Archery season starts in these parts on Friday, so this may be my last fishing blog for a while as I get into hunting mode again.
Meanwhile, my father was a die-hard largemouth bass fisherman and unlike most, he loved the flyrod. Every weekend he was able in the summer, we would take the old aluminum 12 -foot V-hull mirrorcraft and head to a downstate Delaware bass pond. He told me when he was younger, he became friends and fished several times with the legendary Joe Brooks. That may have kindled this flyrod obsession for bass. He was a frugal child of the depression, so his gear was never top of the line, and he even made his own rods at times. Sometimes, this put him at a disadvantage, but he always managed to catch bass and spread his love of the flyrod to us boys.
One of his ultimate favorite ways to catch bass was with the Hula Popper around the lily pads. He was convinced the skirt, combined with the many white rubber legs, was a bass magnet. He suspected that those legs and skirt action would flare out on a pause after a pop or two on the surface. His favorite color was black.
After his passing, I inherited a fly box that was chock full of popper bodies. If anyone is familiar with the Hula popper, even the spin version, they know that the skirts just did not hold up. They would get stiff and dry rot, and if they were anywhere near plastic worms in the box they would melt into a mass of plastic. The rubber legs were not much hardier as they would get brittle after a couple years. Well, this fly box was filled with formerly fished popper bodies, maybe about 20 in all, in a variety of colors. There was a smaller and a larger size also. The smaller will be just the ticket for smallmouth I believe.
I decided to refurbish and use these again but first did a little internet research in case they were still made and I could purchase replacement skirts. No luck, they are not made anymore, so it was time spend some time at the fly vice.
A little internet research was enlightening.
I learned that the Hula Popper was created in the 1940's, and was one of the few spin plugs that started out as a flyrod popper first! Here is a 1947 advertisement from Sports Afield with an earlier version without the rubber legs.
I received a pack of silicone leg material, that I hope might last a bit longer than rubber. I needed to use my bodkin, and bobbin threader to pull two sets of legs through the holes from the original locations. Instead of a skirt, I just tied in bundles of silicone legs doubled over. Most took some touch up of black UV epoxy for freshening up the paint job. Sharpened the hooks again and I made a thread dam behind the hook eye. Some of these eyes had a gap that may fray or turn out tippet.
I am happy with how they came out! I may not get a chance to use them until next spring, but I think it is very cool to refurbish these old, no longer made, bass classics. Maybe my Pop will help me catch a few more fish still. Thanks Dad.
