Whopper plopper. . .why the hype?? 2024
bobbyg reply :
I am a fan of top water bass fishing but haven't been in the tackle buying game in a while. A few days ago I learned of the existence of the Whopper Plopper. Is it really that good? I have seen many posts on here talk about them, so I know I have come to the right place. Usually a hula popper or a buzz bait guy, but very intrigued. . .convince me why I should buy one. And if so what colors do you like?
Fishin' Fool reply :
Google Whopper Plopper bass strikes. If it doesn't intrigue you don't buy one. Btw read my topic about saving money at TW. It will save you $5 
MassYak85 reply :
Part of it is it's just different. I've seen it outfish a buzzbait 15-3, but that doesn't mean the opposite won't be true on other days. It's a tool and offers something different than other topwaters, but it's not a magic bullet. The biggest thing to me is you get to pause it. I like to throw it right on the edge of cover, let it sit, and a lot of times fish will just destroy the thing the instant you start to reel. It also gives off an extremely loud "plop" noise (at least the 130 does) that is very unique compared to buzzbaits. And I can also fish it in whitecaps without it getting swallowed up commpletely, I cannot say the same about many other topwaters. (Again, talking about the 130, I would not say the same about the 90 and have not tried the 110).
Scott F reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 9:09 AM, bobbyg said:I am a fan of top water bass fishing but haven't been in the tackle buying game in a while. A few days ago I learned of the existence of the Whopper Plopper. Is it really that good? I have seen many posts on here talk about them, so I know I have come to the right place. Usually a hula popper or a buzz bait guy, but very intrigued. . .convince me why I should buy one. And if so what colors do you like?
What if you had a buzz bait where the hook up percent was 2 or 3 times better than any other buzz bait? How about a buzz bait that you could pause? How about a topwater that catches a lot of bass?
If that appeals to you and a $13 bait doesn't scare you away. Get one. Color hasn't mattered for me.
NHBull reply :
Just do it!
White
Chrome
Black
NYWayfarer reply :
Whopper Plopper, with a name that stupid it has to work. That was my theory when I bought one.
It does work and being a top water bait it is exciting. I have yet to go on a trip where I haven’t caught something while throwing it. Got my PB Pickerel on the Bluegill color.
My favorite color WP is Bone.
JimW reply :
I three of the whopper ploppers. I haven't caught a fish with one yet, but then again, I haven't been fishing but three times so far. Maybe next time. Mine are bone, shad and black.
Fishin Dad reply :
I also have not been blown away by the whopper plopper. I bought 2 in the 130 size (loon, bluegill) and have only caught a couple small bass on them. I am not going to say they are a bad bait, I probably haven't really figured them out completely yet. I will keep trying. It is fun to fish, just waiting for the "magic". 
RPreeb reply :
Just bought one a week ago... doesn't work in hard water so I still have a bit of a wait to be able to use it. I'm looking forward to having a go with it.
bobbyg reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 9:24 AM, Fishin' Fool said:Google Whopper Plopper bass strikes. If it doesn't intrigue you don't buy one. Btw read my topic and saving money at TW. It will save you $5
I've never seen a bass shoot a lure 4 feet out of the water before!!!!
OK so I just ordered a bluegill and a terminator colored 90. . .worth a try at least.
On 2/23/2018 at 10:32 AM, NYWayfarer said:Whopper Plopper, with a name that stupid it has to work. That was my theory when I bought one.
That is perfectly sound logic. My all time favorite top water bait was from the 90's called a Hydrilla Gorilla!!
FryDog62 reply :
It does not work even on a major cold front when nothing else worked - jigs, spinnerbaits, tubes, drop-shots. Yep, WP is totally overrated...
bobbyg reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 11:56 AM, FryDog62 said:It does not work even on a major cold front when nothing else worked - jigs, spinnerbaits, tubes, drop-shots. Yep, WP is totally overrated...
