Popping for rooster fish........

[Andrew Wilson]

Been looking at some pics of these amazing fish has anyone had the urge to tackle these on poppers or is it not really a species that react well To poppers? Would love to see some pics......

[Mike Kingsley]

I have caught rooster fish on poppers in Panama.  I use the same poppers that I used when fishing for GTs.  Sometimes big poppers work best other times smaller poppers. Same with the popper action.  I fish with Pesca Panama,  I have caught Roosters up to 68 pounds on poppers.  They hit big time and go nuts when they are on attack.
The bull gt popper are the default to go with.

[Lee Margrave]

Hey Mike,  Have you ever tried using the Roberts Ranger?  I heard of some success in Panama with these lures.  But I am not sure just how reliable the source was that mentioned it to me.    Lee

[Andrew Wilson]

Awesome are they a common catch or are they one or two fish a session or one here and there they are a great looking fish. Any pics mike?

[Mike Kingsley]

The ranger lure is great with hook changes.  The expert rooster popper is Master Lee he has the best poppers and pics.  If anyone can catch roosters he is the one.  He has fine tuned his popper selections.

[Marcio Paes]

Big and Smalls Rangers and Surface Cruisers (like Yozuri ones) are very leathal weapons (fast or slow retrieve)... and very ease to work...

Poppers are great too...

Actually Roosters are no shy... and grab almost all lures...

Just cast to the rocks and shores, try a very fast retrieve, with some stops (in between),  and if didnt work, try a "slow motion" movements.

[Andrew Wilson]

has anyone fished cabo san lucas in mexico?
is the rooster fishing over there ok?

[Lee Margrave]

has anyone fished Cabo San Lucas in Mexico?
is the rooster fishing over there OK?

I have rooster fishing was good but not as good as in Puerto Vallarta just up from there.The roosters were just bigger and more plentiful in PV. My guess is Cabo gets a lot more tourists than does PV .  The majority of the boats I have ever been on in Mexico do not  practice catch and release.  The will eat 80% or so of the fish caught. It is really sad. ,We almost had to throw the captain over board to release the roosters, we didn't want to eat them. but that's a entirely different subject. Here are some photos

[Andrew Wilson]

What size gear is needed to throw poppers for the
. I have spin gear ranging form 18000 size right down to tiny 1000 reels what would be yhe ideal combo for these awesome critters

[Lee Margrave]

What size gear is needed to throw poppers for the
. I have spin gear ranging form 18000 size right down to tiny 1000 reels what would be yhe ideal combo for these awesome critters I use a Daiwa Saltiga 80TN, it is rated for 30g to 100g lures. I will have a SW10000 with PE 6 on it .  Most of the Rooster fish I've caught have mainly been in sandy bottom areas so structure isn't too much a factor.  Roosters aren't like GTs and other species that really head for structure, plus the fight really isn't too long unless you back the drag off .In regards to drag setting,  I don't like to rip their lips off but I don't want the fish to die from exhaustion either.  You mentioned "the ideal combination"  I assume you mean what rod to put with one of your reels.  I can only suggest that you mate the line you choose to use with the reel that has those line capacities and then match the reel drag that you will use to the rod's rated specifications. That is my quick condensed answer.  Their are some very knowledgeable members on this forum that can offer much more poignant response who can fill in all the gaps this post might have.     I hope it helps