Same. 100% hookup. I'm already crankin' anyway so it's like the fish ran into it and got well hooked. I'll revisit this issue if I ever drop below 50% which just might happen now since I just watched this vid and will be jinxed.
I don't miss many on the plopper but one trick I use is to wait till I feel the bass pulling before setting the hook. Too many times I'd jerk as soon as it blows up as miss. After waiting for them to pull on it, I then know to set the hook. Might not work for everyone, but does for me.
Hey david another tip that I add to my whopper plopper is that I add a small swivel to the front of the bait where you tie your line on. Instead on tying directly to the bait tie to the swivel. Reason for that is because when the prop is spinning in the water and you get plants in between the prop and the belly, the whole bait starts to spin, spinning your line up and tangling it. Helps keep you fishing more with out problems later on. Gotta love the plopper thanks for the tips!!!
I have a fantastic hook up ratio with ploppers. I upgrade the Choppo hooks and split rings but R2S factory hooks are awesome. All of this is unnecessary in my opinion.
Great vid brother. So many people saying it’s a waste but they can’t speak for everyone. At least you’re sharing helpful content and that worth more than the negative remarks from those who have nothing helpful to share.
Cool idea. I absolutely love the Whopper Plopper. It truly is a big fish bait. For some reason, the small size #90 attracts the bigger bass down here on the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 better than the 110. I keep & fish both a lot. I think it's the higher pitch "gurgle" of the smaller bait. I only use the 110 when the surface ripple or light chop becomes too much for the 90 to work well. Both catch big bass for me. But I do catch more big bass, especially in the 6 to 8 lb range on the 90 every year here. I even caught my 4th 12 lb bass on the 90. ( 2 of my previous 12's came on wild shiners, and my 1st on a plastic worm. Gotta love the Stick Marsh. ) My main issue with these lures, is the fact they spin like a helicopter while flying through the air during a long cast. I can literally count how many times I see it spinning up there in the air, lol. It twists the line like crazy. Of course sometimes they spin when grass gets hung in the prop tail also. So I use a split ring attached directly to the bait, with a quality barrel swivel (not too big ) with NO snap attached to the ring also. I keep the split ring & barrel swivel permanent on each of my Whopper Ploppers, and tie my line directly to the barrel swivel. NO MORE LINE TWIST. The lure can "helicopter" all it wants during the cast, but the barrel swivel really does its job. Doesn't affect the action of the lure either........so long as ya use the right size split rings & barrel swivels. RU-vid "TacticalBassin" out West figured this trick out too.
The 90 is the Killer size. You can catch the 1 or 2 pounders. The hooks are really sharp. I know it will catch you a PB. This bait is the Senko of topwater baits. Shawn.
@@shawnbeck2303 I am downright spoiled from fishing the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 over the years. I'm a trophy hunter. Over the years, I've caught four 12 lb'ers, thirteen 10's, eleven 9's, and I lost count on the 6 to 8 lb'ers out of here. Some I catch on lures & soft plastics, while most I catch on jumbo live wild shiners, but only from late November through April. After that, I use only lures & soft plastics. Like I said before, for some reason on this body of water, the higher pitched buzzing of the little #90 seems to call up the bigger bass here. The only downside, is if the surface gets a little too choppy, the 90 gets "drowned out". That's when I switch to a larger size.
@@whitelightningjj631 I'm now using that latest version, I think it's called the #70? It's about the size of the 90, only it's got a deeper belly & slightly heavier. Makes just a tad more noise vs the 90, and also runs through the water truer than the 90 during fast retrieves, which tend to lean to one side while reeling it in quickly. While it does attract big quality bass, it still seems like our big Stick Marsh bass are more attracted to the higher pitched buzzing of the 90.
Brian Kissling where you live does have anything to do with what they are. Anybody anywhere can call them whatever they want but the real name is a split rings. O rings are made of rubber an are for making a seal the only time I personally have seen anyone use an o ring for fishing is on a wacky rig. But great video I actually watched it for the first time over a year ago an now have all my ploppers lighter with power swivels on them and heat shrink definitely improved the hook up ratio. 👍👍👍
Good tip. Personally, I up size the belly hook and remove the rear completely. I might miss 2 out of 10. In my experience that back hook (the stock hanging back hook) almost always ends up in the fish's eye, gill or head.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who find the "50%" hook up rate crazy. In two years I don't think I've ever missed even close to half of my plopper bites in a day.
I’ve got great hook up ration. Missed 2 out of 19 my last trip. But I think I will try it on my Chinese knock off ones that I don’t care about losing. I’ve got over 100 fish on my R2S factory hooks and split rings.
Fresh Fish Co dude same here up in CT here in New England a lmb over 6-7 lbs is a giant and I’ve landed over 100 fish from 13 lbs pike to 5-6 lbs lmb on ploppers mainly the 110 a lot of out water is clear honestly the I know it color has been killer for me it’s a sext shad color that and perch
This is really smart. If I was on a plane and it went down and I was stuck on an abandoned island. It would be great if David Dudley was present so he could figure out how to get back to civilization using a green pumpkin senko and a can of baked beans.
One thing is for sure that the senko would be fished waky style. and the beans we would use to catch smaller fish to use as bait and catch big uns. we would not die I promise you.
Thanks, Dave. I'm entertaining another trip into Ky./Tn. country to hunt bass and this modification can directly apply to a pair of my lures and their two backup buddies. Besides, I love a good hack.
I remove the back treble, upgrade/upsize the front treble and call it a day. No more foul hooks in they gills or eyes and plenty of hook ups. But really cool idea I might try!
