Popper fishing Bass.To pause or not to

[BLOOEY]

Just started using poppers on bass.Keen to get a few ideas on retrieves.I have been giving 2-3 small bloops of the popper and letting it sit for a a few secconds and repeating until i think i'm out of the strike zone.Have had some success but wonder if anyone has a more productive one to share. Thanks Ben

[bdowdy]

ben ive had alot of success by waiting for the ripples to stop then start retreieving, if it doesnt get hit straight away then 2 or 3 bloops close to the bank or structure and let it sit in the strke zone then start again. most hits come when the lure stops or restarts in both bass and murry cod fishing. hope this helps as surface fishing is great. also try walking the dog style retrieve with stick baits or pencil poppers the bass love it were thers gar fish present , point rod tip to water and twitch rod it makes the lure swim from side to side and has done well on bass for me in some dams. hope this helps . cheers bdowdy ...brett

[Jeremy87]

Bass can be fickle sometimes, you'd think slower is better but occasionally you want to keep it moving to pressure them into a strike. In slow moving and still water i generally land my cast and wait for up to 30seconds before starting my retrieve. Here is a list or retrieves that i adopt for using cup faced poppers.

Continuos retrieves
1. First and easiest retrieve. slow steady bloop at about a 1-1.5 second period alowing the rear of the popper to settle just before the next bloop. This retrieve is surprisingly fast becauses in order to attain the bloop noise the popper requires a long pull. Deadly retrive for skitter pops.
2. Walking the dog. one of the harder retrieves to do. This can be achieved using certain cup faced poppers but their are a few pencil style poppers that will walk by themselves and dance like crazy with the right rod work. It is difficult to describe but if you can imagine the standard bloop retrieve and speed it up but with shorter length pulls and deliberate rod work and thats it(you know it makes sense ::) ). The quick pull starts the lure gliding forwards and then you take the tension off so the momentum pushes the lure to one side. A fraction of a second before it stops you pull again swinging the lure to the other side.
3. Rapid putt. Deadly retrieve for imitating cicadas. Requires as many short fast pulls with your rod hand as physically possible while moving the lure less than an inch each pull (if you get really good at it the lure can almost sit on the spot only moving a few cms a second), almost shaking the rod while your winding hand takes in the slack and a dead slow pace. very useful to adopt when a fish misses the lure first go and you want to keep the lure in the strike zone as long as possible but still moving.

Paused retrieves.
Essentially adopting one of these styles but adding brakes in between. The period of the pause will depend largely on your own intuition and how patient you can be. Mix up these different styles to optimise the time you lure remains in the strike zone. For example an ideal retrieve for a lure placed right next to some horizontal timber. 30 second pause, bloop 5 second pause, blopp bloop,5 second pause. rapid putt for a metre 10 second pause and then walk the lure back to you.

[BLOOEY]

Excellent guys thanks.I use the walk the dog retrieve for bream with hardbody stickbaitts and they love it.I am trying to imitate cicadas at the moment so the shaky retrieve(rapid putt)looks like the one i might be after.Ta again Ben

[MitchCalcutt]

All the above mentioned methods work a treat for me as well. I generally take session to session depending on conditions and what they would be expected to be feeding on the day.
We are now in prime bug hatching time, so i would be inclined to drop any 3 to 4 inch surface lure in where i think is best, then simply twitch- twitch- twitch. The bass move around allot early looking for bugs, so they concentrate there attentions upward.
As the months get wormer the lizards come out, now a twitch retrieve without a break in winding comes into its own.
Bass change seasonally with the common food for that time, we too have to adapt.

Good fishing
Mitch

[Fitzy]

Gday Blooey,

There are no hard & fast rules for bass on the top. What works best can change from location to location, day to day & even hour to hour. However, in my oppinion a pause is essential at most times.

Here's something I wrote a while back on this topic, hope it helps.

Surface Luring Bass (http://www.sweetwaterfishing.com.au/SurfaceLuringBass.htm)
http://www.sweetwaterfishing.com.au/SurfaceLuringBass.htm (http://www.sweetwaterfishing.com.au/SurfaceLuringBass.htm)

Cheers,

fitz..

[BLOOEY]

Thanks again,a wealth of information there.Mixing it up seems to be the go until you find what is working.Ben

[NAGG]

ben ive had alot of success by waiting for the ripples to stop then start retreieving, if it doesnt get hit straight away then 2 or 3 bloops close to the bank or structure and let it sit in the strke zone then start again. most hits come when the lure stops or restarts in both bass and murry cod fishing. hope this helps as surface fishing is great. also try walking the dog style retrieve with stick baits or pencil poppers the bass love it were thers gar fish present , point rod tip to water and twitch rod it makes the lure swim from side to side and has done well on bass for me in some dams. hope this helps . cheers bdowdy ...brett

Gotta luv that "Walking the dog" ...... Tried it for the first time up at Cania & got smashed a few times by Saratoga & bass ......Nagg

[tiges]

Yeah it's always gunna vary in all the different scenarios, from creek to impoundment and everywhere in between. But I'm a big fan of walking the dog with spook style lures. Very versatile in that you can do every thing from a rapid zig zag style retrieve, to a dead slow pausing retrieve. Tail heavy lures that sit vertical at rest are good for a more constant retrieve, and easier to use and get the hang of the rod tip technique. But a pencil type lure that lays more parallel to the water at rest can be swung at 180 deg each tweak of the rod tip (even shallow diving, slender shaped minnows can be used like this), keeping it in the strike zone for a good amount of time. Light mono leaders really aid in this approach as they float a little more and don't "drag" on the lure at rest. Flourocarbon although generally a better leader material tends to sink at rest, thus straightening the lure back towards the rod tip. Something you don't want on a slow retrieve of this manner.

[BLOOEY]

Used the rapid put retrieve this morning very early and got 4 big hits but only stuck the hooks into one of them,but a fat 48cm job.Should you wait to feel weight before setting the hook or just hit them as soon as you see them take it?

[Leigh77]

The one thing to remember when using surface that hasnt been mentioned here is the 'strike zone'. When using surface lures the light factor is very low, and therefor Bass will be out and about, not holding tight amongst their snags. So I work the lure all the way to the boat...I have lost count on how many strikes I have got with the lure no more than a rods length fom the boat.

Dont be afraid to cast into the middle of open water either...you will be suprised!

[BLOOEY]

Your'e right leigh77 mate found myself casting to fish that were actuaally behind me this morning smacking moths that hatched last night.Heaps of white moths flying everywhere and the bass were into them.Ben