School Me On Top Water Poppers ? 2024
ChrisD46 reply :
For the sake of argument - I'm interested in learning about poppers in say the under $10 range ... Two of the better ones I have read about are the : Booyah Boss Pop (former Zell Pop) and the SK KVD Splash . More often than not - it seems most who throw top water poppers like the smaller sizes (1/4oz. and 2.5" versus the larger 3/8th oz. to 1/2oz. and 3+" sizes) . I'm thinking you would would definitely want a bream colored popper and probably one other (such as bone or shad colored) ... *Any comments regarding the two brand poppers I named (KVD Splash & Booyah Boss Pop ? ... Also what else you look for in a popper (i.e. weight , size , colors , action , how it sits in the water , etc. ? Thanks in advance ... I need to add a popper to my top water game when the water is rougher and spooks are not the best choice .
BassWhole! reply :
On 5/23/2018 at 5:10 AM, ChrisD46 said:For the sake of argument - I'm interested in learning about poppers in say the under $10 range ... Two of the better ones I have read about are the : Booyah Boss Pop (former Zell Pop) and the SK KVD Splash . More often than not - it seems most who throw top water poppers like the smaller sizes (1/4oz. and 2.5" versus the larger 3/8th oz. to 1/2oz. sizes) . I'm thinking you would would definitely want a bream colored popper and probably one other (such as bone or shad colored) ... *Any comments regarding the two brand poppers I named (KVD Splash & Booyah Boss Pop ? ... Also what else you look for in a popper (i.e. weight , size , colors , action , how it sits in the water , etc. ? Thanks in advance ... I need to add a popper to my top water game when the water is rougher and spooks are not the best choice .
Of those 2, Boss Pop for sure.
I have a problem with poppers (the way an addict has a problem with meth). I own pretty much everyone ever made. A while back I came across an article that went in depth into all things poppers, and got a hold of one of Zell Rowland's modified Pop-Rs. The 2 1/2" poppers are best for spitting or splishing. The larger ones work better at blooping, bopping, and walking the dog. I personally hardly ever "pop" a popper. Like most other lures experiment to find what they want on a given day, often less is more, but sometimes A hard rhythmic action is the ticket. Gotta go check to see if I have to tie some feathers on trebles...
Angry John reply :
Never fished either of those two but my cheap bass pro 2$ popper catches a ton of fish. The most inportant part in my opinion is hooks. The st-41s cost more than the popper but it is used more than my pop max because it gets the job done. Poppers that you can also walk is the most important part of the bait. Not all will.
Edited by Angry Johnfishwizzard reply :
I can pop a popper OK, I can walk an easy walking lure OK, but I can't get say a PopMax do either. And for both I have to work it sidearm to get a slow, even cadance. Like every fifth cast I can do it perfectly but I am not seeing what I am doing differently from the other four times. I keep a rod in the car all the time so I want to get better at them as they seem like the perfect after work "technically it's still dusk and the park is open" lures for when I have very limited time and need to cover water.
soflabasser reply :
A good topwater popper is a Rebel Pop-R and they can be found for less than $10 each.
Bluebasser86 reply :
The smaller Boss pop walks great and just seems to be a fish magnet, the KVD not so much, it's more of a straight popper or chugger. My popper selection is pretty simple after trying many of them. I have the smaller sized Boss Pop for my smaller bait, a River2Sea Bubble Walker 80 for my bigger profile walking popper, a Storm Chug Bug for a more of a finesse walking popper because of the thin profile and small cup, and the rarely talked about and increasingly hard to find Norman's Top Dollar that is just a monster when they're keyed on bluegills or shad.
ChrisD46 reply :
Thanks for replies - I better understand what the small vs. larger poppers accomplish ... I'm willing to go up in price if the popper gets the job done - otherwise a few different ones (as Bluebasser86 noted) could be a benefit .
smalljaw67 reply :
I use a popper a good bit and I can agree the Zell pop which is now the Boss Pop is really good. I can tell you that I have a lot of popper and I separate them in 2 different categories, the slow moving chuggers and the fast moving spitters or walkers. The Yo-Zuri 3DB popper and the Storm Rattling Chug Bug do both, the chug bug walks like a spook and chugs like a pop-r, a straight hard downward rip and it will give you that "bloop" sound, a less aggressive rip or a sideways rip and it will spit and move to the side. The Yo-Zuri has a small indent inside the cupped mouth, almost a second mouth if you will. That bait sits level and it is an anomaly among poppers as it walks and spits easier than it chugs but it can do both and the prism colors make it killer for clear water. I like the Rebel Super Pop R as well, it is longer but it only weighs a little over 1/4oz, but that is a chugger, it is very hard to walk the dog and spit but it makes a nice sound and you can keep it in the same spot with small twitches as it doesn't take much to get the sound. For me, getting some good poppers to try out under $10 it would be the Boss Pop, Yo-Zuri 3DB, and the Storm Rattling Chug Bug, all of those work really well and to be honest, those are the main ones I use, my yellow magic has been given to a friend and I traded my Splash-its for some Lucky Craft Pointers and I did it because the other poppers work so well that I don't miss the high end ones.
