Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
1
Designing Poppers, Sliders & Divers
Practical Advice for Crafting Top Water Fly Fishing Lures
by
Steven B. Schweitzer
FRONT COVER:
Photograph by Steven B.
Schweitzer Published By:
Pixachrome Publishing
Northern Colorado, USA
www.pixachrome.com
Printing By:
Friesens.com - Altona, MB, R0G 0B0, Canada
The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information
contained within this book. From time-to-time, the information within can
become out-of-date and require updating. If you find information in this book
that requires revision, please notify the author/publisher for correction in
future printings. As always, your comments and suggestions are encouraged
and welcomed.
Contents
Beginnings
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................9
Using this Book ...........................................................................................................................................12
Poppers, Sliders and Divers Throughout Time .........................................................................................13
5
CONTENTS
Figures & Tables
Figure 1 - Advantages and Disadvantages of Top Water Lure Body Material Types......................36
Figure 2 - Adhesive Effectiveness: Gluing Hooks to Common Lure Body Materials........................46
Figure 3 - Common Tying Threads and Their Characteristics..........................................................49
Figure 4 - Effect of Commonly Used Marking Pens on Selected Materials.......................................58
Figure 5 - Effect of Sun Exposure on Common Marking Pen Ink.....................................................59
Figure 6 - Colors of the ProMarker Color System...............................................................................60
Figure 7 - Colors of the Copic Color System......................................................................................61
Figure 8 - Advantages and Disadvantages of Spray Painting Options for Lure Painting................68
Figure 9 - Adhesive Effectiveness When Gluing Lure Body Materials to Each Other......................75
Figure 10 - Light Wavelength..............................................................................................................83
Figure 11-A - Weathering Effects on Cork, Balsa and Basswood with Various Coatings...............87
Figure 11-B - Weathering Effects on High Density Foam with Various Coatings...........................87
Figure 12 - Rigging A Popping Head...................................................................................................106
Figure 13 - The Retrieve Path of a Typical Un-Weighted Diving Lure Head...................................156
Figure 14 - Effect of Rattle Sound in Different Lure Body Materials................................................160
Artisan Galleries
Ronald Braud...................................................................................................................................................195
Pat Cohen.........................................................................................................................................................118
Kirk Dietrich....................................................................................................................................................99
Jason Goodale...................................................................................................................................................207
Tim Jacobs........................................................................................................................................................25
Matthew Zudweg.............................................................................................................................................70
www.pixachrome.com 6
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Z TIPS & HOW-TOs
Testing Marker Colors..........................................................................................................................................................58
Basic Copic Color Choices..................................................................................................................................................65
Using Spray Adhesive...........................................................................................................................................................73
Painted Eye Choices.............................................................................................................................................................112
Using Mylar Tubing.............................................................................................................................................................122
Knurling Aluminum Foil.....................................................................................................................................................124
Wrinkling Aluminum Foil...................................................................................................................................................125
Using Metallic Fabric...........................................................................................................................................................127
How Tails Affect Lure Performance....................................................................................................................................130
Making a Single-Loop Hook Guard....................................................................................................................................136
Making a Double Loop Hook Guard...................................................................................................................................137
Single and Double Rakes......................................................................................................................................................138
Making a Looped Rake Hook Guard...................................................................................................................................140
Making a Forked Sweeper Hook Guard..............................................................................................................................141
Making a Looped Sweeper Hook Guard.............................................................................................................................142
Making a Removable Coiled Single Sweeper Hook Guard................................................................................................143
Making a Removable Forked Sweeper Hook Guard..........................................................................................................144
Inserting Legs with a Needle................................................................................................................................................153
Inserting Legs with Drilled Holes.........................................................................................................................................154
Shaping a Conical Diving Head..........................................................................................................................................156
Copic Air Brushing Tips.....................................................................................................................................................173
Copic Limitations...............................................................................................................................................................174
Filling Copic Markers.........................................................................................................................................................174
Advanced Copic Air Brushing Techniques.......................................................................................................................175
Back Flushing an Air Brush.................................................................................................................................................181
How to Apply Two-Part Epoxy............................................................................................................................................205
When and How to Apply Multiple Coats of Epoxy............................................................................................................206
Common Lure Making Procedures.....................................................................................................................................209
The Basic 8 Finishing Steps..................................................................................................................................................222
n DIY PROJECTS
DIY Color Chart...................................................................................................................................................................57
Base Coat Painting Jig..........................................................................................................................................................69
Multi-Color Marabou..........................................................................................................................................................94
Eye Stamps............................................................................................................................................................................113
Stick-on and 3D Eyes............................................................................................................................................................115
DIY Photo-Realistic Eyes.....................................................................................................................................................119
Making Scale Stamps............................................................................................................................................................125
DIY Texturing Rollers..........................................................................................................................................................126
Frog Leg Stencils...................................................................................................................................................................147
Making a 3D Thermoform Stencil Vacuum Tool...............................................................................................................187
Forming 3D Thermoform Stencils.......................................................................................................................................188
Carving 3D Thermoform Stencils........................................................................................................................................189
Painting with 3D Thermoform Stencils..............................................................................................................................190
Making and Using Hand-Cut Vinyl Stencils......................................................................................................................192
Making Custom Stickers with a Die Cut Machine.............................................................................................................194
DIY Cork Strike Indicators..................................................................................................................................................300
7
CONTENTS
Authors Recommendations
Hundreds of products were evaluated and tested through demanding usage and environmental tests
to assess durability, fading, color-fastness and ease of use, among other less critical characteristics. The
list below summarizes the authors experiential and observational choices for products used in this
book.
