gurgle pops almost exclusively, as opposed to poppers.
These are foam beetle-type poppers...you could call them "popping bugs."
I tie the dropper nymph to the bend of the gurgleRd' hook. This keeps the dropper from tangling, when tied in the usual way at the eye.
The secret is using a double clinch knot, aka, a Trilene knot, drawn tight. This holds the dropper fly back and away from the popping bug. 4# fluorocarbon its the way to go for the dropper.
Comment by Allen Morgan on December 14, 2013 at 4:33pm

David, I have done that.  And yes, it does work.  That tactic works with any fly the floats, and has enough floatation to suspend a nymph of some kind.  My typical rig is a popper with a nymph dropper, a grasshopper with a nymph dropper, and in early Spring, a Deer-Hair Caddis with a Scud dropper.

I've also heard of have a smaller popper or Grasshopper, and bigger (not necessarily heavier) baitfish pattern as a dropper.  Twitch it fairly fast.  Other fish think the baitfish pattern is chasing the topwater bug.  Depending on the other fish in the area, they may hit the bug (competing sunfish), or in the case of LMBs and other predators, the baitfish pattern.

Comment by David 'PcolaPaddler' on December 14, 2013 at 1:39pm

I have read that a popper with a subsurface fly on a dropper is a good tactic.  I have only tried it once or twice, but plan to give it some more water time.  The popper can be larger to attract bass and act as a strike indicator / float to keep the subsurface fly at a controlled depth.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on December 3, 2013 at 7:06pm

Popper as search tool. Hmmm, that has the makings of a good tactic.

Latest Activity

Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
6 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
6 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Joe and I got in a morning trip ahead of the heat wave….a mix of 64 fish with mostly Coppernose in a sandy creek channel…..82 degree water…"
6 hours ago
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Colorado Spinner gets 3 species

"Sorry Bruce! A before Coffee reply to your question was addressed to Dick! Giving these Colorado…"
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Always Calm Behind Heavy Thunderstorms…..6/17/2025

"Thanks Marvin…..it’s beautiful area very close to the Atlantic Ocean……I…"
yesterday
Bruce Tomaselli commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Colorado Spinner gets 3 species

"Good job. Catching fish on your own creations is more exciting."
Thursday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Colorado Spinner gets 3 species

"Generic I guess, Dick. Assembled from one #12 hook two small barrel swivels, a small spinner blade…"
Thursday
dick tabbert commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Colorado Spinner gets 3 species

"got to love them spinners"
Thursday
Marvin Morgan commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Always Calm Behind Heavy Thunderstorms…..6/17/2025

"What a serene place to drop a line!! Looks like a place I sure would like to put my little flat…"
Thursday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Always Calm Behind Heavy Thunderstorms…..6/17/2025

"Understand Bruce….live near a cabbage farmer and saw them picking them…"
Thursday
Bruce Tomaselli commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Always Calm Behind Heavy Thunderstorms…..6/17/2025

"We've had nothing but rain here in south-central, PA. The farmers can't plant and…"
Wednesday
Bruce Tomaselli commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Colorado Spinner gets 3 species

"Nice, John. Is that a generic name or the name of the spinner?"
Wednesday
John Sheehan posted a photo

Colorado Spinner gets 3 species

So far this year, this little cost-effective Colorado spinner has gotten many a Bluegill as well as…
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Got a window this morning after all the storms the last four days…water falling on the coastal marsh was a beneficial thing with the crappie"
Tuesday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Wanaque river Trout

"Thanks Guys,a leaper from the fast water always excites!"
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Good Shoulders. On this One….6/12/2025

"Thanks wag….I imagine the summer heat has set in down in Louisiana!"
Tuesday
wag commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Monday

© 2025   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service