poppers at night...? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

doc · 10-06-2006, 08:06 AM

i rarely fish the night...was fishing about an hour before first light the other week in complete darkness using a smack it popper and ended up landing a 50" bass (cant somehow post the pic as it needs to be 're-sized')...the conventional wisdom is that poppers are not productive at night...obviously not totally true...but wanted to find out what people thought....and if others use poppers at night...

RIROCKHOUND · 10-06-2006, 08:09 AM

if you caught a 50" bass then it aint broke so dont fix it!

doc · 10-06-2006, 08:12 AM

i agree...just wanted to find out if there were others out there that used poppers at night...

tattoobob · 10-06-2006, 08:16 AM

I have caught Bass at night on poppers not 50 inch fish, I basically fish it like a swimmer and pop a couple of times during the retrive.

stripercrazy · 10-06-2006, 08:23 AM

they swim on a slow retreve, good for shallow rocky places, good to cast a teaser out too

bradf1 · 10-06-2006, 08:25 AM

I used to use an atom popper all night at Sakonnet point and I did real well. Nothin huge but many keepers. Although when I strapped on an eel I got a 43 pounder!

fishaholic18 · 10-06-2006, 08:25 AM

Here's your pix resized Doc. Nice fish.

fishaholic18 · 10-06-2006, 08:26 AM

Did u get a weight on it?

NIB · 10-06-2006, 08:28 AM

I have tried em an had some success.Usually when i need to cast far.
After a few cast's though it's hard to have faith.So they come off.

doc · 10-06-2006, 08:29 AM

no actual weight...but what do people think a 50" fish weighs...? i was thinking around 40lbs...

of note, it was pretty satisfying to let this fish swim another day...took a little while to revive but one slight movement of that big tail...see ya!

JFigliuolo · 10-06-2006, 08:30 AM

nice fish... Used to use atoms at night at Watch Hill. Fished 'em reel slow like tattoobob suggests.

fishaholic18 · 10-06-2006, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doc

no actual weight...but what do people think a 50" fish weighs...? i was thinking around 40lbs...

of note, it was pretty satisfying to let this fish swim another day...took a little while to revive but one slight movement of that big tail...see ya!

It all depends on the girth, I got a 48" last year that went around 40#. Nice bass whatever it weighed.

choggieman · 10-06-2006, 08:32 AM

stripercrazy hit the nail on the head

NIB · 10-06-2006, 08:37 AM

Reverse Atom..

Skitterpop · 10-06-2006, 08:42 AM

BM used to fish with Popper John and if I remember right killed them on big poppers at night down cape...at least the posts implied that.

Also...did`nt Zeno have a Super Strike article about great results with a sinking/swimming littleneck used at night last year in OTW or this year?

With the Fall hunger upon the bass and in a bait filled stretch the ability to take them on poppers at night is probably magnified right now..... possibly?

Joe · 10-06-2006, 08:48 AM

Super Strike Black/Purple, Squid, Transparent Amber at night but especially when there is an east blow on and you need to clear the break.
In Reading The Water there is a chapter by Roberto Germani about using poppers at night in Matunuck. That's a good expample of the type of place where they work very well. There is often quite a bit of whitewater, a dropoff, a hard sweep and the need clear the surf in order to avoid the plug tumbling in the wash.

striperchaser · 10-06-2006, 09:20 AM

doc....very very nice fish...

i have few questions about night popping...

does the color matter?? dark color??

will a pencil do the same trick at night??(since i fish pencil a lot) or must be a regular popper style lure.

rattling???? more attraction?? or doesn't matter...

thanks

Rockport24 · 10-06-2006, 09:33 AM

I think Zeno did have an article about popper at night in OTW maybe last fall? anyways, logically, needlefish are kind of worked like poppers and they are known night-slayers, so why wouldn't a popper work in certain conditions at night? Doc proved that alright...

tattoobob · 10-06-2006, 09:36 AM

Nice fish Doc

zimmy · 10-06-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doc

of note, it was pretty satisfying to let this fish swim another day...took a little while to revive but one slight movement of that big tail...see ya!

I feel the same way, just haven't had a 50" fish yet. And likely never will on a popper at night

NIce fish in any case. Just for reference, my buddy's 48" this spring went 45lbs. My grandfathers 51" long ago went 47lbs. IN anycase it was likely substantially more than 40lbs.

Rockport24 · 10-06-2006, 12:06 PM

doc, I think the bottom line is, fishing at night is where it's at!

RIJIMMY · 10-06-2006, 12:07 PM

very nice fish, great job
I would have to be out of plugs to throw a popper at night, but then again i never catch 50" fish.............

Saltheart · 10-06-2006, 12:21 PM

Fished poppers with teasers for years. Work day and night.

daytime , lots of splashing , short pops , sometimes big tumbly pops , etc. Big trick is don't spaz out at the first hit and jerk it out of the fishes strike zone. Fish hits and misses , either stop and start again slow or just keep up the pace like you were before it struck. I see tons of people get so excited they jerk it hard and pull it so far from the attacking fish in one pop the fish loses site of it.

nighttime I like atoms cause they sink and i let them sink just below the surface then a slow drag or weak pop to just get them to break the surface , no big splash , just like a fish coming up to suck air at the surface.

anyway , if you learn how to work them , poppers are very versatile , day or night. I seldom use one without a teaser. At night I use a high contrast teaser. In the daylight , I switch around between high contrast and graded colors.

doc · 10-06-2006, 12:38 PM

this fish hit in some big whitewater in less than 5' of water...was using a holographic herring smack-it popper and a chartreuse peanut bunker teaser...the fish inhaled the popper...love the smack-its....

tattoobob · 10-06-2006, 01:19 PM

There is a big factor in weight by the way you messure them If you messure like the old days to fork it weights alot more than a fish messured total lenth with the tail pushed together.

Mugz · 10-06-2006, 01:22 PM

Beauty of a fish.......congrats.

vanstaal · 10-06-2006, 05:42 PM

poppers are the best. there is another way to fish ?

numbskull · 10-06-2006, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doc

of note, it was pretty satisfying to let this fish swim another day...took a little while to revive but one slight movement of that big tail...see ya!

I'd like to shake your hand.

Pete_G · 10-06-2006, 06:39 PM

Congrats on that beast Doc.

When it comes to poppers at night I always think of a Danny Plug, it's a known killer at night and it operates on the surface too.

I saw a Pencil Popper get nailed by bass at night as well this year.

nightfighter · 10-06-2006, 09:29 PM

Heard about the fish, Doc, from a number of folks. Nice job! Rick said he could have sworn it was me with you!

Who was there anyway? I already know where..........