Those are some good lookin smallies!! Now you got me excited. Color?? I ordered Bluegill and Terminator
Comfortably Numb reply :
Good colors. I like the 110 myself. 90's can be temperamental. You need to keep the rod high with them. Use a line that floats for sure.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I have a 3700 box of nothing but Ploppers. 90's, 110's, 130's, and a 190. I've caught fish on every size and color I've fished. They aren't magic, they won't catch fish in every condition, but something about them just makes the fish want to kill the bait at times. Bone and Monkey Butt are my favorite colors. There's times when they'll outfish a buzzbait badly, and times it's the other way around. It may not be magic, but I wouldn't want to have to go without them.
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
Plain and simple because it catch fish. The only time I use buzzbait over WP when weed presents and when bass what something more subtle.
long island basser reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 3:22 PM, Comfortably Numb said:Good colors. I like the 110 myself. 90's can be temperamental. You need to keep the rod high with them. Use a line that floats for sure.
Same here.
GrumpyOlPhartte reply :
As a once-or-twice-a-week fisherman who fishes extremely weedy lakes, I was a skeptic since anything with treble hooks is doomed to failure around here; however I was sucked in by a color called “Monkey Butt”. To be honest, I started with a black 90-sized model and caught five or six bass from shore in a half hour. Sounds good ... except the largest was just 10 inches!! That’s when I bit the bullet and bought a Monkey Butt in the 110 size. Got a really nice fish (I’m guessing around three pounds) but it broke off as I tried to get it in my kayak. What excites me about the Whopper Plopper is that even with the weedy environment I can use this lure because all my fish were caught before the lure had moved ten feet. I’ve found I don’t have to retrieve the lure far to get results! I cast to a hole in the weeds and let it sit ... and sit ... and sit. Then I twitch the lure and let it sit some more. Then I move it a foot or two and let it sit again. Yes, I can only move the lure a few a few feet before it gets covered in shrubbery but those few feet are exciting. Made me rethink my attitude about using treble-hook lures in weeds. The few casts I could fully retrieve didn’t result in fish, but that first ten feet is the secret for me. Kind of a pain in the butt to fish, but worth it. Oh, and I’ve only tried fishing it at dusk. This year I plan to experiment more during the day. As a side note I have picked up a couple of jerk baits to see if the same or a similar technique might work. It would be great to fish something besides soft plastic weedless rigs. Hope this info helps.
NYWayfarer reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 3:22 PM, Comfortably Numb said:Good colors. I like the 110 myself. 90's can be temperamental. You need to keep the rod high with them. Use a line that floats for sure.
I fish the 90 size and I agree. My next WP will be a 110in loon color
J Francho reply :
It works, but it isn't that much fun to fish.
RB 77 reply :
Why the hype? Cuz they just get bit!
YoTone reply :
well its almost like a buzz bait but the plus sides is that the hook up ratio is much better since it uses treble hooks and secondly you can retrieve it the slowest of speeds or even kill it where a buzzbait must be retrieved at a certain speed or else it will sink.
J Francho reply :
They're no magic bullet. I saw the Larry Dahlberg Hunt for Big Fish episodes where showed how he made the prototype, and I was pretty excited when R2S put it into production. I just haven't had the results that reflect the hype.
senile1 reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 11:08 PM, J Francho said:They're no magic bullet. I saw the Larry Dahlberg Hunt for Big Fish episodes where showed how he made the prototype, and I was pretty excited when R2S put it into production. I just haven't had the results that reflect the hype.
Same here, but I haven't fished them that often. I did catch this last fall. The rod with the 110 WP was lying next to my right foot while I was fishing barefoot. I slid my foot back to set the hook on a fish and the hook went right in. I didn't even feel it at first so I am impressed with the sharpness of the hooks.
BassWhole! reply :
That's the nature of hype. You can go on YouTube and watch insane catches on most lures (and some things that aren't lures). In a few months ya'll move on to the next new must have, that will not be new or must have...
OCdockskipper reply :
On my lake, I catch more on top with poppers & prop baits than walking baits and buzzbaits. That said, the Whopper Plopper's I bought have produced fish, even at times I didn't really expect them too. What impressed me the most was a 13 lb catfish tracking one down & hammering it. I believe he thought it was a small coot.
