pyoubs Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 bought myself some poppers the other day, 2 smaller models (bushys stiffy popper and a cheapie) and a larger rooster popper. Tried the small ones yesterday and fell in love. Really enjoyed how visible the fishing is being able to see the swipes at the lures. ended up getting a 24cm bream and 30cm flathead (which was very unexpected) within about 30-45 minutes. So im just wondering what peoples tactics are with poppers in regards to retrieves etc? Also is there an ideal depth to fish them? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGF Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 grats mate i am just starting on poppers my self but from what i've seen Roberta seems know a fair bit about poppers/pencils for bream etc.. shallow weedy areas seem to be good spots to try i tried last week at the oyster leases in botany bay had a few swipes which got me excited but no hook ups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyoubs Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 grats mate i am just starting on poppers my self but from what i've seen Roberta seems know a fair bit about poppers/pencils for bream etc.. shallow weedy areas seem to be good spots to try i tried last week at the oyster leases in botany bay had a few swipes which got me excited but no hook ups I was near there! fishing around sylvania waters/capt cook bridge will definatelty be giving the lures a better go on the boat on the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendong Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 (edited) Great to see somemore Popper converts. Can I suggest you have a read through some posts in the Lure and Fly chat and reports sections...losts of qustions asked and replied to over the past few weeks/months/years....plus hodgey's how too guide is golden.... Your right though, totally addictive fishing. Hodgey's How too Guide Edited February 26, 2010 by Poddy Trapper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyoubs Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Cheers the information looks good. What is a pencil though im not entirely sure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 This thread is right up Hodgey's alley. Skip. Another lesson please!! Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 GDay Pyoubs Here is a selection of pencils The row on the left are NW 52's, the middle row is Zappa 55s, the end row is Sammy 65's and the bottom right hand corner is a stiffy. In answer to your question, one way to describe the difference between pencils and poppers is shape. A popper has a curved 'cup' face at the front, and is usually tapered in shape.A pencil is more an elongated shape with an angled chin. (This is a very broad description as manufacturers are always modifying designs). A better way to describe the difference between the two is action. Basically, the cup face of a poppers bites into the water surface, pushing a spray of water in front. A pencil glides across the top of the water in a swaggering side-to-side motion, which is described as 'walking the dog'. (We won't confuse the issue and discuss bevy pops and suga pens that can do both ) As a general rule of thumb, when the water is relatively flat, give the pencils a whirl. When the wind picks up and the water surface is rougher, try your poppers. If there's one thing I have learnt it is that there are very few 'rules' to hang your hat on when it comes to surface luring. As the others have mentioned, have a look through the Lure and Fly reports and you will see some different approaches and philosophies. They all work! You will learn a hell of a lot by spending just one day on the water with someone who is proficient in surface lures, their action and where to toss them, and there are a heap of people of all ages on our forums that fit that bill nicely. With a bit of luck, one of them is located near you! Fishing with surface lures is a fantastic experience. It is highly visual, extremely rewarding, and will open up locations you couldn't previously fish without getting entangled in weeds and mud. Good luck! Cheers Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frangkie Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 GDay Pyoubs Here is a selection of pencils The row on the left are NW 52's, the middle row is Zappa 55s, the end row is Sammy 65's and the bottom right hand corner is a stiffy. In answer to your question, one way to describe the difference between pencils and poppers is shape. A popper has a curved 'cup' face at the front, and is usually tapered in shape.A pencil is more an elongated shape with an angled chin. (This is a very broad description as manufacturers are always modifying designs). A better way to describe the difference between the two is action. Basically, the cup face of a poppers bites into the water surface, pushing a spray of water in front. A pencil glides across the top of the water in a swaggering side-to-side motion, which is described as 'walking the dog'. (We won't confuse the issue and discuss bevy pops and suga pens that can do both ) As a general rule of thumb, when the water is relatively flat, give the pencils a whirl. When the wind picks up and the water surface is rougher, try your poppers. If there's one thing I have learnt it is that there are very few 'rules' to hang your hat on when it comes to surface luring. As the others have mentioned, have a look through the Lure and Fly reports and you will see some different approaches and philosophies. They all work! You will learn a hell of a lot by spending just one day on the water with someone who is proficient in surface lures, their action and where to toss them, and there are a heap of people of all ages on our forums that fit that bill nicely. With a bit of luck, one of them is located near