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ROSE LIPPED POPPER |  Now featured in "Fly Fishing in Saltwaters" Jan/Feb. 2010 issue. This easy to tie and cast topwater popper transforms into a suspended lure with great side-to-side swimming action up to a foot below the surface when slowly stripped. Stop stripping and it returns to the surface when using a floating fly line and mono leader. With intermediate and sinking lines it can be used to fish the entire water column. The 90 degree combination of the popper and "Flylipp" traps air and results in a much louder "pop" with air bubbles by wrist snapping the rod tip. The "Flylipp" causes the popper to "dig in" the harder you pull. Let it sit and just twitch it on the surface. I was trying to copy the action of the suspended lures my friend Dale Haskell was using to out fish my flies. We were fishing at first light from kayaks during our hot summer in 2007. What started out as a "Bob's Banger" with a lip attached has developed into a new "pattern" that can be tied to imitate a baitfish, crab, shrimp or spoon. I fish mostly Charlotte Harbor in South Florida where it has caught everything I fish for: Snook, Redfish, Trout, Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Bonito, Ladyfish and Juvenile Tarpon. The "pop" gets the fish's attention but many of my strikes come after the fly is stripped sub-surface. My target was getting the attention of tailing redfish or snook under mangroves or docks. After hooking a few juvenile tarpon I had to come up with a larger hook and increased diameter foam version. Now I winter fish with a version that has elements of a baitfish, shrimp and crab in one fly. Greg Saunders makes and sells the "Flylipps" (a plastic "lip" with a grooved extender for ease of tying it to the hook shank) that I use for all my "Rose Lipped Poppers" (www.flylipps.com). For my friends that don't fly fish I have developed lures with the same head design and action (see the "flys" page). I normally fish the fly with a floating line (see "fishing instructions" in the right side bar). I also fish it with an intermediate line fishing the mangrove shoreline from a boat. I can "pop" the fly once or twice in the shallow water under the mangroves and then retrieve back to the boat as the fly swims towards the bottom with the lip acting as a natural weedguard. Fished with a full-sink line and mono leader the fly will stay suspended a foot or two off the bottom of deep holes when stripped. Polar fiber for the tail when wet keeps the fly oriented and in place, plus it swims great. You can imitate a spoon fly (the lip action causes the flash) by using krystal flash or flashabou for the tail and chenille or estaz for the body. The hook and tail material to foam diameter must be balanced so that the fly sits at a 45 degree angle in the water with the "Flylipp" at and parallel to the water surface. Because of the load on the "Flylipp" from the constant "popping" I thread wrap the handle as far up the lip as I can for strength. For tying instructions with pictures of variations see the "Flys" pages.
ROSE LIPPED POPPER "HEAD ATTACH"
Another way to fish the "Rose Lipped Popper" is to assemble the head and attach it to a non-weighted fly using a small split ring. This transforms your streamer or soft plastic bait into a top-water popper. You can use one Rose Lipped Popper "Head Attach" to try out any number of flies that you already have and have had success with. Materials with too much natural buoyancy will not work as well. The examples pictured of a polar minnow and Lefty's Deceiver work really well. When the balance is right, the fly body should sit in the water at 45 degrees.
BOTTOM FISHING THE ROSE LIPPED POPPER
The Rose Lipped Popper or one of the other foam lipped flies shown on the "Friends Flys" page will stay suspended one to two feet off the bottom of deep holes when slowly stripped using the correct set-up. I'm currently using a Cortland LLC-13 30 ft. lead core shooting head connected to old 8 wt. floating running line and cast with a 12 wt. fly rod. Use a 4 inch piece of Cortland 50 lb. braided mono as per Lefty's
book "Presenting the Fly" to smoothly connect the two fly lines. Attach 3 feet of mono leader and 2 feet of mono bite tippet. The floating foam fly keeps the mono leader suspended off the
bottom when slowly stripped, approximately 1/3 the combined length of the mono leader and bite tippet while the lead core head keeps you down. The flylipp gives it movement and pushes water while close the bottom. Strip fast to bump the bottom and promote strikes. The floating running line is easier to see and retrieve than a full sink line would be. My "Deep Holes" in the Charlotte Harbor area where I live means 10-20 feet deep.
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Tying Instructions
For the "Rose Lipped Popper" can be found on the "flys" page. Click on the picture above the label with "tying instructions". Under "friends flys" I have posted more "lipped foam" fly designs by others with instructions.
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A BIG THANK-YOU:
To Dave Scott for teaching me to fly fish(and still is). To John Quimby for taking me out in "really skinny water". To Dale Haskell that showed me how to catch fish on topwater. To my Uncle Wilbur Rose for passing down his "Herter's" Vise. To Captain Jamie Allen, Captain Greg Bowdish and Captain Andrei Stroman for teaching me to fly tie, and my friend Dave Brody for some recent tips. To FFF Master Dusty Sprague for fly casting help and his encouragement to promote the fly.
To Greg Saunders, Mr. "Flylipps" for our idea exchanges. To Brock Apfel for sharing his expertise and the opportunity to meet and spend time with Lefty Kreh.
To my son Doug Jr. who created this website ......Doug Rose Sr., South Florida |
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Fishing Instructions
The Rose Lipped Popper or Head Attach can be used to fish the entire water column, as can the other Lipped Foam Flys shown on the "Friend's Flys" page. To fish as a popper and suspended fly the "Rose Lipped Popper" should be fished with a floating line, mono leader, mono bite tippet and a 1/2 inch loop knot. Wrist snap the rod tip for the loudest "pop" or strip for something subtler. The pop gets their attention but many strikes occur when the fly is swimming sub-surface. For a deep presentation use an intermediate line with a fluorocarbon leader and bite tippet. By false casting a couple times to dry the polar fiber, you can "pop" it once or twice when it hits the water surface and then slow retrieve to swim deep as the lip, line and leader pull it down to three or four foot depth. With a full-sink line, mono leader and
slow strips, the fly will stay suspended a foot or two off the bottom in deep holes. With a fast strip the fly will bump the bottom to promote strikes. |
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