Jaderose reply :
To me, a popper is about ruckus. I genuinely do not think color matters and I certainly don't think PRICE matters. A Rebel Pop-R or Hula Popper works as good as anything else. You wanna walk the dog, get a Spook.
J Francho reply :
I've caught more fish the past couple years with a Popmax than all other baits combined. It's pricey, but versatile. You can quietly pop it, create a ruckus, or walk it.
ChrisD46 reply :
Appreciate the expert viewpoints - most here have forgotten more about poppers then I will ever know ! ... Still , it's a fun technique / category that I look forward to exploring more . For starters , I plan to get two Boss Pops (Bone Shiner & Bream) , next will be Chug Bugs (not sure which colors ) as I can get both at a local Cabela's to start out with ... There is always TW , etc. to check out some of the other offerings mentioned in time .
Looking for the big one reply :
I love the Rebel Teeny Pop-R for pond fishing, and have gotten some nice 2-4 lb fish on it. It's so small it looks like a grasshopper on the surface, but they hammer it. Like Reason said, finding the right cadence is a matter of figuring out what the fish want. I haven't changed the hooks out on mine because I'm typically dealing with a lot of dinks and am not too worried about losing fish, but I probably should before a big fish decides to bite. ????
Also @reason did you move, I thought you were in Georgia or am I just crazy?
ChrisD46 reply :
A newer popper talked about is the Storm Arashi Cover Pop (Jacob Wheeler) ... For it's size it's tail heavy and can be worked in the strike zone for quite a while - not sure what to make of it yet as it's almost it's own category (compared to other more traditional poppers).
WRB reply :
The Zell Roland modification of the Pop-R was to streamline the body and make it spit at faster retrieve speed in lieu of a popper stop and bloop action retrieve. If you want the loader bloop with slower retrieve the Storm Chug Bug is what you need.
Faster retrieve like panic shad then the streamline versions of Pop- R with feathered rear hook hook is the lure of choice.
Iovino Splash-It comes with Owner chicken feather rear treble, $14 is over your budget but excellent fast retrieve popper.
Tom
ChrisD46 reply :
On 5/24/2018 at 4:49 AM, WRB said:The Zell Roland modification of the Pop-R was to streamline the body and make it spit at faster retrieve speed in lieu of a popper stop and bloop action retrieve. If you want the loader bloop with slower retrieve the Storm Chug Bug is what you need.
Faster retrieve like panic shad then the streamline versions of Pop- R with feathered rear hook hook is the lure of choice.
Iovino Splash-It comes with Owner chicken feather rear treble, $14 is over your budget but excellent fast retrieve popper.
Tom
Thanks Tom - West Coast guys throw poppers too !
Angry John reply :
On 5/24/2018 at 4:57 AM, ChrisD46 said:Thanks Tom - West Coast guys throw poppers too !
When there old and can't handle punkers any more 
Munkin reply :
The 3 I use most are; old Rebel Zell Rowland, LC Gsplash, and aTeam Daiwa . The latter two are about $15 but in my 30 years of topwater fishing I have lost only 5 baits. Muskie took 3 and the others were from a missing tip ring.
Allen
ChrisD46 reply :
On 5/23/2018 at 3:11 PM, Bluebasser86 said:The smaller Boss pop walks great and just seems to be a fish magnet, the KVD not so much, it's more of a straight popper or chugger. My popper selection is pretty simple after trying many of them. I have the smaller sized Boss Pop for my smaller bait, a River2Sea Bubble Walker 80 for my bigger profile walking popper, a Storm Chug Bug for a more of a finesse walking popper because of the thin profile and small cup, and the rarely talked about and increasingly hard to find Norman's Top Dollar that is just a monster when they're keyed on bluegills or shad.
You mention the smaller Boss Pop (I believe 2" and 1/4 oz.) was a bass magnet - curious why this one is a preference versus the 3" and 3/8oz larger version Boss Pop ? Is it more a match the hatch deal or is there an inherent better action or performance with the smaller Boss Pop ? My local store has both size Boss Pops ...
WRB reply :
The 1st modified Pop-R type lure I recall was a Michael from Japan that cost $16 in ‘91, same time the Daiwa TD minnow hit the market. Shocked at the price when domestic lures were $4.00. The Michael changed my mind fast and was a bass catching lure far superior to the Pop-R.
