Above are pictured some of the poppers possible with the brass cutters and the dense foam we sell. The white foam is easily colored with felt tipped markers; The rubber legged poppers seem to be a favorite of the bass and bluegill fishermen. The pencil poppers are great for river Smallmouth and saltwater fish such as Blues and Stripers.
For better casting, better stability of the popper on the water, and to improve hook gap, you may want to flatten the bottom of the popper by holding the body against a belt sander or sanding disk, before sliding the popper body on to the hook shank. A thumb placed firmly on top of the body as the bottom is sanded flat, keeps the body from turning on the mandrel inserted through the center of the body and ruining the desired profile.
The little stainless cutters, sold in what we call the Trout Kit, allow you to make a variety of permanently buoyant flies commonly used for trout, although the damselflies and hoppers also work very well for Bass.
Tails on the mayflies can be sewn through the foam at a 45° angle after inserting the desired tailing material in the needle eye with a needle threader.
Knotted rubber leg material (two strands for the top of the leg, and one strand below the “knee”) makes a better hopper leg than the knotted feather fibers many of us struggled with for years, and is simple to handle. A little Super Glue ® gel keeps the “knee” knot knotted for the life of the fly.