Popper design features
The popper weighs between 4-17 grams and has a rather specific appearance. The head of such a bait always has a bevel with a concave surface. Additionally, the popper can be equipped with a tail unit. All products are painted in such a way as to realistically imitate the color of small fish or frogs.
The principle of operation of poppers is quite simple: when retrieving, the concave part of the bait captures a bubble of water, which, when the movement stops, flies out of the head part with a characteristic sound. It is with this that the name is associated, which is translated from English as something gurgling. In addition to this peculiar gurgling sound, all poppers scatter splashes.
The combination of sound and splashes attracts fish: small fish feed in the surface layer of water.
Catching perch with a popper: how to choose the size, color and wiring
First of all, you should understand that fishing in this way is carried out on ponds overgrown with grass and snags or shallow water from the shore or boat. This doesn't mean it shouldn't be used otherwise. It can be used when fishing in any reservoir, both cluttered and clean, deep and shallow. Where fishing with a spoon is fraught with snagging, feel free to use floating baits.
The tackle has several advantages, such as sounds produced, vibrations and lack of penetration. Because the popper floats on the surface of the water, it is difficult to hook. With rare exceptions, a spinning angler will throw his tackle into an area where branches are sticking out. Every angler knows that it is in such areas that there are schools of perch, which is the topic of our conversation today.
There are several opinions as to why the perch attacks the popper. One of them says that he is trying to knock out a foreign predator from his territory who has swum into something other than his own. Indeed, one of the principles on which the operation of a popper is based is to attract the attention of a predator (not only perch, but also pike) due to gurgling and vibrations.
It is these vibrations and sounds that are created in two cases. One of them is when a perch finds a school of fry and attacks it. The little thing dodges and tries in every possible way to escape, sometimes jumping out of the water. You have probably observed such a picture on rivers or lakes; it occurs quite often.
The second opinion is based on the perch’s interest in noisy “fish”, that the popper simply attracts the predator with its sounds. When he swims up, he sees attractive prey and cannot pass by. There is a sense in this, but what is really going on in the striped head is unknown.
There are cases when during wiring there are very frequent derailments. You lead the bait, the blows are noticeable, but the fish is not hooked. Experienced fishermen often associate this with the fact that the predator is not trying to catch prey, but is trying to drive it away from its territory. There may be several reasons for this behavior, one of them is that the perch is full and does not intend to attack. Thus, he shows who is the boss here.
Regarding the size of the popper, don’t worry too much about it. A commonly used size is 6-7 cm, as exemplified by the 3ds popper from yo-zuri. The model has proven itself excellently and has been recommended by hundreds of spinners. In addition to stable perch fishing, pike can be caught with it, which is definitely a plus.
If the bait is more than 6-7 cm, it doesn’t matter. Perch is a greedy fish, capable of swallowing large prey, so first of all, rely on reviews and the cost of the product. It should be noted that not every bait produces a clear and loud characteristic gurgle. Some models do this somewhat quietly and calmly, while others, on the contrary, make a loud “slurp” during wiring.
Opinions still differ on the issue of the volume of the sound produced and the splashes. Some fishermen are inclined to believe that this is exactly what a popper should be different from, attracting as many predators as possible to the sound. Accordingly, the louder it is, the larger area it can fish.
Wobblers that catch 100%:
Shimano FX
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Shimano FX
More details
Shimano FX
More details
Shimano FX
More details
Others are of the opinion that an excessively loud and clear sound can scare away not only perch, but also pike. Whether this is true or not, everyone decides based on the fishing results. But it should be said that well-known brands and models of surface baits, for the most part, are catchy, despite the fact that they make a loud sound with a lot of splashes when retrieving.
A lot depends on the wiring. If you pull the spinning rod briefly and sharply, the sound produced will be louder, the more the popper will stick into the water and the more splashes there will be. You can play with a rod a little weaker and not so sharply: in this case, the movement of the bait becomes more sluggish, calm and quiet.
We will not talk about wiring methods, since there is nothing complicated about it. After the jerk, reel in the line, wait a short time and jerk again with the tip of the rod. Choose intensity, speed, strength, and pause times depending on the mood of the perch. It is impossible to say exactly how it will bite today, change your tactics and you will find a catchy fishing option. The color of the perch has no meaning; this is the practice and experience of the mass of fishermen. It is not advisable to select a color scheme for this predator, because it is not very selective in its prey.
There are also no special preferences regarding installation. The popper can be tied directly to the braided cord, but in this case, when a pike bites, you may lose the tackle. In classical rigging, the use of a string leader is commonplace. And when struck by a larger and more dangerous predator, you will have less to worry about expensive bait.