Lots of lures start in the west coast.
Tom
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 5/24/2018 at 6:01 AM, ChrisD46 said:You mention the smaller Boss Pop (I believe 2" and 1/4 oz.) was a bass magnet - curious why this one is a preference versus the 3" and 3/8oz larger version Boss Pop ? Is it more a match the hatch deal or is there an inherent better action or performance with the smaller Boss Pop ? My local store has both size Boss Pops ...
The smaller version seems to walk almost in place. It makes very little disturbance, I think it almost looks more like a bug on the surface than a fish. The bigger one does work, but I like the Bubble Walker once I get to a bigger bait.
ChrisD46 reply :
Not to beat this to death - but pick a couple of popper brands and colors you use to imitate shad and a couple of popper brands and colors you use to imitate bluegill ? * Both shad and bluegill are in play where I live - thanks !
RPreeb reply :
On 5/23/2018 at 6:40 AM, Angry John said:Never fished either of those two but my cheap bass pro 2$ popper catches a ton of fish. The most inportant part in my opinion is hooks. The st-41s cost more than the popper but it is used more than my pop max because it gets the job done. Poppers that you can also walk is the most important part of the bait. Not all will.
These that I bought from BPS 7 years ago have caught a lot of fish, both bass in fresh water and snapper, jacks and barracuda in salt. They can be fished several ways, and they chug and spit fairly well with the slot right behind the lip. The exact type is no longer on the BPS website (brand was Bass Pro's XPS) so I don't know if anything exactly like them is still around anywhere. The one on the top right is the pattern which has been most successful.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 5/24/2018 at 6:27 PM, ChrisD46 said:Not to beat this to death - but pick a couple of popper brands and colors you use to imitate shad and a couple of popper brands and colors you use to imitate bluegill ? * Both shad and bluegill are in play where I live - thanks !
I pretty much just carry a bluegill and shad color in the baits I listed.
rangerjockey reply :
The original Pop R P70 is probably as good as it gets but the prices are getting crazy. Next to that, I really like the Yellow Magic in the magnum size. It casts well and has a great action. I've probably caught better quality topwater fish on it over the years than a spook, plopper ect.
tcal4404 reply :
if they are hitting topwater, color does not matter much IMO. I'd have a smaller profile popper (rebel pop-r as mentioned is a great bait), a larger one (spook or popper), and a weedless frog to cover heavy vegetation and you should be covered for most situations.
bassin is addicting reply :
all mentioned are good...
Pop-R is hard to beat for the price....BUT...do change the hooks...
J.Vincent reply :
I personally like: white, chrome, bronze and Firetiger . And I like Poppers to be 3.25" or longer, I rarely throw anything smaller. I've found the longer poppers can be walked and chugged, and this offers a varying presentation with the same bait.
ChrisD46 reply :
On 5/26/2018 at 12:24 AM, Active_Outdoors said:I personally like: white, chrome, bronze and Firetiger . And I like Poppers to be 3.25" or longer, I rarely throw anything smaller. I've found the longer poppers can be walked and chugged, and this offers a varying presentation with the same bait.
I know "traditionally" poppers have been most popular on the smaller side (i.e. 2" to 2.5") but now you are hearing about the trend to go 3" + . I'm looking to try a few of the models mentioned in this thread . For starters , the Booyah Bass Pop in Bone Shad (smaller size) and either the Ghost (bronze ,clear, white) or maybe the *Bream color in the larger size. I figure you have shad spawning now so the smaller size in the Bone Shad color that spits would be a good option while the Ghost or Bream that is more of a chugger in the larger size would be a better bluegill imitator . Of course , I could have it backwards as well (lol) ! *Regarding the Bream color - surprised to read it's not as popular or doesn't get bit as much as other colors ? ... You would think it would be a good choice as most brands offer the Bream / Bluegill color ?
Lastly for the wildcard - I was looking to see what poppers Academy had and noticed their house brand : H2O TWP poppers - Never seen a review but I have to say their colors have quite the detail , especially Baby Bass and Bream ... Of course , how they balance / sit in the water and chug / spit are key to the inherent quality of a popper and most of the time you get what you pay for.
Munkin reply :
On 5/24/2018 at 1:55 PM, WRB said:The 1st modified Pop-R type lure I recall was a Michael from Japan that cost $16 in ‘91, same time the Daiwa TD minnow hit the market. Shocked at the price when domestic lures were $4.00. The Michael changed my mind fast and was a bass catching lure far superior to the Pop-R.
Lots of lures start in the west coast.
Tom
Those TD minnows are worth every penny.
Allen
the reel ess reply :
Fish will still bite the Pop R and you can almost get two for $10. I'd probably get the silver/black and baby bass colors. I actually have the bone and silver/black now. I doubt fish care much about the color.
