Post by Deleted on May 4, 2017 3:35:51 GMT
Having struggled recently to purchase large popper bodies/heads in the UK, I came across a useful tip on a Facebook group so thought I would give it a go and share it on here.
I purchased some poly bobber floats from China and when they arrived, which was a lot quicker than expected, I set about making my own. They are mixed sizes but are all useable. The smaller ones could be used for poppers for targeting chub and trout.
A basic popper body can be made by cutting off the red part of the float and hollowing out the front carefully with a Dremel/Multi Tool and a small round sanding bit. Alternatively if a bigger body is required, the red is just a coating which is easily sanded off. The floats come pre drilled and although the hole is a bit large, it is easy enough to pack the shank of the hook to seat it and glue in position.
Some of the floats are too large so I trimmed these down with a craft knife and hand sanded and shaped using the Dremel again to come up with a different shaped body.
The body can be easily coloured using a permanent marker to the colour of choice. Adding eyes is obviously just for the angler as I'm sure the pike don't care lol!
I haven't tried them yet so am sure they won't be overly durable. With this in mind I have coated with 2 part epoxy on some and UV resin on others to see which holds out the best.
Even if they get damaged it will be a simple enough job to replace the body. I will make some spare bodies with this in mind.
Here are a couple of the finished poppers. The black one is pre epoxy which shows how well the poly takes the marker pen. I am struggling to find cheap feathers at the moment and being a tight northerner, am a bit reluctant to shell out the ridiculous prices that are being charged. I will come across some soon enough I am sure.
I hope this has been of interest?
Ian
I purchased some poly bobber floats from China and when they arrived, which was a lot quicker than expected, I set about making my own. They are mixed sizes but are all useable. The smaller ones could be used for poppers for targeting chub and trout.
A basic popper body can be made by cutting off the red part of the float and hollowing out the front carefully with a Dremel/Multi Tool and a small round sanding bit. Alternatively if a bigger body is required, the red is just a coating which is easily sanded off. The floats come pre drilled and although the hole is a bit large, it is easy enough to pack the shank of the hook to seat it and glue in position.
Some of the floats are too large so I trimmed these down with a craft knife and hand sanded and shaped using the Dremel again to come up with a different shaped body.
The body can be easily coloured using a permanent marker to the colour of choice. Adding eyes is obviously just for the angler as I'm sure the pike don't care lol!
I haven't tried them yet so am sure they won't be overly durable. With this in mind I have coated with 2 part epoxy on some and UV resin on others to see which holds out the best.
Even if they get damaged it will be a simple enough job to replace the body. I will make some spare bodies with this in mind.
Here are a couple of the finished poppers. The black one is pre epoxy which shows how well the poly takes the marker pen. I am struggling to find cheap feathers at the moment and being a tight northerner, am a bit reluctant to shell out the ridiculous prices that are being charged. I will come across some soon enough I am sure.
I hope this has been of interest?
Ian
