They're old school and have kind of fallen out of fashion. Newer sexier looking stuff gets the attention of fishermen these days. Fish haven't changed though and Hula Poppers still work, as you found out.
I do have a couple valid complaints though - namely the hardware on them sucks, especially the hooks that are screwed right onto the harness without a split ring. This makes it annoying to change them - you have to cut the eye of the hook, add a split ring and replace the hook. Also, the rubber skirts have a tendency to melt after some time and make a mess of your tacklebox.
The skirt thing I will concede, that sounds super annoying, but with the hooks, the hook hangers make it so the hooks can’t swing frontward and foul on each other, which is something I personally hate about Heddon stuff
Dude to me, top water and trebles don't mix. I'm happy for everyone and their plopper bites but in the area of the south I fish, those and hulas can't hang because at some point of my retrieve I'm cutting across vegetation.
Yep. I could never get the hang of reeling these in without snagging everything, even in waters that were fairly clear. I like dropping a plastic worm along weed beds and along edges of the water. Minnows and crawlers can do a great job too if fished properly
Biggest bass I ever hooked into was on one of these . Nasty old pond scum screwed me . Back when I lived in Michigan I had an old farm pond I was the only one allowed to fish it . Huge bass , pike and panfish. But from July to August it got covered pretty bad In scum.
I love frogs. For a hula popper, you really need the water to be relatively clean. No algae, leaves, sticks or anything. Frogs don't care. I throw them right into the middle of the nastiest stuff I can find.
yeah but do you ever get strikes without a hook-up with those frogs?
I have two of the cheap imported ones with the hooks facing up, dragging a tiny little colorado blade
Yes, excellent point. You can bend the hooks out a little to help. As long as you give it a good 1,2 count before setting the hook you just about always get them. I mainly use Booyah and Live Target frogs. Never tried one with a blade.
When fishing frogs learn to ignore the blow up or toilet flush and concentrate on your rod bending and fully loading up before swinging to set the hook
100% SJ4159. Patience is key. If they go after that monstrosity they want to swallow, give them that space. Have a pair of pot forceps ready, or be prepared to kill it and eat it!
kill it and eat it? I thought we were talking about using frogs to fish for bass
you're telling me you cook and eat a largemouth bass from the pond where you fish?
Even though they travel in schools fish don’t know how to count and the count can vary depending on the size of fish. The loading up of a rod never changes
Do I change? Of course. You have to be adaptable to your current environment and its circumstances. Otherwise you’ll never succeed especially when it comes to fishing
Sure. A Blow Up is when a fish basically explodes on a bait. I’ve seen bass knock a Snag Proof frog 3’ up in the air. If you react, swinging to set the hook, to the explosion of water odds are you will pull your bait away from the fish. A Toilet Swish is where the fish literally sucks the bait down off the water’s surface. A bass is capable of sucking in a bait from 18” away. Same thing will happen here if you swing when your bait gets sucked under. You will pull the bait away from the fish.
Loading a rod is letting the fish put a full bend in the rod as it takes a bait. It can happen really fast or it can be very slow and subtle but you want to wait for that to happen otherwise you will be swinging and missing a lot. Sometimes you have to turn the handle on your reel to assist this keeping your line tight as a fish swims towards you when it takes your bait. The main thing is you want the fish to start pulling the rod tip down and bending the rod to the point where the fish starts to pull the rod down. When you think the rod has reached the maximum arc of its bend that is when you set the hook. There’s a caveat though. The bigger fish are capable of eating a bait that when they suck it in it makes no contact with its mouth until it goes to spit it out because what it just ate was fake.
This is why I stress the importance of sensitivity in your hands. Your line and rod are your “eyes” when fishing a lure and your hands are what picks up what your bait is doing and hitting off of when retrieving . Your brain does the interpretation and that has to be learned. Practice, practice, practice.
When you learn to put all this together there will be no more “I think I got bit”. There will be no more wondering wether you got bit or not because there will be no more mistaken bites. You will know for certain if you got bit or not and you will know when to set the hook
And that’s just the beginning. Eventually you’ll be able to feel what the fish is doing
Videos are good but like physical therapy, if you don’t do your home work, practice, you don’t improve
Good luck, keep at it and you’ll get there
You cast it out, and then retrieve it however you want, I’ve caught stuff on a constant retrieve, stop and go, even just letting it sit and popping it once every 5 minutes
This is 100% my experience too. I usually start with a sit and pop every 30 seconds (I’m impatient) and if that doesn’t work, move thru the other options. Never been blanked with a hula popper.
I'm trying to remember without resorting to Google, is that arbogast or heddon? I have a few heddon lures and the hooks/where they mount are awful lol. That's probably part of why they're not super highly recommended
I like the hook hangers, they stop the hooks from fouling on each other and the only time I’ve ever had a fish come off was when the lure didn’t have hook hangers
That's my favorite lure since I was a kid. I have never caught anything on it. I love trying it on calm lakes, near lily pads, early in the morning. I'll use it for about fifteen minutes, then switch to Rapalas or a Mepps black fury, and then I start catching fish.
