Popper Lure for Bass Fishing – It’s about the Allure

Poppers are surface contact lures known for surge of water, “the splash”, lure action produced with a top water pop retrieve. Poppers are also known for fishing slow (for a surface contact lure) when targeting near cover.

Anatomy: Popper lures are treble hook lures with a cupped face generally with feather on the tail hook.

Variants & Other Names:

Horizontal Version: When in water they maintain a horizontal position to the water. Generally not specified by manufacturer.
Tail Down Version: Also called nose up, they have a weight in the back that results in the front of the lure being higher in the water. Some say better action and easier casting near cover. Generally not specified by manufacturer. Can be rigged with an add-on weight.
Rattles: Some have built in rattles to make more noise.
Pencil Popper: [Figure 2] Long and skinny that allow for longer casts.
Poppin Frog: [Figure 5] Resembles a frog similar to a frog lure.

Lure Action. Top water splashing with some erratic lure movement.

Search Bait: Less common.

Pros’ Choice: Less common.

Popper Lures are surface contact lures typically selected when:

Targeted Depth:
- Shallow: Common.
- Deep(Offshore): Not common.
Fishing Speed:
- Slow: Commonly considered a top water lure that can be fished slow as compared to most surface contact lures.
- Fast: Also, commonly considered for fishing fast, as popper can be used to cover water.
Lure Visibility:
- High Lure Visibility: Common, and some suggest ideal for flat water as the initial action is to let the ripples dissipate before engaging the retrieve.
- Low Lure Visibility: Common, for a surface contact lure, partially due to the slow speed and large splash lure action.
  - Engaging Lateral Line: Little vibrations.
  - Engaging Hearing: Splashing lure action does make a splashing noise.
  - Engaging Sense of Smell and or Taste: Not a consideration.
Targeting Cover: When selecting a surface lure the lures are common when targeting “near or over” cover, either visible, waypoints, or visible on forward facing sonar, placing the popper next to or just past the target spot and moving it slowly through the strike zone. Some suggest all lures are good near cover where popper lures are used when contacting:
- Grass: Not common
  - Weedless: Not weedless.
- Rock: Not common.
- Wood: Not common.
- Dock: Not common.
- Off Cover: Not common unless bass are actively feeding near the surface

Selecting the Popper Lure Type, as a treble hook lure type, there are the following key decisions:

Shapes: Generally, with a large mouth at the front and pencil body, minnow-style body or a frog body.
Sink Classification:
- Top Water:
Size:
- Small: 1 3/4″ to 2″
- Common: 2.5″ to 3″
- Large: 3.5″ to 4″
Lure Weight: .
- Light: 1/4 oz
- Common: 3/8 oz,
- Heavy: 3/4 oz

Lure Color: As lure color selection is mostly tied to the lure visibility download the Acute Lure Color Breakdown™ Infographic.
- Forage: Some suggest the lure mimics a distressed bait fish.

As a treble hook lure type, the common rigging considerations includes:

Hook Size: Besides replacing any bent or rusted hooks some, albeit not common, look to upsize or downsize or upgrade the manufactured provided hooks.
- - - Small:
    - Common: #6, #5, #4
    - Large: Larger than #4

Main Line: Some suggest monofilament as it floats and less likely to get caught in hooks (some suggest braid)
- Light: 10lb, lighter line if using a spinning rod.
- Common: 12lb -15lb, if braid 25lb to 30lb
- Heavy: 20lb test
Leader: Less common but some suggest either using a monofilament as the purpose is to help with buoyancy and reducing the line getting caught in the hooks or a fluorocarbon leader when using braid main line. Some suggest a short leader, 1 or 2 ft, which keeps the knots out of the guides.
Rod: Baitcaster Rod: Common with Power = Medium (some suggest Medium Heavy) = and Action(Taper) = Moderate to help cast a relatively lightweight lure.
- - Reel: Some consider a slower 6.0:1 range due to the slower retrieve.
- Spinning Rod: Less common.

Presentations for popper lures are commonly considered a horizontal presentation and a tight line presentation with the following considerations:

Cast Techniques:
- Common:
  - Roll Cast: Common, for less entry noise when casting to or near targeted cover.
  - Overhand: Common, for long distances.
- Less Common:
  - Pitching: Short distances.
Initial Lure Action: Some suggest letting the lure sit until the ripples dissipate.
Retrieve Techniques:
- Common:
  - Straight Retrieve:
    - Walk Retrieve: Some popper lures will support a walk retrieve which is similar to the pop retrieve except there is slack line introduced between each rod.
    - Pop: The lure is designed for a top water pop retrieve.
  - Less Common:
Secondary Action: Common to add a pause to leave the popper in the strike zone longer and to slow the fishing speed.
Hook Set: Typically, pull/sweep hook set after identifying fish on followed by landing a bass.
Repetition at Spots: Less common, but more common for a surface contact lure that doesn’t come into contact with cover (cover contacting surface contact lures include frog, toad and buzzbait).

Add-on Weight: Less common but some put weights at the back of the lure to allow lower hooks, adjust the lure action, and increase cast distance.
Add-on Blade: Not common.
Seasons: Some suggest shade in the summer.
Wave Height: Common to have no waves.
Current: Less common.
Sight Fishing: Less common albeit some suggest a good choice if selecting a surface contact lure.
- Spawning: Not common.
Follow Up Bait: Not common.
Clip or Loop Knot: Some suggest attaching a clip to the lure and tying the line to the clip to maximize action. Some suggest using a loop knot to maximize action

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