Popper fishing
These wobbler options belong to the class of floating baits. They are designed for catching predatory fish near the surface of the reservoir. Poppers for pike or perch are used in those reservoirs where there are dense thickets of aquatic vegetation. These include peat quarries, marshy ponds and lakes, bays and channels. For normal hook-free retrieval of such a bait, a layer of clean water of 5-15 cm is enough.
There are quite original hybrids that, with the traditional concave head of poppers, have a flat “belly”. This shape does not allow the product to dive deeply when jerked. These models require only 3-4 cm of a surface layer of water without vegetation for normal wiring. Therefore, they try to buy poppers precisely for the case when the use of a spinner due to vegetation or snags becomes quite problematic.
There is one more circumstance that must be taken into account when fishing with this bait: the catchability of a popper depends on the time of year. This bait shows good results from the end of May to the end of August. During this period, frogs and small fish are most active.
The possibility of an excellent catch greatly depends on the predators themselves. They have different attitudes towards the appearance of such bait. In some cases, you have to experiment in order to select the optimal model that is of interest to the pike or perch at the moment. Therefore, experienced spinning players always recommend buying poppers with different colors, design features and sizes.
Popper for perch
Lures for hunting perch differ from pike baits only in size. Since the striped robber is smaller, poppers for perch are used with a length of 3–5 cm . When hunting for specimens weighing more than 300 grams, it is advisable to enlarge to 7 cm in order to cut off small things.
For perch, as a rule, baits with positive buoyancy are used. This allows you to make its animation more varied and rich. And if a passive pike can rarely be provoked to bite, then a striped robber can be provoked by encouraging a confident grip.
Regarding coloring, the approach does not change. The popper should be clearly visible to the fisherman and controllable throughout the entire fishing trip. The best colors are acidic, orange, red and various contrasting combinations.
Ultralight surface lures Topwaters in ultralight also occupy a worthy niche. There are not many of them, and most ultralight users are familiar with these models. First of all, ultralight topwaters are good for catching boiler perch.
Popper fishing gear
The optimal gear option for fishing with this bait is considered to be a spinning rod about 2.5 meters long. All poppers require constant leash contact. Therefore, the rod should not be too long and stiff. It is better to consult with anglers with experience in this fishing. The casting distance of the bait and its subsequent performance greatly depend on the correct choice of gear.
The next important element that requires special attention from the spinning angler when using poppers is the bait leash. Elastic options are not suitable in this case. They start to curl up pretty quickly. Practical anglers equip their catchy poppers with a leash made of guitar string. Number two strings are most often used. Due to its rigidity and strength, such a leash does not twist into a spiral. Another advantage is the low weight of the string, which does not affect the casting or play of the popper at all.
Why choose a large popper?
Spinning fishermen, even with experience, are surprised when purchasing bait that its size is often slightly smaller than the perch itself. This is directly related to the fact that this fish is insatiable, it can literally swallow anything. A large mouth helps her in this (sometimes a perch can eat a small shell, but, as a rule, during a hunger strike).
Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the size of the popper. They will increase the possibility of catching larger fish. Why does popper interest perch? The bait method is like playing with feeding fish on the surface of the water. Reflexes are triggered, like the Pavlovian effect, and the fish is hooked. The noise made allows you to attract even more fish, which increases the chance of catching.
Read: Catching lenok with a spinning rod
Features of popper fishing
Of the predators in Russian reservoirs, perch is the most partial to poppers. Active attacks occur especially often when perch are hunting in schools. An inviting gurgle can awaken passive specimens that do not show interest in other types of bait. With a very small margin, pike follow in terms of interest in poppers. Ide, pike perch and rudd react to this bait. An active reaction to these baits largely depends on the quality of the wiring and the skills of the fisherman.
Popper coloring
Poppers in fishing stores are yellow, dark green, and silver with stripes; there are too many colors to list. How to choose a popper successfully? You should pay attention to the fact that they all work, but you need to pay attention to the body of water where you plan to fish. Depending on the fish in the reservoir, its bottom, the ratio of species and competition, the color of a suitable popper depends. It is recommended to choose a popper in blue and green. They are suitable for fishing in almost any body of water. A bright popper (for example, light green) will not ensure the attention of all the fish in the pond. Therefore, it is recommended to grab a couple of baits with other colors.
Read: Let's make the perch bite. What to do if the fish closed its mouth?
Experimenting and choosing the right bait is the key to successful fishing.