www.pixachrome.com 8
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Introduction
www.pixachrome.com 10
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
pond that I write this book part nostalgia, part popper out a ways from shore in a feeble attempt
history and part fascination with the art and craft of fly casting with a bait casting rod, Zebco 303
of popper making. reel and curly 8-pound test monofilament. And,
Between the house and a small woods with a I fooled so many bass and bluegill on that fly that
seasonal stream running through it, was a farm I remember the bumblebee paint job was barely
pond that Dad had dug to irrigate his gardens, visible and I could see the glue that held the cork
grape arbors and forty tree orchard. It wasnt a body to the hook. I finally retired that twenty
big pond, maybe a half-acre or so. I remember five cent popper. To this day, that vivid childhood
when it was dug and it took forever, it seemed, to memory is worth at least $25 million to me.
fill up naturally with rain water. Since we grew up Today, that farm pond still thrives despite not
in northwest Ohio, rain was not a scarce resource being stocked since the late 1960s. In it have lived
and the pond filled in a summers time. Dad had generations of bass and bluegill offspring that
thrown in 25 largemouth bass fingerlings and 100 started with only 125 fish. Some of those farm
bluegill fry to stock the pond. By the next summer pond fish have reached near epic size and
or two, the pond was full of bluegill of all sizes and proportion. The shoreline rip-rap and shallows
the largemouth were now 12-14 in length and have thousands of fish fry darting about, providing
could be raised to a popper erratically stripped forage for the five-pound-plus largemouth that
along the shore. lurk the depths and occasionally make a bolting
Back to that little yellow and black popper. I charge to the shoreline chasing the little ones. And
tried to cast the popper like I saw Lee Wulff do on just like the generations before them, the bass and
TV. It just wasnt happening. It wasnt until years bluegill still readily take a bumblebee popper. But
later that I learned about the differences in now, I cast more like Mr. Wulff when I fish for
spinning rods and fly rods, and the lines needed them.
for each. But somehow, I did manage to get that
This nice largemouth bass, caught in the Schweitzer farm pond in Ohio, took a copper colored pencil popper swiftly stripped
across the surface.
11
INTRODUCTION
What The Book Is and Isnt The first section Tools & Materials
discusses the basic and necessary tools and
T his book is not meant to be a pattern book.
It is meant to be an idea book a book
chock-full of materials, methods and procedures
materials required to make the patterns discussed
later in the book. While the section is meant to be
used in creating poppers, sliders and divers for fly fairly comprehensive with current materials and
fishing. A material or technique is often used tools, it is not meant to be all-encompassing to
across several styles of lures; a pattern book would capture every material or tool nuance used around
be least helpful unless the techniques and tricks the world. With the materials and tools discussed
behind the scenes are thoroughly explored and in this book, one can more than adequately make
shared to make the pattern. any popper, slider or diver in production today.
An important body material that is not covered The second section Elements of Design
in this book is deer hair. Spun deer hair for top categorizes the seemingly endless styles of poppers
water lures is an art unto itself and demands a sliders and divers into discrete groupings based
separate account of the craft. This book focuses on body style, such as pencil poppers, divers or
on the remaining foundation materials for bodies plugs. The section also discusses the most
- cork, wood, foam and the like. Photographs of common design elements to consider when
spun deer hair flies are included throughout the making your own lures. Design elements such as
book to show the art and functional examples legs, diving lips, eyes and painting techniques are
from some of the best artisans today. discussed.
The third section Making Poppers, Sliders
The Books Organization and Divers walks through the creation process for
The book is divided into four sections, the first effective patterns in a step-by-step manner,
being this introductory section and the next three building on the knowledge of materials and
building on the one before it. It is constructed techniques presented in the previous sections.
much like a course text book, walking the reader
Throughout the book, Tips & How-Tos ( Z )
through the subject in a thorough manner from
and DIY Projects ( n ) are called out in shaded
genesis to exodus.
boxes, noted with the commensurate icon above.
