Note: We did not invent this pattern; it has been pieced together from various popper and ocean shrimp patterns I have seen over the years. It is unique enough that we will claim credit to the Bass Popper version being fished in Warren and Sussex County, NJ.
During May and June Bass begin to feed upon top water poppers. For a Trout fisherman this is equivalent to the hopper season, when huge Trout gobble ungainly foam hoppers whole. The bucket mouths will emerge from below to grab a popper at such speed you will see an underwater wake racing towards your popper. The tail creates life like action to mimic an amphibian racing across the surface of the water.
Start the thread right before the hook bend; cover a small area with the thread to create a base for the tail.
Select the Yellow Bucktail, cut a pinch of hair fibers (around 25), and tie in on top of the base you created in the previous step. The tail should be 1 and ½ times the length of the hook shank.
Select four pieces of Crystal Flash, place along the tail on one side of the hook shank, loop the strands around the top of the shank and run along the other side of the hook shank. Trim to match the length of the tail, be careful not to cut the bucktail.
Select the Green Bucktail, cut a pinch of hair fibers (around 25), and tie in on top of the Yellow Bucktail. Align to the existing tail length. Remember to always cut the butt end of the fibers off at a 45-degree angle; this makes it easier to cover with thread.
Tie in four more pieces of Crystal Flash in manner similar to my description in Step 1 C.
The concept for the body on this fly comes from a shrimp popper pattern Captain Daniel Andrews handed Brenton on our guided trip while staying at Sanibel Island. The shrimp in the bay will hop along the surface of the water especially to avoid predators. This is the same popping sound that entices Bass to strike.
First you need to pre-cut a piece if yellow foam, then the orange foam. Yellow serves as the belly, orange as an indicator for your ability to detect a strike while floating on the water surface. Yellow foam should be 1-½ inches long by ½ inch wide. The orange foam should be trimmed to ¾ inch long and ½ inch wide. Now your foam is ready for attachment to the body.
Prepare the tie in area by wrapping thread over the butt ends of the Bucktail, work up and down the tail mound a few times to make an even though sloping surface.
Pick up your piece of yellow foam; hold the piece on top of the shank, and slide the foam down so only a small portion is on covering the base area you just created. Begin to tie the foam in tightly over the tail mound of thread, to tie on, pinch the foam around the shank making it create a U shape. This action will ease getting your initial wraps in place. Tie in and cover evenly, leave a tiny area at the back of the mound without thread so you will be able to roll the foam over in later steps.
Now take the Estaz and cut an eight-inch piece. Tie this piece in on at the tail end of the mount we just created with the foam. Cover the butt piece completely. Now wrap a base layer of thread forward to one hook eye from the hook eye. This prevents slippage and allows you to evenly wrap the estaz forward up the shank. Once you have wrapped the Estaz up the shank, tie off and cut excess one hook eye’s distance from the hook eye.
Now pinch the overhanging piece of foam between your thumb and forefinger. Flip it up, over the tie in point towards the hook eye where the thread is hanging. In the same manner that you secured it to the shank in Step 3 B, secure it at the front tie in point. Try not to crowd the hook eye, as there are additional components that need to be added.
I like to give the fly a lifelike appearance, closely modeling it after a live amphibian that the bass are seeing in the pond or lake you are fishing. Does this really matter? The jury is still out on that; Bass strike mainly for the sound and movement. Its similar to the Trout fly concept of size first, shape of flies next and then color last. Adding the lifelike features helps me as an angler to visualize a strike. That being said, you can build a Bass popper out of a 1-inch PVC pipe filled with BBs with a treble hook attached. Bass are not going to give you an award for the most life like fly. As opposed to Trout, Bass are consumed with a fear of missing their next meal.
Flip the popper upside down in the vice, being careful as to not allow your handy work to unwind. Pinch 10 to 15 fibers in your thumb and forefinger. Tie in at the front point where we pinched the foam in. Optimally you will create a fanned out beard for the popper. Once you have secured, trim the excess butt end fiber crowding the hook eye.
Now we will secure the orange indicator foam. This foam serves two purposes first as an indicator and secondly a surface for water to flip up against and make the popping or splashing to woo the Bass. Align the front of the foam with the front of the yellow foam, the yellow foam will stick out (trimmed later). Pinch and wrap in through the same band as they yellow foam. Use Zap a Gap to glue the orange foam’s shank end against the yellow foam. Do not glue the front end of the foam.
Trim the front foam, what we will refer to as the “mouth” equal to each other.
Now that the primary components of making the popper look life like are complete we can move onto the finishing touches.
