Fly Fishers, Think Ahead – Poppers Now Mean Big Bad Bass Later
New crop of poppers.
They may not be the prettiest poppers in the world, but I am turning them out at a record rate due to the use of Clear Cure Goo’s newest cure – HYDRO. No more tackiness, and no more top-coating. This stuff is the real deal. I use it to finish off Clouser heads, and now since I can see the spring light at the end of the tunnel, I am turning HYDRO on to poppers as well. The results have been fantastic – super clear, dry in 60 seconds (and I let them sun for a day or two in the window), and after that you are good to go.
Poppers are a lot of work compared to many flies, but they can also be an opportunity to try things you may think of as “secret weapons,” like the doll eyes I put on a couple of flies just to see what happens. One thing I am pretty consistently different about is placing the eyes a little lower on the body than most tiers. Ultimately, I think they are better off low, or too low, than too high, but ultimately, if you can get them to sit on the surface … I’m guessing that would be a killer.
It seals, creates a bond between eyes of all kinds and your popper surface, and if you handle it just right (use a rotary vise to coat, turn and cure, you can end up with some natural looking “googgly-eyed” poppers that look like the eyes actually belong there.
I am using the Japanese Copic Air Brush System
Yeah, they may not be pretty, but then how often does a largemouth bass back off, turn and run?
Category: Fly Tying
