Fisherman S-Pop

[Andrew Poulos]

Hi all,

Just wondering, heard a bit about the s-pop's, but how does their action differ to the other poppers around ? Does the funny looking body shape impart a different bloop or waddle that helps with the bubble trail etc.....

cheers

[Brandon Khoo]

Are you talking about the S-Pop short or the S Pop HP Tail?

[Mark Stotesbury]

 hi brandon info on both models -short and hp tail please .and whats the idea of a spinnerblade on the back is it just for flash or does it help the lure stay in the water.heard of guys putting a blade on the back of stickbaits have you tried it ??
thanks mark     

[Andrew Poulos]

The short has a large head and smaller looking body, not too dissimilar in principle to other poppers. The one that looked most different to me was the s-pop 160hp tail....


And the other question, is that the tow point is low in the cup. I assume thats why they give a good bloop and splash as you are pulling from the bottom of the cup. All my poppers have just normal centre tow points.

[Brandon Khoo]

Mark - the S-Pops which I use are the 150 BH Short and the HP Tail 160. The 150BH Short is a bighead popper - the Heru GT Mania and Jai Bighead are pretty much clones of this lure so that should give you a very good diea on what it looks like. This lure comes with a spinner blade. I beleive this is for flash, the rational being that in the case of a short lure and because GTs tends to attack the head, the one hook point should be adequate. The Carpenter Sea Frog works on the same principle.

The HP Tail 160 is one I can't describe - I can only suggest you look it up on the Fisherman website. I really like this popper. It only weighs 160g but has the presence of a much heavier popper and it makes a great pop and stays in the water well.

I have seen people putting blades on the back of a sitckbait. I don't recommend this practice. As a stickbait is a long lure, I am already concerned about the fish striking a point where there is little hook exposure. To remove one hook point on a long lure is not a sensible strategy, at least in my opinion. While GTs do tend to atatck the head, this is not always the case, especially when there is competition for the lure.

hi brandon info on both models -short and hp tail please .and whats the idea of a spinnerblade on the back is it just for flash or does it help the lure stay in the water.heard of guys putting a blade on the back of stickbaits have you tried it ??
thanks mark     

[Andrew Poulos]

Is the better pop and staying in the water better the result of the lower tow point ? Is that the same with some of the other poppers with low connections too?

[Brandon Khoo]

Andrew - I don't know about that. Some of the best GT poppers like the Sea Frogs and the SS poppers have low tow points but this in itself doesn't make a popper better. I saw a prototype of one of my favourite poppers with a lower tow point earlier this year fail to pop effectively at all.

Is the better pop and staying in the water better the result of the lower tow point ? Is that the same with some of the other poppers with low connections too?

[Luke Wyrsta]

Is the better pop and staying in the water better the result of the lower tow point ? Is that the same with some of the other poppers with low connections too?

I agree with Brandon. In theory, you would think this would result in a better pop/splash but I guess every lure's design is different and will react differently. I also recently tried several with low tow points and found them more laborsome to use with less resultant splash - go figure.

As for blades, they can be good on some poppers. I don't like them on stickbaits as they tend to hinder action. Unless the fish are striking timid or sloppy, I will regularly use a blade as it creates a large profile, extra bubbles and flash.

[Zeck Lim]

Brandon, I have a few low tow-point poppers as well, namely the Sea Frogs.

In my experience (limited),

Its very dependent on the weight of the hooks. and this is subject to the original design of the popper. when you "chug" it, the popper would dive a little, pushes the water and leaves a trail of bubbles. When it is done, it will "sit" at an inclined angle. a center tow would sit vertically.

For wooden poppers, water would seep into the popper and the balance would be off after say, 1-2 days in the water. for example, I started with 2x 4/0 trebles, and at the end of 2 days, I was down to 1x 4/0 with a single assist at the rear.

[Brandon Khoo]

Zeck, I think the weight of the hooks is always a factor. I've seen so many poppers start sinking with a pair of hefty trebles on them! 

In terms of the popeprs sinking, I think this happens to most poppers once they get waterlogged. The realiyt is few of my poppers that are being used continually through the day survive enough for this to happen!

[Greg Burt]

A blade on the back of a stickbait certainly kills the action as Luke mentioned, but helps short poppers hold in the water as well as giving constant flash.
I think this picture is of an S-Pop.

[Luke Wyrsta]

A blade on the back of a stickbait certainly kills the action as Luke mentioned, but helps short poppers hold in the water as well as giving constant flash.
I think this picture is of an S-Pop, I think it came from the 'BernieK' collection

The S-Pops are great lures - time tested and proven. If you want to use these lures in rougher conditions go for the HP models - the HP profile sticks to the water better without relaying too much resistance to the angler imparting action.

In fact - the Fisherman Big Mouth 200/220 HP is up there with my most favourite popper of all time.

[Brandon Khoo]

yep, for heavy water, the HP Tail makes a big difference. The Bigmouth 200 or 220 HP tail is probably one of the best poppers around for really heavy conditions. Make sure you're fit if you want to use one of these though!