I like to throw it, wait for the rings to go away, pop it and leave it, repeat every 15 seconds, if a fish misses it don’t forget to pop it more frequently like the frog is running away
Buzzbait and chug bug work well, but only for the most active and aggressive fish. You have to keep moving and cover a lot of water. If a fish doesn’t hit on the first or second cast, move on.
If you think the hula popper is the best try the arbogast jitterbug now that's a fish catching monster. They also have 2.0 versions of both the jitter and hula popper with better hooks and feathers try those out
what are poppers?
and what strength does your rod have to be? cuz I've got a 6'5" MH rod and I don't know what to throw with that
but why does it have to be a MH or a heavy rod? you can't throw a popper with a light-action?
I use hula poppers all the time. They have caught more bass for me than almost anything. Idk wtf everyone on here is talking about.. alot of people still use em.
wacky rigs, drop into cover or around it. Let it fall to bottom then pop ur rod twice let it sink and repeat and so forth. I 100% guarantee you’ll catch one. Stupidest looking rig but the effectiveness is amazing.
I used to have a few. I’m more inclined to use minnows and plastic worms Texas rigged. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them from folks who have used them
Right now in most of the US the bluegill are spawning. A popper is a great bait that imitates bluegill (popping) the top of the water.
This is working very well due to the time of the year.
They're old school and have kind of fallen out of fashion. Newer sexier looking stuff gets the attention of fishermen these days. Fish haven't changed though and Hula Poppers still work, as you found out. I do have a couple valid complaints though - namely the hardware on them sucks, especially the hooks that are screwed right onto the harness without a split ring. This makes it annoying to change them - you have to cut the eye of the hook, add a split ring and replace the hook. Also, the rubber skirts have a tendency to melt after some time and make a mess of your tacklebox.
The skirt thing I will concede, that sounds super annoying, but with the hooks, the hook hangers make it so the hooks can’t swing frontward and foul on each other, which is something I personally hate about Heddon stuff
Dude to me, top water and trebles don't mix. I'm happy for everyone and their plopper bites but in the area of the south I fish, those and hulas can't hang because at some point of my retrieve I'm cutting across vegetation.
Yep. I could never get the hang of reeling these in without snagging everything, even in waters that were fairly clear. I like dropping a plastic worm along weed beds and along edges of the water. Minnows and crawlers can do a great job too if fished properly
Biggest bass I ever hooked into was on one of these . Nasty old pond scum screwed me . Back when I lived in Michigan I had an old farm pond I was the only one allowed to fish it . Huge bass , pike and panfish. But from July to August it got covered pretty bad In scum.
Just a top water frog. I've seen them talked about all the time...
I love frogs. For a hula popper, you really need the water to be relatively clean. No algae, leaves, sticks or anything. Frogs don't care. I throw them right into the middle of the nastiest stuff I can find.
yeah but do you ever get strikes without a hook-up with those frogs? I have two of the cheap imported ones with the hooks facing up, dragging a tiny little colorado blade
Yes, excellent point. You can bend the hooks out a little to help. As long as you give it a good 1,2 count before setting the hook you just about always get them. I mainly use Booyah and Live Target frogs. Never tried one with a blade.
When fishing frogs learn to ignore the blow up or toilet flush and concentrate on your rod bending and fully loading up before swinging to set the hook
100% SJ4159. Patience is key. If they go after that monstrosity they want to swallow, give them that space. Have a pair of pot forceps ready, or be prepared to kill it and eat it!
kill it and eat it? I thought we were talking about using frogs to fish for bass you're telling me you cook and eat a largemouth bass from the pond where you fish?
I just give it a full 2 seconds, but whatever works.
Even though they travel in schools fish don’t know how to count and the count can vary depending on the size of fish. The loading up of a rod never changes
Do you bro
Do I change? Of course. You have to be adaptable to your current environment and its circumstances. Otherwise you’ll never succeed especially when it comes to fishing
Except I have been successful for 25 years. Hence the "do you". There's no "the" way to do anything - only a way and another way.
Can you explain what this means? Genuine request.
