Ever popped trout?

Uptonogood · Oct 10, 2023

When I was a kid, my disabled father would tell me stories of his fishing mountain lakes in New Mexico. Among his stories was his adamant insistence that small popping bugs were killer on trout. I brushed off his words as ridiculous and kept the “bugs” he bought for me in my “I’ll try these when nothing else works” fly box.

One day on a whim, I tied a small red red body, black hackle popper on and made a few casts off the old fishing pier/raft they had on Dog Lake. Those rainbows totally destroyed that bug and the white one I replaced it with.

I’m living back in the land of bream (bluegills) and bass again and just ordered a collection of poppers. That’s what triggered a 60 years ago memory I hadn’t thought about in, oh, 59 years or so. If anyone else has/had similar experiences I’d love to hear them.

Josh · Oct 10, 2023

I'm interested to hear if others have experience with this. On the one hand, it seems silly. On the other hand, aggressive trout are a thing. Hell, big brown trout eat mouse patterns. Those are essentially a "popper".

Matt B · Oct 10, 2023

Yeah, I've caught stocker RBs and wild cutts on bluegill poppers. Maybe they think it's some more yummy powerbait. "Quick, get it, it's gettin' away!!"

Smalma · Oct 10, 2023

Once I took up chironomid fishing like most, I have had many "bobber" bites and in slow moments have thought about the potential of a smaller body "cork fly".

Cabezon · Oct 10, 2023

Matt B said:
Yeah, I've caught stocker RBs and wild cutts on bluegill poppers. Maybe they think it's some more yummy powerbait. "Quick, get it, it's gettin' away!!"

And don't those stocker trout look embarrassed when you bring them in to be released...

Steve

Matt B · Oct 10, 2023

Cabezon said:
And don't those stocker trout look embarrassed when you bring them in to be released...
Steve

Those dopey goofball stockers don't even know enough to have the self respect to be ashamed of themselves.

Chucker · Oct 10, 2023

I have caught hundreds of trout on a mini muddler minnow, well treated with floatant so that it floats like a cork. It’s not that far from there to a popper.

wmelton · Oct 10, 2023

After seeing trout chase down skittering salmonflies on the madison I tied up several salmonfly poppers. My vision being I would fish them from a moving drift boat which would allow me to get more of a skitter pop presentation than a swinging wake. Maybe next year.

TicTokCroc · Oct 10, 2023

Any of the modern foam sacrilege trout "attractor" patterns are basically a bluegill popper.

Uptonogood · Oct 10, 2023

The fish my father was talking about were caught in the late 1930’s in New Mexico. I’m pretty confident they weren’t stockers. Several of the fish I encountered were at least holdovers, fought hard, too.

Flymph · Oct 10, 2023

Paint black dots on your smallest, yellow, strike indicator and hold on!

oph · Oct 10, 2023

Hiked to a certain WA grayling lake this summer. The grayling were really cool, but after one I figured I had my fill and switched to the most ridiculous thing in my box: a little black and yellow panfish popper. Every spot I fished I got a hit or an aerial take from some alpine cutthroat on my first cast or two. The grayling were cool, definite bucket list filler, but the real thing that will keep me up and talking about that lake was the cutties on poppers.

Northern · Oct 10, 2023

Have caught cutthroat in both salt and lakes on gurglers many times

Also had one crazy day on a recently stocked trout lake where they went berserk for this goofy fly I tied with styrofoam balls. They were literally chasing it across the surface for yards, and fighting over it. I have NO idea why, and have not repeated that action since! They completely destroyed it.

Jake Watrous · Oct 10, 2023

No, but I’ve used a slider called a popper for cutthroat with mixed results.

jasmillo · Oct 10, 2023

On a trip to AK a few years back, I caught some nice trout on small bass/panfish poppers. That was a lot of fun. On subsequent trips, conditions have not been right to try it again unfortunately.

SurfnFish · Oct 10, 2023

kissin couzin to the popper, the water boatman...

Long_Rod_Silvers · Oct 11, 2023

I've had success at RF was with a sculpin pattern I had tied that wouldn't sink (way too much wool for the head). It had a slider/popper effect (depending on how fast I stripped), as it just floated on the surface. It kind of resembles a frog when its stripped. The best part is every so often the fish will wake behind it before they blow it up. A lot of fun seeing a wake heading toward the fly from several feet away. Can be a lot of fun if there are some hot fish around.