Whip finish the fly by lifting up the foam and completing the four wraps right behind the eye of the hook.
Take two flat eyes and gently stick them to the top of the orange foam.
Use the Essie nail polish. Paint a mouth between the yellow and orange foam. This resembles one of Fred Arbogast’s Hula Poppers or a frog with its mouth wide open.
Bass aggressively attack poppers, they fear missing a tasty morsel of food. Try to limit false casting of these large flies, two to three false casts should be enough force to fire them out there. Use the double- hauling technique to give the cast more power.
Look for dark spots in the water and breaks in the weeds, don’t line the fish, instead, cast in a way that allows you to pull along the edge of the coloration changes.
The popper will land with a hard splash; let it sit for a minute until the ripples are gone. Then begin retrieving with two-inch jerk strips. Between every strip, allow the ripples to dissipate. If a Bass is coming at it, don’t stop stripping maintain the same retrieve speed. If she wants it, she will get it!
If you are unable to entice any strikes or interest attempt a different retrieve. For example, sometimes the Bass will attack a continuous slow retrieve. The key is to experiment and figure out where the Bass are hiding.
If your idea of a fantastic fly-fishing trip includes inspirational scenery, an abundance of trout, and delicious home cooked meals every evening, then a trip to Utah’s Green River, should be your next destination Fly Fishing adventure. Our family was able to coordinate our vacations, enabling us to all meet at the Spring Creek Guest Ranch, located on the Utah-Wyoming border. This has become an annual road trip for us for the past three years. The three of us: Lisa, Christopher, and my self, will drive continuously for 28 hours, to reach our destination at the Spring Creek Ranch. My other son: Brenton and his girlfriend Jourdan will rendezvous with us at the Ranch. This year, their fly-fishing friend: Matt also came along to enjoy the fishing on the Green River.
Technology has made the trip very comfortable for us. For example, our GMC Yukon has satellite radio, On-Star navigation, DVD player, and comfortable seating. In addition, Christopher and Lisa now have smart phones. Christopher was able to conduct business over his phone, Lisa was able to take care of issues that needed to be addressed while we were away, and they were both able to view Netflix movies on their phones as well. The only information I received on my phone was that our data level was being drained, the current level was at 10%, and that I better update it soon.
Once we had arrived at the Spring Creek Ranch, we met our hosts: AJ, Rachael, and Pat. The Ranch is very rustic with comfortable cabins, rooms, magnificent scenery, and delicious food. As major groceries are roughly 60 miles away, it’s wise that anyone interested in staying here contact Rachael beforehand and discuss what types of food you would care to have. This will allow Rachael to prepare her shopping list before she heads out to the store. In addition, I recommend acquiring a river guide a few months prior to the trip to enhance your fly-fishing experience on the Green River. Once again we made arrangements with Trout Creek Flies (435) 885-3355, to book Gene Gautieri as our river guide. Gene may also be contacted at skifish@siska.com. This year due to scheduling conflicts, Gene would only be able to guide for us on our first day on the river. However, he recommended his protege: Nick Jackson, to be our guide for the remaining dates. Nick is also a fantastic guide; he began his career as a river guide in Alaska at the age of 18. He now guides on the Green River in the summer and during the winter months in Chile.
Jourdan’s step dad: Scott was also a river guide in his younger days, and has two drift boats. One of which he allows Brenton to utilize. Brenton also has a pontoon boat that he brought along this year as well. The original plan this year was to have Brenton fish with Gene, as Brenton has acted as our guide the past few years, and we wanted him to be the client for a change. As a surprise to both Lisa and myself, the kids informed us that Gene would be guiding for us instead. As soon as we began casting on the river Lisa was on fire, catching nice full-bodied, 12-17 inch Rainbow and Brown Trout. She was out fishing me at a rate of 6 to 1. I enjoyed watching her laugh, smiling, and enjoying herself, as she does so much for our family all year long
The second day, Christopher and Jourdan fished with our guide Nick. Lisa and myself fished with Brenton in “Larry” the Lavro drift boat on the B section of the Green River. Matt was on the pontoon boat for his first time. Once Matt became familiar on how to navigate the boat, he did quite well, landing in some nice sized Rainbow’s and Brown Trout. For Lisa and myself, the fishing was a little slow, as we are inexperienced in casting with a steady breeze blowing at us. Brenton was having some luck when he would pull the boat to shore and fish from the river’s edge. While Brenton was fishing, we pulled out the new portable grill to cook up some hotdogs, when we discovered an unpleasant surprise. The igniter switch was broken and we had no matches! However, we did have bread and a bag of Doritos, so we put Doritos chips between the bread and had Doritos sandwiches. All of us could not wait until we got back to the Ranch and had Rachael’s homemade pizza! Near the end of the day, with approximately a half-mile to travel before we reached our exit point at Indian Crossing, we started to pull in some nice 16 and 17 inch Rainbow Trout. This made us forgot about the sparse lunch we had. Once off the river, it was back to the Ranch, for some great homemade pizza that Rachael and Pat had prepared!
