Popper No. 3

Popper No. 3

 

Popper No. 2

Black and Red Stippled Popper - Size 2

 

Popper No. 1

Saw some threads about the technique of stipple painting poppers on the Warmfly.com website and thought I’d give it a shot -

Stippled Frog Popper Sz. 2

 

Another Yellow Cork Popper

 

New Charley Waterman Titles (for my collection)

Black Bass and the Fly Rod

Fly Rodding for Bass

While these are not difficult to find, I’ve put off picking them up until I could find well kept (new) copies. Waterman (who passed away a few years ago) was an everyman’s sportsman, and one of my favorite writers. For my first wedding anniversary my wife found me an autographed copy of “Field Days” one of his many collections of sporting writing.

Both of the titles above are valuable both in the technical and historical context of the sport.

 

Tap’s Bugs

“I’m confident that I could just stick a few Tap’s Bugs into my hat brim and shove a spool of tippet and a pair of needle-nose pliers into my pocket and have everything I’ll need for a successful day’s fishing. But, of course, I don’t do that.” William G. Tapply, Bass Bug Fishing, 1999.

 

Yellow Cork Popper

I’ve been working on mastering the art of cork poppers – here is a first effort -

Head – Cork (cut, filled, sanded, sealed, painted, sealed)
Body – Black Cactus Chenille
Tail – Black Kip Tail
Hook – #2 Gamakatsu B10 Stinger

She floats just fine and pops well, with a nice smooth pickup, but I think I’ll extend the body a few more mm on the next few.

 

Livingston’s “Bass on the Fly”

Just picked up a copy of “Bass On The Fly” by A. D. Livingston. It is mostly a revised edition of his 1976 book – “Fly-Rodding for Bass” with some minor updates.

Livingston’s “folksy” tone and attitude are alway welcome in a corner of the sport of fly fishing that certainly does not strive to be elitist.

The tying/pattern sections do not add much from before, and I’d have preferred actual pictures to line sketches – but still one for the reference shelf.

 

Another Title Acquired

After quite a search, I finally found an acceptable copy of Joe Brooks seminal work, Bass Bug Fishing (1947) (if anyone can call such a book a “seminal” work). At any rate, mine is not in quite as good a condition (the dust jacket has some damage but has been restored), but the book itself is in great condition.

“Bass bugs have “IT.” They have a tremendous appeal for both fish and man. They tying of them seems to bring forth the latent inventive genius of all those who go in for making bugs. The fashioning of a bass bug calls for a delicate hand and a vivid imagination. To be able to turn out a perfect one is an art. It also requires a lot of hard work.” Joe Brooks from Bass Bug Fishing (Page 9).

Also just found and purchased, an autographed/inscribed copy of A.D. Livingston’s 1977 book entitled Tying Bugs and Flies for Bass – it should be here next week. I’m a little more than a third of the way through acquiring my collection (every book about fly fishing for black bass species), with I feel the three most difficult in hand – 1925 Cal Johnson, 1947 Brooks, 1968 Tom Nixon.

 

The Boone Fat Frog

This is an interesting one – I picked it up at the Redstick Day in Baton Rouge a couple of years back – my son won a group of flies in a raffle, and this was one of them. I will try and find the creator, but in the mean time, here are the ingredients as best I can tell -

Editing Note: – This is a Boone Spoone Fat Frog – It was sent to me by Boone a year or so ago – my mistake – visit them at www.boonespoone.com to see their great variety of creative flies!

Hook: #2, 1/0 Bass hook – wide gap
Tail and Legs: Rubber Skirt Material
Body: Sheet foam – cut to shape and folded over
Eyes: Google eyes from the craft store
Weed Guard: light wire

Construction Notes: Looks pretty simple even if you have little tying experience – more construction than tying for sure.

Fishing Notes: Cast it next to a tree, let it sit, jiggle it – ka-pow!