Like most lures, it is lake dependent. If buzzbaits are winners where you fish and you don't need the weedless properties of the buzzbait, I would bet the whopper plopper may outproduce them.
RPreeb reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 10:34 PM, J Francho said:It works, but it isn't that much fun to fish.
For me, if I'm catching some fish, I'm having fun. I don't ask for anything more than that. I'm never going to catch any real hogs out here where I live, so my sights aren't set that high. If this thing catches me a few fish, I'll be happy with it.
I never even had any intent to buy one. I was in Cabela's and it was there on the rack in front of me. Some force beyond my control made my hand reach out and pluck the box off the peg and drop it in my cart. When I came out of my trance, the Plopper was in the bag and I was getting into my truck. If it doesn't work, it's not my fault... I was under a spell.
J Francho reply :
On 2/24/2018 at 12:10 AM, RPreeb said:I never even had any intent to buy one. I was in Cabela's and it was there on the rack in front of me. Some force beyond my control made my hand reach out and pluck the box off the peg and drop it in my cart. When I came out of my trance, the Plopper was in the bag and I was getting into my truck. If it doesn't work, it's not my fault... I was under a spell.
Similar experience, lol. Except I was in a F&S store.
Hog Basser reply :
First time out, my 130 in rainbow trout caught me three 3 lbs. bass in a span of about 30 minutes. Sold!
I now have about 4 additional colors. And it casts a mile.
burrows reply :
I thought the hype was over for a wile now.
Spankey reply :
I jumped on that bandwagon last year after seeing post from the year before. I bought 3 of the 90's they work fine. They will catch grass on the surface but that's ok.
But honestly in my opinion they ain't all that and a bag of chips. I have others that are more productive and really would rather fish. But they work. Maybe they will grow on me more this season.
gimruis reply :
I have 2 of them, a 110 and a 190. The 110 is in perch color and the 190 is neon green. I use the 190 for muskie fishing. I haven't had much luck with either one yet but they are well made lures and I'm convinced that they will eventually work at some point, so I'll keep trying them.
iaYakker reply :
It's simply consumerism. That's all it is. It's new, it's exciting, but there's no hard evidence it's more effective than a buzzbait/popper/prop baits/etc. You can get some huge hits with all of em. People will just convince themselves that it is more effective because they use it more often as a result of the consumerism.
Just try it for yourself. It just depends on the day. But don't get me wrong, it would be nice to have if you get a day where that's what the fish would rather go after.
Koz reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 9:09 AM, bobbyg said:. . .convince me why I should buy one.
Personally, I think this is a pretty good reason:
I've had success on the 90, 110, and 130 sizes in Bone. Munky Butt 110 has been OK. I also have the black 130 and in over a year I have never had one hit on that lure, even though others swear by it.
For me the WP has worked best in the hot, summer months and during that time of year it's one of my "go to"lures. Other times of the year it just doesn't produce for me. I guess the best way to put it is if I ever lost my 110 in the bone color I'd go out and buy it again.
IntroC reply :
IMO a spook is more of a fish catcher than a plopper. I would even go so far to say a popper is more productive than the whopper plopper. I’ll have to give it a little more water this year. I try not giving into hyped lures. It’s usually just attributed to good marketing.
Riazuli reply :
I didn't understand the hype either, until I tried it. I was always a jitterbug fan and think I was just apprehensive about trying something new. The action of a wp is excellent...the fact that the tail end hangs down seems like it would be more enticing for fish, and you can vary the retrieves more, where a jitterbug pretty much just has one steady retrieve, with pausing if wanted. The wp can be played like a popper, buzzbait, it can be burned, or chugged slowly. Overall, it's very versatile for a topwater lure.
