HubPages Article - "Balsa Popper Fly"!

Here is a new article - "Balsa Popper Fly" to check out.  Hope our Readers find it useful when fly fishing in the their area!

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Homemade Green LED Fishing Light: How Long Will a 9 Volt Battery Last?

Question from a Reader on how long the 9 volt battery will last in the light.  So far, this one has been on for over 54 hours.... and still counting!  This one uses the same circuit as designed in our article - Making a Simple Green LED Fishing Light - Part 1 LED Circuit.  The difference is a Sealed Glass Container is used instead of a PVC Body!

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A Bluegill This Round....

Fished Bethany Creek Park Pond and had a missed strike.  Moved on to Bethany Lakes and fished the Lower Pond.  Caught a Bluegill but missed several other strikes.  Then, one more time back to Bethany Creek Park Pond; missed one strike before calling it a day.  Not sure why; "mojo" was not on today with so many missed strikes!  Going to try again another day.

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Tube Popper Fly Does Well This Round!

Started fishing Bethany Lakes. Had one strike and a miss, so headed down the road to try Bethany Creek Park Pond. No bites for about a half hour, and then hooked up with Bass. Caught four Bass, missed others... going to blame it on the pretty woman in the white shorts that walked by!  Largest Bass went 15" in size!

Used a Red with White Marabou Tube Popper Fly to catch three, and a Yellow with White Marabou to catch one.  Here is a picture of the Freshwater version of the Saltwater one.  Looks like it works!

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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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Only Two This Round

Only two this round but did have several missed hook sets and break offs.  Had tied two Tube Damsel Flies - one Olive and one Purple. Was able to hook and land a 17.5" Catfish with the Olive one, and then lost the fishing fly to a break off.

Fished the Purple Damsel Fly and had several more missed hook sets, and then had a Bruiser break the line. Out of Tube Damsel Flies, switched to COAF Damsel Flies.  More missed hook sets, and then noticed people feeding ducks with bread.

Soon after the Catfish showed, so put up the fishing fly and switched to freelining bread. Good thing... ended up catching Catfish #2; measured 22"!  Fun stuff!

Posted pictures on the Fish Bulletin Board!

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Tube Damsel Fly This Round

Testing out another tube fly pattern.  This one is the COAF Damsel Fly but tied on to a tube. After several missed hook sets, switched hooks from a worm hook to a treble hook and was able to catch three Bass. Going to make more adjustments, and then try it out again.  More to come!

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More Fish On a COAF Damsel Fly

Hoping for a repeat of yesterday with the purple COAF Damsel Fly. Caught some nice looking Catfish yesterday.  Today, caught Bass.  No Bruisers but still a fun time, especially on a Four Weight!

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Catfish, Bass, and a Bluegill Go For a COAF Damsel Fly This Round!

Fished Bethany Lakes this evening. Late start on a windy day. Started out trying to get a Bass or two on a Tube Popper Fly. Two missed strikes and lots of wind to deal with made for a change. Decided to switch to a COAF Damsel Fly. The one we tie with Purple Marabou and Red Tying Thread. Used a Gold Bead Chain and size 10 hook (ran out of size 8 hooks).

Glad we switched to it; caught four Catfish, three Bass, and a Bluegill.  Three of the Catfish went 17"-18"; one went about 15". They put up a good fight especially on the four weight fly rod!

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Sunday Morning Round at Bethany!

Sunday morning round at Bethany Lakes.  First strike ended with a missed Bass using the COAF Purple Damsel Fly.  Kept at it, and hooked a Bass after a while.  Small guy that went for a Balsa Popper Fly.  Then, switched gears working several Bluegill beds.  Caught Bluegill and Sunfish using a Balsa Popper Fly and a Foam Grasshopper!

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A Stick, Line, and Fly This Round!

Went simple this afternoon after having fished the morning with a Four Weight Fly Rod. Decided to fish using a Tenkara Rod.  Been some time since we used it; good to see that it still can hold it's own when fishing a pond!  Caught several Bluegill; used a Foam Grasshopper and a Balsa Popper Fly.  Fun stuff!

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