This introductory section lays out the ground Tips call out special attention to using materials
rules and delves into the fascinating history of or a special technique, while a DIY Project
using basic floating lures for catching fish. The illustrates in detail how to make a tool or special
historical knowledge comes from the generosity project on your own.
of Dr. Todd E.A. Larson (publisher, Whitefish
Press) and James Dorr. They are both truly
experts in the history of poppers, sliders and divers.
www.pixachrome.com 12
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
By Dr. Todd Larson and Jim Dorr attributed to Dame Juliana Berners. But whether
bait casting, fly fishing or using any other method,
anyone fishing until the end of the 19th century
T he origins of the use of surface lures for
fishing has been an eternal subject of good
natured campfire debate among the many anglers
or beginning of the 20th Century was almost
certainly fishing below the surface. Bait casters if
who share an interest in the history of angling not using live bait were likely using metal spinners.
along with their passion for the experience itself. Fly fishermen, whether for trout or bass, were
Many of the stories are apocryphal, perhaps best likely using wet flies. There is evidence, however,
exemplified by the story of how James Heddon that Native Americans were using balls crafted of
"discovered" the wooden plug in 1898. According floating materials, deer hair and feathers, called
to the legend, James Heddon was whittling on a bobs, as surface lures.
piece of wood to pass the time while awaiting a All of that began to change rapidly as the 19th
fishing companion on the banks of the Old Mill century drew to a close. James Heddon may not
Pond in Dowagiac, Michigan. The piece of wood have been the "inventor" of the surface plug, but
grew smaller until finally he tired of whittling and he was among those pioneers who transformed
tossed it into the pond. There was an enormous fishing for bait casters with the introduction of the
splash as the piece of wood was hit by a bass. And wooden surface plug. Fly fishermen were no
thus the idea of a surface lure was born and James longer wed to the wet fly - Frederic Halford in
Heddon founded his namesake company that England and Theodore Gordon, the father of dry
grew into one of the largest tackle manufacturers fly angling in America, had changed their
of the first half of the 20th Century. approach to fishing forever. In this context, fly
The lure James Heddon is said to have whittled rod lures utilizing cork, wood or other floating
was the forerunner of the wooden "plug" for use material for bass, trout, panfish or other game fish
with bait casting rods, not fly rods, but the story were a natural and logical progression. In the
itself exemplifies a basic truism that is applicable 1920s and 1930s, they became one of the most
to the history of all surface fishing: it is a relatively popular "lures" for the fly fisherman, especially for
recent method of fishing. People have, of course, those fishing for warm water fish.
fished for thousands of years. Fly fishing has
existed for a lesser period of time, but, depending Early History
how early sources and stories are interpreted, can As with the development of plugs and the dry
be said to have existed for hundreds of years, fly, the earliest efforts at solid body floating fly rod
certainly dating back to at least the time of The lures are somewhat shrouded by the mists of time
Treatyse on Fysshynge with an Angle (1496) and conflicting accounts, perhaps in part because
13
POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS THROUGHOUT TIME
of simultaneous development by more than one Jamison in its literature as "The Original Cork
angler. (see generally Jerry R. Martin, et. al. "The Body Floating fly," it was "always alive," "life-like"
Floating Bass bug" in the National Fishing Lure and gave "the appearance of actually swimming,
Collectors Club Magazine, Vol. 6 No. 2 December, even in running streams" - the first fly rod slider
1996). perhaps? Dixie Carroll, well-known editor of
In 1887 U.S. Patent No. 361,099 was granted to National Sportsman magazine and outdoor writer,
Edmond A. Warren for a "Fly Hook" discussed the origins of the bass fly in an article
incorporating a floating body made of a buoyant, entitled "Floating Bass Bugs, or, What Brings Home
nonabsorbent material such as cork. Dr. James A. the Bacon" in the November, 1917 edition of
Henshall in his Book of the Black Bass (1923) stated National Sportsman and said of the Jamison Fly
that the first floating bugs he remembered were Rod Coaxer that it "is the real original of the
sent to him by M.D. Butler of
Indianapolis when he was in
charge of the Angling Pavilion at
the World's Fair in Chicago in
1893. Famed outdoor writer
Ozark Ripley wrote in Bass and
Bass Fishing (1924) that Theodore
Gordon may have experimented
with surface bugs utilizing cork as
early as 1903, although he later
wrote that Gordon used padded
cotton bodies which were difficult
to float.
Despite this somewhat
uncertain beginning, there is no
doubt that the first commercially
made cork body floating fly rod
lure was marketed by William J.