MassYak85 reply :
Two summers ago I swear I had one tied on 90% of the time. It just flat out got bit nearly every time I used it, in almost every condition I tried. Something about it seems to annoy the fish more than make them feed. The way smallies just destroy them sometimes you'd think it had insulted their family. One time I casted it near a submerged rock pile and watched a smallie torpedo from 30 feet away and just punch it out of the water. Then I let it sit, and it came back a 2nd time, and the third time it finally got hooked. It was the most aggressive I have ever seen a bass.
Bluebasser86 reply :
All but about 4 fish in this video are fish I caught on a Whopper Plopper 90 in Sooner color. A Plopper outfishes any other topwater on this lake by a huge margin. I had several weeks in a row I was there for guide trips and that's all my clients fished the entire day regardless of conditions.
This was the day that started it for me. The smallmouth were destroying a 130 Plopper in the shad color, looking more like muskie strikes than bass.
Turkey sandwich reply :
On 2/24/2018 at 3:09 PM, Bluebasser86 said:All but about 4 fish in this video are fish I caught on a Whopper Plopper 90 in Sooner color. A Plopper outfishes any other topwater on this lake by a huge margin. I had several weeks in a row I was there for guide trips and that's all my clients fished the entire day regardless of conditions.
This was the day that started it for me. The smallmouth were destroying a 130 Plopper in the shad color, looking more like muskie strikes than bass.
your rod clutter in the second video is incredible. lol
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 2/24/2018 at 3:45 PM, Turkey sandwich said:
your rod clutter in the second video is incredible. lol
It was a frustrating day until I picked up that Plopper. Still, not unusual for the front deck of my boat to resemble a pincushion.
Turkey sandwich reply :
To me, it's become very hard to beat because of it's ridiculous versatility. It allows you to cover water fast like you would with a walking bait, and rip up the surface aggressively like you would with a buzz bait (with the added benefit of being able to stop it like you might a prop bait). I did really well fishing them under lots of conditions last season and it became the first topwater I reach for 80% of the time.
On 2/24/2018 at 3:52 PM, Bluebasser86 said:It was a frustrating day until I picked up that Plopper. Still, not unusual for the front deck of my boat to resemble a pincushion.
I was waiting for the rod on the right to lose its battle with gravity and fall into the lake. Not that my yak looks that much better after a puzzling day.
FryDog62 reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 1:00 PM, bobbyg said:Those are some good lookin smallies!! Now you got me excited. Color?? I ordered Bluegill and Terminator
I typically use bone color for smallies and monkey butt for largemouth. But I’m not sure color matters that much. It’s the deep, rich tones of the prop that gets them IMO
padon reply :
Eh,idk just another bait to me.I've used them and caught fish on them especially smallmouth in river but then I've caught plenty on torpedoes in the same river under the same conditions too.I'm it saying don't buy them ,they work and I'm sure some days they work better than anything else. But that's probably true of a lot of lures.
FishDewd reply :
I have some soft frogs, a small torpedo, and a small popper. Until I get something to bite on those, I don't see the point of adding another topwater bait that I either don't know how to use properly, or doesn't work for my area. Whichever it may be. Me, most likely.
WI_Angler1989 reply :
Here's why I decided to try the Whopper Plopper. Clearly they aren't "magic" or massively innovative, but they work for a lot of people.
I'm a through and through smallmouth guy so this makes me very happy. If this type of thing doesn't do it for ya... then I don't know what to tell you!
Ratherbfishing reply :
They are...just okay. It takes too long to get the tail turning so you definitely want to cast beyond your intended target (if you can). There are other topwaters I like better and I'm not sure they are worth the money I plunked down for it but other people rave about them so more power to them.
LxVE Bassin reply :
The water better be clear with no floating particles or grass because they will roll if anything gets caught in between the blade.
CTBassin860 reply :
They catch fish. Plain and simple. I got my first one in a MTB before the hype.
Smokinal reply :
This 6-8 was on a bone 130 on a day where that bait caught that fish, a 6-3, 3 5's and a couple 4's
bh91 reply :
If only the stutter step got this much hype too
NorthwestBasser reply :
On 2/25/2018 at 10:02 AM, LxVE Bassin said:The water better be clear with no floating particles or grass because they will roll if anything gets caught in between the blade.