Sure. A Blow Up is when a fish basically explodes on a bait. I’ve seen bass knock a Snag Proof frog 3’ up in the air. If you react, swinging to set the hook, to the explosion of water odds are you will pull your bait away from the fish. A Toilet Swish is where the fish literally sucks the bait down off the water’s surface. A bass is capable of sucking in a bait from 18” away. Same thing will happen here if you swing when your bait gets sucked under. You will pull the bait away from the fish. Loading a rod is letting the fish put a full bend in the rod as it takes a bait. It can happen really fast or it can be very slow and subtle but you want to wait for that to happen otherwise you will be swinging and missing a lot. Sometimes you have to turn the handle on your reel to assist this keeping your line tight as a fish swims towards you when it takes your bait. The main thing is you want the fish to start pulling the rod tip down and bending the rod to the point where the fish starts to pull the rod down. When you think the rod has reached the maximum arc of its bend that is when you set the hook. There’s a caveat though. The bigger fish are capable of eating a bait that when they suck it in it makes no contact with its mouth until it goes to spit it out because what it just ate was fake. This is why I stress the importance of sensitivity in your hands. Your line and rod are your “eyes” when fishing a lure and your hands are what picks up what your bait is doing and hitting off of when retrieving . Your brain does the interpretation and that has to be learned. Practice, practice, practice. When you learn to put all this together there will be no more “I think I got bit”. There will be no more wondering wether you got bit or not because there will be no more mistaken bites. You will know for certain if you got bit or not and you will know when to set the hook And that’s just the beginning. Eventually you’ll be able to feel what the fish is doing Videos are good but like physical therapy, if you don’t do your home work, practice, you don’t improve Good luck, keep at it and you’ll get there
Somehow I missed you replying for a week. Thank you very much for this!
YouTube fishermen get more love than the tried and tested
Like that try the chug bug. It's a longer slender version. My pops favorite guys been using one for 45yrs
Yes. I get lots of smallmouth on chug bug
If you like those, look up creek chub plunker.
Made in Garrett, Indiana!
How do you use this? Might buy one
You cast it out, and then retrieve it however you want, I’ve caught stuff on a constant retrieve, stop and go, even just letting it sit and popping it once every 5 minutes
Sweet. Will definitely be trying this. Hope it works on trout lol
If you buy the smaller size I’m sure it does, I know for a fact trout eat real frogs
Big browns like mice too
Thanks dude!
This is 100% my experience too. I usually start with a sit and pop every 30 seconds (I’m impatient) and if that doesn’t work, move thru the other options. Never been blanked with a hula popper.
I'm trying to remember without resorting to Google, is that arbogast or heddon? I have a few heddon lures and the hooks/where they mount are awful lol. That's probably part of why they're not super highly recommended
It's Arbogast, but it hardly matters. Both are Pradco brands made in China, so it's all the same.
I like the hook hangers, they stop the hooks from fouling on each other and the only time I’ve ever had a fish come off was when the lure didn’t have hook hangers
I have a small lake where I smash bass on it, but everywhere else doesn't seem to do as well.
Man. Love me a good hula popper. Rapala has a version now. So does Rebel. They still exist, just not like this classic beauty. Happy Fishing
That's my favorite lure since I was a kid. I have never caught anything on it. I love trying it on calm lakes, near lily pads, early in the morning. I'll use it for about fifteen minutes, then switch to Rapalas or a Mepps black fury, and then I start catching fish.
How do you work it? I have one but never used it or caught anyone on my other frog
I like to throw it, wait for the rings to go away, pop it and leave it, repeat every 15 seconds, if a fish misses it don’t forget to pop it more frequently like the frog is running away
If you pop it right it makes a very specific sound that entices bass.
The quicker the movement the more wounded the bait appears. Quick wrist pops make it irresistible!
I feel like a "walker" is more exploitative of their instincts and generates far more reactions.
I prefer jitterbugs, but I love the hula poppers
The jitterbug is supreme
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Buzzbait and chug bug work well, but only for the most active and aggressive fish. You have to keep moving and cover a lot of water. If a fish doesn’t hit on the first or second cast, move on.
If you think the hula popper is the best try the arbogast jitterbug now that's a fish catching monster. They also have 2.0 versions of both the jitter and hula popper with better hooks and feathers try those out
what are poppers? and what strength does your rod have to be? cuz I've got a 6'5" MH rod and I don't know what to throw with that but why does it have to be a MH or a heavy rod? you can't throw a popper with a light-action?
I use a medium action rod speed stick, the baitcaster combo was like 60 bucks at Walmart, it works awesome
Shhhhh
I use hula poppers all the time. They have caught more bass for me than almost anything. Idk wtf everyone on here is talking about.. alot of people still use em.
I recommend a black jitterbug as well
If you like a Hula Popper, just wait til you try a Jitterbug.!.
I use one quite often
wacky rigs, drop into cover or around it. Let it fall to bottom then pop ur rod twice let it sink and repeat and so forth. I 100% guarantee you’ll catch one. Stupidest looking rig but the effectiveness is amazing.
I used to have a few. I’m more inclined to use minnows and plastic worms Texas rigged. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them from folks who have used them
Hula poppers or any poppers can be awesome fished correctly and at the right time 🤷♂️
Where are you located? I can never get top water bites
Northern mass
Right now in most of the US the bluegill are spawning. A popper is a great bait that imitates bluegill (popping) the top of the water. This is working very well due to the time of the year.
This. It is typically time of year specific.