Tube Popper Fly Goes to School!

Posted information about the Tube Popper Fly and the Mini Balsa Wood Lathe in the Fly Tying Forum.  A member posted pictures of Tube Popper Flies used for saltwater fishing which led to the idea of making a freshwater version of one!

Here is a picture of a prototype freshwater version; it's made with Marabou and a Balsa Wood Head that has been colored with a Sharpie.  No eyes and a quick coat of nail polish instead of epoxy.  Was in a rush to test it out....

So, tested it out at Plano East Senior High School's Catch and Release Ponds, and caught a Bass before losing the popper to a nice Bass that broke the line.  Oh well, put another Tube Popper Fly on the line (not like the prototype) and was able to catch Catfish!

Going to make more of the prototype freshwater version Tube Popper Fly.  Easy to shape and easy to make, and it catches fish!  Cannot beat that...!

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More Fishing with a Balsa Popper Fly

Quick trip this morning to Bethany Lakes.  Fished a Balsa Popper Fly and missed a Bass on the first cast.  Came off as we were landing it.  No worries... kept fishing and got a Bluegill take! Worked one bank quickly and caught a Bass before moving on to another pond down the road.

This one is by Sonic, calling it the Sonic Pond for ease of reference. Had fished one several years ago and caught mainly little Bluegill and Sunfish. Others have caught Catfish and Bass more recently.  Today, it was two Bass and one missed Bass.  All went for a Balsa Popper Fly.

Stay tuned... working on another article on tying a Balsa Popper Fly.  Will post soon as it is done!

Did get video of one missed Bass jumping out of the water; even looked like it did a flip as it went for the popper!

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Slow Go This Round But Did Get Three Bass!

Slow action this round but did manage to get three Bass to take a Balsa Popper Fly.  Had used an Extended Body Damselfly that had a number of missed strikes but nothing solid. Switched to a Blue Balsa Popper Fly and had several good strikes but no hook ups.

Then, lost the fishing fly, so switched to a really beat up Red Balsa Popper Fly.  Missed a couple of strikes but finally hooked up with three Bass!  Stay tuned... will post a link to an article on Balsa Popper Flies in the near future!

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Tube Popper Fly and Bread Did Well This Round!

Went fishing at Bethany this evening. Bite was good with several Bass, a Bluegill, and a Sunfish caught using a Tube Popper Fly!  Then, noticed lots of activity in an area where ducks were fed bread. Guess what, put some bread on the treble hook and left the Tube Popper Fly on the line. Hooked three Catfish; one went 23"... Good stuff!

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Bass Poppers This Round

Started out fishing a streamer but with so much algae to clobber the fishing fly, switched to Bass Poppers this round! Caught eight Bass and one Bluegill. Fun stuff!

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Three Bass Using Tube Damsel Flies

Slow action and a late start made it tougher to hook up today. No worries, persistence was the key. Managed to get three Bass to take an Orange Tube Damsel Fly. The size 6 treble hook made for better hook up rates with only one missed strike this time.

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Another HubPages Article - Fly Tying - Tube Popper Fly

Here is another HubPages article - "Fly Tying - Tube Popper Fly".  This is the fishing fly we make using the popper bodies that are turned on the Mini Balsa Wood Lathe!

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New HubPages Article - "Simple Mini Balsa Wood Lathe"

Here is a new article - "Simple Mini Balsa Wood Lathe"!  This is one we made using scrap parts that were gathering dust in the garage. Works well in making balsa popper bodies for the Tube Popper Fly we like to use!

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Bread for Bait Still Works!

Headed to Bethany this morning; brought a fly rod but after a short while switched to a spinning rod and freelining bread. Caught 17 Catfish - a mix of small ones as well as ones that went ~17".  Did get one that went 19"!  Good to see the bread still works.  Had a lot of missed strikes, going to pick up more hooks later today.  Need to go with a slightly larger size hook.

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Tube Damsel Fly Worked Well, Then Switched to Bread for Bait

Started out catching fish with a Tube Damsel Fly. Caught two Bass and two Catfish using a Tube Damsel Fly.  One Catfish went about 17.5".

Then, switched to bread for bait and caught a few nice Catfish. Most went 17"-18" with a few small ones mixed in.  Posted videos but did mis-count the number caught using bread... was not nine Catfish, think it was eight. No matter; had a fun time using what we had - a fly rod and freelining bread.

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