Very true, and that will ruin your line retrieving it back like that on a long cast. Simple fix, add a swivel. It's a straight retrieve bait so that won't be a problem and when the body rolls instead of the tail it won't twist your line
LxVE Bassin reply :
On 2/26/2018 at 12:17 PM, NorthwestBasser said:Very true, and that will ruin your line retrieving it back like that on a long cast. Simple fix, add a swivel. It's a straight retrieve bait so that won't be a problem and when the body rolls instead of the tail it won't twist your line
Ima give that’s a try.
TnRiver46 reply :
On 2/25/2018 at 9:11 AM, WI_Angler1989 said:Here's why I decided to try the Whopper Plopper. Clearly they aren't "magic" or massively innovative, but they work for a lot of people.
I'm a through and through smallmouth guy so this makes me very happy. If this type of thing doesn't do it for ya... then I don't know what to tell you!
My goodness gracious throw a saddle on those things and try to go 8 seconds!!! Especially that first one!!
Turkey sandwich reply :
On 2/25/2018 at 9:11 AM, WI_Angler1989 said:Here's why I decided to try the Whopper Plopper. Clearly they aren't "magic" or massively innovative, but they work for a lot of people.
I'm a through and through smallmouth guy so this makes me very happy. If this type of thing doesn't do it for ya... then I don't know what to tell you!
This is a beautiful piece of river!
WI_Angler1989 reply :
On 2/26/2018 at 8:37 PM, TnRiver46 said:My goodness gracious throw a saddle on those things and try to go 8 seconds!!! Especially that first one!!
Right?! The smallies in his rivers are beasts! Plus, add in the current and every fish feels like a tank.
On 2/27/2018 at 3:24 AM, Turkey sandwich said:
This is a beautiful piece of river!
It sure is, man! I'd love to join him or just fish those waters. The rivers here are really nice, but those over in ND are my kind of heaven haha.
Djamesbond3 reply :
They're pretty good man. My only complaint is that grass easily gets caught in the tail portion which throws off the action. I personally prefer buzzbaits since they are more weedless and I don't think you can beat the trusty ole buzzbait but that's just what I have confidence in. If you do get one, I have had more luck in the 110 or 130 than I have in the smaller size 90.
Ads7633 reply :
While they are effective, there are other top waters that are similarly effective.
BUT! This is by far my favorite bait to fish. It's just so much fun anticipating the vicious strikes these things draw!
the reel ess reply :
I fish topwaters from as soon that they'll hit one thru fall so i had to get one. I bought the size 90 in Dick's and then read reviews that it has a tendency to not work as well as the 110 size. So I bought that one too. Last time out i tried them both and the 110 works way better. The 90 needs to be reeled slowly to keep it from submarining. The 110 is very buoyant. If you'e only going to get one, I'd get the 110.
tcbass reply :
On 2/23/2018 at 8:54 PM, GrumpyOlPhartte said:As a once-or-twice-a-week fisherman who fishes extremely weedy lakes, I was a skeptic since anything with treble hooks is doomed to failure around here; however I was sucked in by a color called “Monkey Butt”. To be honest, I started with a black 90-sized model and caught five or six bass from shore in a half hour. Sounds good ... except the largest was just 10 inches!! That’s when I bit the bullet and bought a Monkey Butt in the 110 size. Got a really nice fish (I’m guessing around three pounds) but it broke off as I tried to get it in my kayak. What excites me about the Whopper Plopper is that even with the weedy environment I can use this lure because all my fish were caught before the lure had moved ten feet. I’ve found I don’t have to retrieve the lure far to get results! I cast to a hole in the weeds and let it sit ... and sit ... and sit. Then I twitch the lure and let it sit some more. Then I move it a foot or two and let it sit again. Yes, I can only move the lure a few a few feet before it gets covered in shrubbery but those few feet are exciting. Made me rethink my attitude about using treble-hook lures in weeds. The few casts I could fully retrieve didn’t result in fish, but that first ten feet is the secret for me. Kind of a pain in the butt to fish, but worth it. Oh, and I’ve only tried fishing it at dusk. This year I plan to experiment more during the day. As a side note I have picked up a couple of jerk baits to see if the same or a similar technique might work. It would be great to fish something besides soft plastic weedless rigs. Hope this info helps.