Christopher and Jourdan had a good day on the A section of the river, with Nick as their guide. They had invited Nick back to dinner at the Ranch, and this was the first time that we had the opportunity to meet Nick, and he is a very nice individual. It was interesting to hear about his guiding experiences in Alaska, Green River, and in Chile. As always, Rachael had prepared a fantastic meal, and even though we were all thoroughly stuffed, there was still enough room for Pat’s delicious Margarita pie!
Our third day on the river began with all of us awaking to a crisp, welcomed coolness in the air, after enduring an extraordinarily hot summer back in New Jersey. We met Nick at Trout Creek, and we all agreed to fish the A section of the river, as this would allow Lisa and myself to practice our casting along with catching some trout. Nick exemplifies all the tireless energy of youth, with his insistence to continuously row back up the river to catch a good drift, where he knows trout to be lurking. Again, Lisa was on fire and was landing many Rainbow and Brown Trout. During the middle of the day, Lisa hooked into a real fighter! Her rod was bending with the trout trying to go deep in the water. Nick coached Lisa, instructing her to let the fish take the line. I had never seen a fish pull all the line out of a fly rod before! Nick expertly guided Lisa into bringing a beautiful full-bodied 19-inch Brown Trout into the net. Lisa played that fish for a good five minutes and her arms were a little tired after the ordeal. I was also ready for a nap after watching her work that fish into the boat! We reluctantly reached the off loading area at around 6 pm.
Again, we invited Nick back to the Spring Creek Ranch, where Rachael had prepared her unbelievably delicious, belly-busting ribs! We all sat around enjoying the solitude of the evening, enjoying ribs, drinking 24 ounce Alaskan Amber Ale, and doing shots of Tequila with Rachael’s mom: Pat. Everyone was mellowing out and talking about their experiences on the river for that day.
As an extra bonus, Rachael informed us that we would be able to stay in our cabin for another night if we cared to. In addition, Nick informed us that his schedule was free the next day as well, and if we wanted to, he would guide for us. Fantastic, we all had another round of Tequila to celebrate our good fortune!
The next morning, the weather had changed, and there was light drizzle in the air. Luckily, we had remembered our rain gear and put it on. The weather had changed, and so had my luck, as it was my turn to land some nice trout on the Green! Again, Nick would row back up the river to catch a good drift. During those drifts, Lisa and I were able to land Rainbow, Brown, and German Brown Trout that were not giving up without giving both of us some good fights. Nick pulled along shore to try a different fly setup for Lisa. During that time, I took a few casts while waiting, and then wham; I had hooked a big one by the feel of my fly rod! Nick expertly instructed me on how to guide the trout into the net, as I tried to maneuver the fish away from rocks or other obstacles that the trout was trying to dive under to spit out the fly. What a feel of satisfaction and excitement of being able to land that full-bodied 18-inch Rainbow Trout! Being outdoors, enjoying nature, and the challenges of fly-fishing for a few days in succession, allowed Lisa and myself to enhance our fly-fishing skills. Moreover, the advantage of fishing continuously, allowed us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes, enabling us to land fish that we were losing in the beginning of our trip.
As with everything in life, all good things must come to an end. Fortunately, the memories remain on. The sun had begun to lower in the sky, and our boat-landing site had come into view. Both of us wanted to land just one more trout before we ended the trip. Nick obliged us by rowing back up river to catch a few more drifts. Nick’s hard work was not wasted, as Lisa and myself were both able to land another trout before we docked the boat. That evening, both Nick and Gene came back to the Spring Creek Ranch for one final feast prepared by Rachael and Pat. More fish stories were told, Alaskan Ale consumed, and shots of Tequila downed, creating memories that will be re-told for years to come.
The next morning we sadly said our goodbyes to Rachael, Pat, and AJ. Hopefully, they will still be operating the Spring Creek ranch for a few more years. We then traveled to Park City, Utah, to spend a day in the old mining town, which is now a world-class ski destination. We did some sightseeing, shopping, and visited Trout Bums, for some fly-fishing gear. The following morning, we began our long journey home. Not long into the ride home, we began talking about our fishing adventure, and ultimately, began planning next year’s family fly-fishing trip.
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