| Fishing popper | |
|---|---|
| Artificial fly | |
 | |
| Type | Popper |
| Imitates | Baitfish |
| Typical hooks | Popper |
| Body | Foam |
| Uses | |
| Primary use | Bass |
| Other uses | Panfish |
The popper is an effective and proven lure designed to move water using a concave or hollowed nose. Poppers aim to simulate any sort of distressed creature that might be moving or struggling on the surface of the water (baitfish, frogs, and insects are the most typical imitations). Poppers are used with spin fishing and fly fishing.
Originally this timeless lure was crafted from wood and painted or shaped to match the pattern of baitfish. This quickly evolved into more intricate patterns that mimicked a broader scope of the common prey of predatory fish. Along with different imitations, different materials and technologies have been integrated with this classic platform like rattles, soft bodies, and other synthetic body materials. This iconic pattern has been used to create topwater commotion for many decades, but has been most notable for its presence in bass fishing throughout America. Though this pattern is used for many other species of fish the bass is often tightly connected with topwater poppers. Another species often targeted with poppers is the giant trevally (GT). Catching GT on poppers is becoming more and more popular due to the GT's aggressive surface take. Used by fly and conventional anglers alike, this pattern has not failed fishermen since its creation around a century ago.
While the popper has been used to catch fish since its arrival, a universal technique on how to properly fish a popper lure exists. The goal is to get a reaction bite from a member of your target species. Therefore you must present the lure in a way that seems natural to the fish. First, you must pick out a suitable popper for the type of fish you are going to be fishing for. Important characteristics include the type of material the popper is made out of, the color of the popper, the size of the popper and the locations of hooks on the lure. Secondly, you must tie the popper to your line properly using a strong fishing knot so that the lure will not slip off or be pulled off by a fish. Next, seek out a target area where you think the desired species of fish will be. Cast your popper out and once it hits the water, let it sit for a few seconds. The sound of the popper hitting the water alone is enough of a disturbance to draw a fish to the sound and induce it to strike at the lure. That is why it is essential to leave your lure in the spot where you cast it for a few seconds before you start to retrieve your line. As you start to retrieve your line, the best technique is to pull the lure towards you, creating sound and motion in the water, then stop abruptly, letting the popper sit in the water while you retrieve the slack line. You will want to continue this intermittent retrieval until the popper nears the rod. You can then cast the lure back out and repeat the retrieval technique. Once a fish strikes at the popper, you should not immediately yank your rod back to try to set the hook. It is essential to let the fish take the popper underwater prior to setting the hook so that you do not pull the popper out of its mouth. This will ultimately increase your hook-up ratio. [1] [2] [3]
Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water at a consistent, low speed. This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from a jetty. Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as salmon, mackerel and kingfish.
A fishing line is any flexible, high-tensile cord used in angling to tether and pull in fish, in conjunction with at least one hook. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed attachment to the end of a rod, or via a motorized trolling outrigger.
Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is insufficient to overcome air resistance, it cannot be launched far using conventional gears and techniques, so specialized tackles are used instead and the casting techniques are significantly different from other forms of angling. It is also very common for the angler to wear waders, carry a hand net, and stand in the water when fishing.
Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniques such as handlining also exist. Modern angling rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a cranking device for storing, retrieving and releasing out the line, although Tenkara fishing and traditional cane pole fishing are two rod-angling methods that do not use any reel. The fish hook itself can be additionally weighted with a denser tackle called a sinker, and is typically dressed with an appetizing bait to attract and entice the fish into swallowing the hook, but sometimes an inedible fake/imitation bait with multiple attached hooks is used instead of a single hook with edible bait. Some type of bite indicator, such as a float, a bell or a quiver tip, is often used to relay underwater status of the hook to the surface and alert the angler of a fish's presence.
A fishing lure is any one of a broad category of artificial angling baits that are inedible replicas designed to mimic prey animals that attract the attention of predatory fish, typically via appearances, flashy colors, bright reflections, movements, vibrations and/or loud noises which appeal to the fish's predation instinct and entice it into gulping the lure. Angling activities using lures are known as lure fishing.
Fly tying is the process of producing an artificial fly used by fly fishing anglers to catch fish. Fly tying is a manual process done by a single individual using hand tools and a variety of natural and manmade materials that are attached to a hook. Although the recent history of fly tying dates from the middle 1800s, fly tyers were engaged in tying flys since at least 200 AD.
The Muddler Minnow is a popular and versatile artificial fly of the streamer type used in fly fishing and fly tying.
Coarse fishing is a phrase commonly used in Britain and Ireland. It refers to the angling for rough fish, which are fish species considered undesirable as food or game fish. Freshwater game fish are all salmonids, particularly salmon, trout and char. Generally, coarse fish are freshwater fish that are not salmonids, though there is often disagreement over whether grayling should be classified as a game fish or a coarse fish.