If you have really weedy lakes I'd suggest you make a homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog. I've used frogs my whole life and never did great with them. Made a homemade Teckel Frog and killed it all last year. I use it when I can't use the WP.
I've tried a few different name brand frogs and found I like the Spro Bronzeye best. I then add a VMC size #4 three way swivel, and a real Teckel Sprinker Frog tail (you can order them seperate).
I've never seen a hollow body frog catch so many bass. Fishing with 2 of my friends who were using regular hollow body frogs, they missed 1 I think and I caught like 6 that day, 3 of them right in 3 casts too. They were like what are you using!
J Francho reply :
There's some hype for the Teckel Sprinker frog, lol. 
Actually, probably a good suggestion for a grassy lake.
tcbass reply :
On 3/2/2018 at 4:47 AM, J Francho said:There's some hype for the Teckel Sprinker frog, lol.
Actually, probably a good suggestion for a grassy lake.
I ordered a bunch of the Teckel frogs because I couldn't wait....once I got them found out they failed in their execution, the homemade frog works great though.
bobbyg reply :
Now I see Booyah Pad Crasher has a Toad Runner version that is basically a clone of the Teckel Sprinkler Frog. . . . .
tcbass reply :
On 3/2/2018 at 5:00 AM, bobbyg said:Now I see Booyah Pad Crasher has a Toad Runner version that is basically a clone of the Teckel Sprinkler Frog. . . . .
Link?
I just googled it and didn't find anything.
J Francho reply :
It's on TW. $10.
Booyah Toad Runner Frogs
bobbyg reply :
On 3/2/2018 at 5:31 AM, tcbass said:
Link?
I just googled it and didn't find anything.
https://www.facebook.com/tacklewarehouse/videos/10158978801807355/
This is the video I first saw it at. TW and DSG have them for 9.99 each. Like the Teckel, but also has some "legs" like pad crasher legs only shorter. Looks interesting.
I also have an ad for it at the top of the BR forum page. Maybe because I have been searching the WP and other topwater stuff so much the last couple of days.
38 Super Fan reply :
I threw the WP a lot last year and a buzzbait outfished it almost every time. Plus the hookup ratio was much better with a buzzbait too. I like the WP, but I'm not crazy about it, it's probably my fourth favorite topwater.
tcbass reply :
On 3/2/2018 at 5:42 AM, bobbyg said:https://www.facebook.com/tacklewarehouse/videos/10158978801807355/
This is the video I first saw it at. TW and DSG have them for 9.99 each. Like the Teckel, but also has some "legs" like pad crasher legs only shorter. Looks interesting.
I also have an ad for it at the top of the BR forum page. Maybe because I have been searching the WP and other topwater stuff so much the last couple of days.
Thanks.
Wow, basically an exact copy. I wonder if Teckel doesn't have a patent.
Sam reply :
The Whooper Plooper makes a different sound and vibration than your buzzbait, frog, or popper.
Monkey Butt.
nosdog2 reply :
I can pm anyone my address for all the non-working ones. I will even pay the shipping.
I have had great success throwing them. They were outstanding on my 'home' lake when there was a severe algae bloom going on.
loumonetti reply :
I too was hesitant to get into the plopper game, and I regretted that I waited as long as I did. On pressured waters the 90 is an absolute game changer, if you fish somewhere where getting 5 is a challenge throw the 90 in the morning and you'll have awesome results. The bigger sizes have been best for me when throwing them over flats and calling fish out of cover, while the 90 seems to be the bait that they simply can't resist. Get one in a natural color for clear waters and black for cloudy water.
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