you! Fishing with surface lures is a fantastic experience. It is highly visual, extremely rewarding, and will open up locations you couldn't previously fish without getting entangled in weeds and mud. Good luck! Cheers Hodgey i love those lures mate. it has become my favourite form of fishing lately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Frost Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 bought myself some poppers the other day, 2 smaller models (bushys stiffy popper and a cheapie) and a larger rooster popper. Tried the small ones yesterday and fell in love. Really enjoyed how visible the fishing is being able to see the swipes at the lures. ended up getting a 24cm bream and 30cm flathead (which was very unexpected) within about 30-45 minutes. So im just wondering what peoples tactics are with poppers in regards to retrieves etc? Also is there an ideal depth to fish them? cheers That stiffy popper in white is the goods for me when chasing bream and whiting even the odd flatty has a crack to. Plus you can put big hooks on for rack fishing , you can cast it like a demon into the wind becasue of it's weight . Realy quick is great for whiting when they are a bit quiet I give it the odd pause and may slow it down a little . Bream usually mix it up with a consistant moderate paced retreive or just one big pop let it sit for a couple secounds then another and keep repeating . On sat my fishing mate got a 38cm an 40cm fork whiting also 4 bream ,1 over 30 to fork all on the stiffy . Someplaces I've caught whiting in 14 foot of water on poppers and saw them come off the bottom to hit it , usually in 6 foot or less is what depth I target , you can get fish in 20cms of water . Keep popping Bubba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyoubs Posted March 1, 2010 Author Share Posted March 1, 2010 GDay Pyoubs Here is a selection of pencils The row on the left are NW 52's, the middle row is Zappa 55s, the end row is Sammy 65's and the bottom right hand corner is a stiffy. In answer to your question, one way to describe the difference between pencils and poppers is shape. A popper has a curved 'cup' face at the front, and is usually tapered in shape.A pencil is more an elongated shape with an angled chin. (This is a very broad description as manufacturers are always modifying designs). A better way to describe the difference between the two is action. Basically, the cup face of a poppers bites into the water surface, pushing a spray of water in front. A pencil glides across the top of the water in a swaggering side-to-side motion, which is described as 'walking the dog'. (We won't confuse the issue and discuss bevy pops and suga pens that can do both ) As a general rule of thumb, when the water is relatively flat, give the pencils a whirl. When the wind picks up and the water surface is rougher, try your poppers. If there's one thing I have learnt it is that there are very few 'rules' to hang your hat on when it comes to surface luring. As the others have mentioned, have a look through the Lure and Fly reports and you will see some different approaches and philosophies. They all work! You will learn a hell of a lot by spending just one day on the water with someone who is proficient in surface lures, their action and where to toss them, and there are a heap of people of all ages on our forums that fit that bill nicely. With a bit of luck, one of them is located near you! Fishing with surface lures is a fantastic experience. It is highly visual, extremely rewarding, and will open up locations you couldn't previously fish without getting entangled in weeds and mud. Good luck! Cheers Hodgey thats a dangerous photo, looks like my savings will suffer again this week those pencils look awesome. Might be obvious but why would you put on bigger hooks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Frost Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 thats a dangerous photo, looks like my savings will suffer again this week those pencils look awesome. Might be obvious but why would you put on bigger hooks? With Bream, Sometimes the fish are in shallow water with oysters and nasty looking rocks etc , you won't stop em busting you off on light gear so you fish heavy leader and drag . When in Forster I use 16lb to 25lb leader , depending on the weight of the lure and water colour , as it gets tough to cast 25lb through the guides , I have it short , the knot in front of my tip 1 foot of leader . So when a big fish hits you can try and rip their head above the water and drag them skipping across the surface over racks washboards etc , you need to make up your mind how big the fish are and how nasty the area is your fishing to decide on the right leader . Using 25lb isn't real commen but ince you have been dusted 6 or 7 times with sammy's and stiffy's you have to work out a way to get them out. Also i would suggest a heavy rod 3 to 6kg , 6 to 6'6 , it's not going to cast your lure a mile but it can be all about stopping them in the 1st 1m when in these situations and with all this sort of tackle the pressure on the hooks is huge , so you end up with your lure coming back at you like a heatseaker when your hooks straighten out . With whiting I like bigger hooks as they are less often swallowed by the fish and are easier to get out of them . Top of the pops, Bubba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendong Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 thats a dangerous photo, looks like my savings will suffer again this week those pencils look awesome. Might be obvious but why would you put on bigger hooks? HHmmmm I agree, don't know why the bank doesn't ask for you hard body / popper collection when you nominate your assets in a bank loan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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