A topwater fishing lure or walker is a type of surface fishing lure, usually floating just at the water surface, that may be moved about the surface of water in order to attract and cause fish to attempt to strike the lure. Non-floating versions may be retrieved at sufficient speed to cause them to travel at the water's surface.
Dry fly fishing is an angling technique in which the lure is an artificial fly which floats on the surface of the water and does not sink below it. Developed originally for trout fly fishing.
The Pheasant Tail nymph or PT Nymph or Sawyer's Pheasant Tail is a popular all purpose nymph imitation used by fly anglers. It imitates a large variety of olive, olive-brown colored aquatic insect larvae that many fish including trout and grayling feed upon.
Plugs are a popular type of hard-bodied fishing lure, characterized by a specially designed foil at the front end known as the bill or lip. Plugs are widely known by a number of other names depending on the country and region, including crankbait, wobbler, minnow, shallow-diver and deep-diver. The term minnow is usually used for long, slender, lures that imitate baitfish, while the term plug is usually used for shorter, deeper-bodied lures which imitate deeper-bodied fish, frogs and other prey. Shallow-diver and deep-diver refer to the diving capabilities of the lure, which depends on the size and angle of the lip, and lure buoyancy.
An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing. In general, artificial flies are an imitation of aquatic insects that are natural food of the target fish species the fly fishers try to catch. Artificial flies are constructed by fly tying, in which furs, feathers, thread or any of very many other materials are tied onto a fish hook.
A surface lure or topwater lure is a diverse class of fishing lure designed to attract predatory fish through commotions produced at the water surface, imitating preys of interest swimming at the surface such as injured baitfish, frogs, wading mice, lizards and water snakes, drowning insects and dabbling ducklings. These lures are preferred by some anglers due to the belief that they attract larger-than-average fish, and from the added excitement of actually seeing the sudden splashes created by fish aggressively breaching the surface to strike the lure, in some instances even clearly seeing the fish stalking the lure before striking.
Surf fishing is land-based game fishing while standing on the shoreline or wading into the surf zone. A general term, surf fishing may or may not include casting a lure or bait, and refers to all types of shore fishing – from sandy and rocky beaches, rock jetties, or even fishing piers. The terms surfcasting or beachcasting refer more specifically to surf fishing from the beach by casting into the surf at or near the shoreline. With few exceptions, surf fishing is done in saltwater. The most common misconception about surf fishing is the idea that one must cast as far out as possible in order to reach the fish. At beaches on the west coast of the United States, and in fact, at most beaches around the world, you only really need to get your bait into knee-deep water. This is referred to as surf fishing the "skinny".
Zara Spook 9260 (1939–present) is a topwater type fishing lure. The lure is cast out and retrieved in a "walk the dog" fashion. It is supposed to mimic an injured fish and comes in many different fashions but the most prominent is the minnow type. Any fish that takes its prey from the water's surface would be considered a targeted species with this lure.
Spin fishing is an angling technique where a spinnerbait, a type of hybrid fishing lure with at least one freely rotating blade, is used to entice the fish to bite. When the line is reeled back, the spinnerbait blades will spin passively with the oncoming water flow, in turn stirring up a significant amount of turbulence and noise, which transmit through the water and provoke predatory fish to strike the lure out of their foraging as well as territorial instincts. Spin fishing is used in both freshwater and marine environments.
Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs and edible marine invertebrates.
Kite fishing is a fishing technique. It involves a kite from which a drop line hangs, attached to a lure or bait. The kite is flown over the surface of a body of water, and the bait floats near the waterline until taken by a fish. The kite then drops immediately, signaling to the fisherman that the bait has been taken, and the fish can then be hauled in. Kites can provide boatless fishermen access to waters that would otherwise be available only to boats. Similarly, for boat owners, kites provide a way to fish in areas where it is not safe to navigate - such as shallows or coral reef.
A tube fly is a general tying style of artificial fly used by fly anglers. Tube flies differ from traditional artificial flies as they are tied on small diameter tubes, not hooks. Tube flies were originated in Aberdeen, Scotland by fly-dresser Minnie Morawski for Atlantic salmon anglers around 1945. Tube flies were designed to improve hooking success and to prevent damage to complex and expensive salmon flies by the teeth of hooked salmon. Tube flies have been widely adapted to fly patterns for a variety of cold water and warm water species and are extremely popular for steelhead and salmon in the Pacific Northwest and northeast United States, as well as saltwater species along the Atlantic, Florida and Gulf Coasts. They are widely used in European waters for Atlantic salmon, sea trout and pike.