Love the "hacks". Been fishing for a living in the Keys for the last 17 yrs but have in the last few years become a Bass nut as well and have a home in Traverse City Michigan where the Brown Bass is king but we do get nice green ones as well. So all these tips help me BIGTIME!!!! THANKS
I have a few poppers that like to foul the front hook (PopMax, etc.) and will do the wire trick, thanks. I've been doing the heat shrink tubing on big woodchopper prop baits for the Amazon for a few years and it works great. On big split rings and screw eyes the regular shrink tubing (2;1) is tough to slide over but they do make 4:1 so you can use a bigger size that shrinks down more.
I love the video you showed us on how to modify the Whopper popper I love the Whopper popper I've caught a lot of baths and lots of moving some bluegill mostly bass but I've also missed a lot of baths I'm going to have to try this technique and see if it really works keep up the good work love the video
I agree with David. I have missed a lot of fish on ploppers and choppos. I always change out the hooks for feathered trebles, but have never use the nose to add a hook or the shrink wrap thing.
Only additional thing I've done to mine was add a spilt ring, swivel, split ring on the nose to tie to. If grass gets in the spinner the whole lure spins and then your line is a mess.
I like the shrink tube and feathered treble in the aft position. I also like swapping the split rings and hooks out. But I’ll pass on the other modification. It probably works it just doesn’t out weigh the benefit /labor ratio. I’ll probably start doing the shrink wrap and feathered hook on the rear though. Thanks.
I agree with many that the hook up ratio with Ploppers is fairly high. Maybe that's because I dont throw the 130 much. What happens when you catch a fish and the rig falls apart? :(
One tip I'll share that works well here on clear Table Rock... I always spray paint the last 1/2" of the propeller tip, both sides, with white paint no matter what color or size plopper I'm using. This adds a nice white color splash target to your lure. Very effective in Clear water. lakes w thread fin or gizzard shad
I have the 90 Wopper Plopper. I am not messing with it. Just bought haven't try it yet. Didn't want a bigger top water bait. Also have a Zara Spook jr. Same length. Shawn
My thumb is living proof that the hooks on a Whopper Plopper are sharp as Hell! While trying to get the treble hooks out of a bass I caught. The hooks were stabbing me to death. Then one of the hooks stuck in my thumb. Still has not healed up 5 days later. Great lure. But beware! Fisherman the Hooks are very sharp! Learn from me and my sore thumb. Shawn.
The Whopper Plopper is simply a copy of an older musky bait from years ago called a "Mud Puppy". What made the Mud Puppy an easier to work with lure was that it was made of wood and the back fin was metal, which allowed you to get the type of sound and action you wanted. Plus, the lure could take a beating - one in my tackle box was over 20 years old and although it was beaten up and chewed it still caught fish. I wish the company would have made the Whopper Plopper so that it was more easy to adjust and customize.
Actually, you can customize the tail of a whopper plopper. Just boil some water and dip the tail in until its at the softness you prefer. Then just start to shape it. It may take a few times. Once you get it to the shape you desire, dip it into COLD water. It should then hold its shape. I know its not the same as customizing it on the water while youre fishin, but it is an option to customize if you want ton Good luck fishin out there!
Thanks for taking the time to educate us Dave. I'll give it a try. I've got a nice hook up ratio but did lose one that really mattered in a tournament when I first started throwing the ploppers. . What rod do you use? I switched to a 7'10" heavy crank bait rod (believe it) and they hook and stay pinned effortlessly. I'm telling you it works excellent. Thanks again for your time.
817 subs, i am on board. I like the tips although I experience an almost 80% hook up on the whopper plopper. It seems to never miss for me. Maybe I am just lucky but I will def keep this one in mind and check back for others.
Just a note: epoxy is much more difficult to work with than modern UV resins (like Loon or Deer Creek) used by fly tyers, which give you all the working time and control you could want but cure with a UV light in a matter of seconds. You can also use Bondic. These products are a little more expensive but much easier and quicker to work with than epoxy.
Appreciate these tips - You gave me another idea with your shrink tubing - I like to run a spook jr with a short “line” trailer treble with feather to land short strikes - the problem with it is even with the thin clear tubing they give you with this set up to stiffen the trailer line, the tubing is not effective enough to keep that trailer hook from fouling with the mid body hook - makes sense to me to try that heat shrink to keep the trailer hook and line stiffer - I also feel that that trailer does not need to swing completely free either - I am going to try this mod. Thanks again.
I use the 110 a lot and when there on it their in the boat for me probably 90%. (What is your rod/line set up?) When they are slapping at it and just missing it I put it down and throw a pop-r or even a subsurface lure. Seems to work for me but I'm fishing club tournaments so apple's to oranges. I am going to try this though. Thanks subscribed.
Good choice Brian of the switch of baits! But you won't be missing many at all with this Hack! Good luck and always let the fish tell you what they want!
I agree with the feather treble, but the front hook seems a little excessive as well as the extra additional tackle to prevent the hook from snagging themselves. These mods seem to make the bait stiff especially in the back where a feather should be more free to increase action.
Lures never good out of box. Hacks always a must. Yours are great. Gamakatsu's alone are worth the money. Stiff at the back... great idea. Sure that all of your suggestions make for a better killer bass lure.
If you only catch 50% of your hits on a Whopper Plopper then you are poorly setting the hook or aren't using the right equipment. The hooks on them are not too small, and they catch fish. If I get a good bite on one... they don't get away. You also only need feathered trebles if you are stopping and going. Whopper Ploppers are best on a straight retrieve.
Try using the same hook replacement arrangement, but with 2 tiny rubber bands around the body, to hold the hooks up against it. No cast fouling and, much better hookups.