On 5/26/2018 at 1:57 AM, ChrisD46 said:
Lastly for the wildcard - I was looking to see what poppers Academy had and noticed their house brand : H2O TWP poppers - Never seen a review but I have to say their colors have quite the detail , especially Baby Bass and Bream ... Of course , how they balance / sit in the water and chug / spit are key to the inherent quality of a popper and most of the time you get what you pay for.
I was just noticing the same bait. It has all 5* ratings on the site.
FishDewd reply :
I got an XPS the other day using my BPS rewards points to buy it... nothing like a free lure! I wanted something that looked something like a perch since we don't have shad in any of our waters here., but I also wanted it to be bright for murky/stained water conditions. I found one that should work, granted I did want one a tad bit smaller. The small ones were too small, and the big ones were too big... figures. Anyway, I have it tied onto a 7' MH Berkley lightning rod.
To be tested soon... hopefully next week if it's nit over 100* outside again.
justbassintime reply :
I only throw the RICO popper. I became a firm believe when I was fishing a large payout tournament. The top water bite was on and I was catching 4-5 fish to my partners one. I also would go right behind other boats throwing poppers and catch fish.
scaleface reply :
The bottom lure is a standard Pop R , the top is a vintage Rebel popper , dont know what it was called . I call it a chugger . This lure is noisy. A sharp but short snap of a rod [5'5" ' or 6" pistol grip ], will spit water over 6 foot . I have had a few 50 to 100 fish days by casting this to standing timber in deep water and making as much noise as possible . The best time is on brutally hot summer days . I havent used this technique for over a decade because my body can no longer tolerate high heat for any length of time . I also have a large vintage Pico Pop that I use the same way .
ChrisD46 reply :
On 5/26/2018 at 10:12 PM, scaleface said:The bottom lure is a standard Pop R , the top is a vintage Rebel popper , dont know what it was called . I call it a chugger . This lure is noisy. A sharp but short snap of a rod [5'5" ' or 6" pistol grip ], will spit water over 6 foot . I have had a few 50 to 100 fish days by casting this to standing timber in deep water and making as much noise as possible . The best time is on brutally hot summer days . I havent used this technique for over a decade because my body can no longer tolerate high heat for any length of time . I also have a large vintage Pico Pop that I use the same way .
Good on you - old school , pistol grip 5'6" rod and rebel poppers ...
scaleface reply :
On 5/27/2018 at 8:51 AM, ChrisD46 said:Good on you - old school , pistol grip 5'6" rod and rebel poppers ...
For me a short pistol grip rod is better than longer rods for top-waters like Spooks and poppers . I believe that most people who use 7 foot and longer models have never tried the shorter rods for top waters and dont know what they are missing .
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 5/27/2018 at 9:20 AM, scaleface said:For me a short pistol grip rod is better than longer rods for top-waters like Spooks and poppers . I believe that most people who use 7 foot and longer models have never tried the shorter rods for top waters and dont know what they are missing .
Agreed, I use a 6' 2" XF/M Avid with what amounts to a modern day pistol grip and it really allows me to work the bait and make very small movements with the bait that I couldn't do with a longer rod.
ChrisD46 reply :
While I plan to buy a few of the poppers listed - yesterday I was digging through a clearance box at a local tackle store and found two Norman Pro Pop poppers : One was clear and the other was pearl colored ... I picked up both for less than $5.00 ... I had never heard of Norman lures before as I had never seen them in a store - apparently they have a cult following by top water experts in the know ?
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 5/27/2018 at 7:06 PM, ChrisD46 said:While I plan to buy a few of the poppers listed - yesterday I was digging through a clearance box at a local tackle store and found two Norman Pro Pop poppers : One was clear and the other was pearl colored ... I picked up both for less than $5.00 ... I had never heard of Norman lures before as I had never seen them in a store - apparently they have a cult following by top water experts in the know ?
You've never heard of Norman's lures?? Or of the Norman's Pro Pop? Like I mentioned, the Norman's Top Dollar is one of my favorite poppers but it's kind of hybrid lure.
Ray K reply :
On 5/27/2018 at 7:10 PM, Bluebasser86 said:You've never heard of Norman's lures?? Or of the Norman's Pro Pop? Like I mentioned, the Norman's Top Dollar is one of my favorite poppers but it's kind of hybrid lure.
Kind of reminds me of the old Dalton Special.
Mbirdsley reply :
I see Berkley is getting ready to bring a new top water line out. Looks to include poppers and spook type lures among other things.
The Fisher reply :
I use a Chug Bug 06 in Black Red and kills them. I’ve used silver black Pop R too but not as successful as black red chug bug
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