Jamison, founder of the William
J. Jamison Company. He
developed, patented and began
selling from his Chicago home his
Weedless Coaxer bass plug in
1904. In 1906 he introduced the
Coaxer Floating Trout Fly on size
7 or 10 hook, followed in 1907 by
the Coaxer Floating Bass Fly on a
size 2-0 hook. Both were on a
simple shaped cork body with a
An early advertisement for Jamisons Coaxer Floating Trout Fly. Photo courtesy
feather tail. Later described by
Mr. James Dorr.
www.pixachrome.com 14
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
floating bass flies" and "still a mighty popular under his own name in 1918, the development of
floating bass fly, and they sure bring home the the Mississippi bass bug was already well
bacon." Fly Rod Coaxers in multiple color patterns underway. It got its start not on the Upper
remained in the Jamison line until WWII. Mississippi but on the Belgrade Lakes in Maine.
As related in his May, 1923 article in Outdoor
The Bass Bug Life, Louis B. Adams was fishing on Long Pond in
The next major development in floating fly rod the Belgrade Lakes on July 4, 1908 when he
lures culminated in one of the most storied and became disgusted with the lack of action with his
popular fly rod lures: the Mississippi River Bass traditional wet flies. The day was hot and muggy
Bug. This bug in its final form is characterized by and the water was glassy. Adams observed fish
a lightweight body, usually cork, with wings and actively chasing "darning needles" (damsel flies)
most often dressed with both bucktail and on the surface. He took one of his bucktail flies,
feathers, in contrast to the Jamison fly rod Coaxer "inked" the white bucktail, fastened a strip of cork
that lacked wings and had only a feather tail. Here to the hook and "certainly had a mess." But it
again there is campfire controversy surrounding worked! The fish had what they wanted - insects
its development. Ozark Ripley proclaimed in Bass floating on the surface, usually injured or ruffled
and Bass Fishing (1924) and in Modern Bait and up. That night he pulled feathers from some of the
Fly Casting (1928) that cork "splatters" dressed mounted birds in the hotel tackle shop and
with bucktail appeared on the lower White river fashioned more bugs with cork bodies and
in Arkansas by about 1905. Many references have feathers, using them with success the rest of his
repeated the claim of Ernest Peckinpaugh of stay.
Tennessee that he began experimenting with the
Adams tied a number of his new bugs over the
floating bass bug in about 1907 when he
winter and used them with great success.
accidentally dropped a cork bottle stopper in a
Eventually he began tying them for his friends;
stream and realized, as it floated away, that cork
around 1910 one of his friends had some tied on
would support a surface fly. (cf McClane, J.A.
special order by Abbey and Imbrie of New York.
"Bass Bug" in McClane's Standard Fishing
Eventually, eastern based tackle companies such
Encyclopedia and International Angling Guide,
as William Mills & Son and Abercrombie & Fitch
1965). He acknowledged losing interest in his
began tying and advertising them; they became
discovery until a few years later and, although he
known as Belgrade Bugs. These bugs had no
contended that his design ultimately resulted in
particular pattern and were relatively crudely tied
the Mississippi style there seems to be no
by a number of different tiers. They featured large
substantiation of that claim by others involved in
bulky wings and would frequently land upside
the development of that style. There is no doubt
down; twisting of the hook in the cork body was
that Peckinpaugh played a large role in
also a problem.
manufacturing and developing a variety of floating
bugs. He may have been the first to nationally Benjamin F. Wilder, an amateur but creative
market one which resembled the Mississippi fly tier and expert fisherman from New York, led
model. But by the time his Floating Night Bug the transition of the Eastern bugs to the
first appeared in the 1917 catalog of the John J. Mississippi (Western) bass bug pattern. His role
Hildebrandt Company and was first advertised and that of Adams is explained by his letter to the
editor in the May, 1918 issue of Field & Stream in
15
POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS THROUGHOUT TIME
response to an article by Will H. Dilg, another slight changes in the shape of the body (resulting in
major player in this saga: a fly that lighted right side up almost always) and
Dear Sir: my soldering a sheet-metal "fin" to the hook-shank
(this firmly anchoring the hook in the body of the
As Mr. Dilg's articles on fishing with the floating
fly) caused my flies, I think, to hook a greater
bass fly seem to attribute to me the invention of this
proportion of the fish that struck.
lure, and as a certain tackle-maker modestly claims
to be its originator and first maker, I beg that you But, and this I desire to drive home, nothing I
will give this letter publicity. did or could do in any way detracts from the honor
due Mr. Adams. So far as I know, he is the inventor
In June, 1911, on one of my trips to Belgrade
of this splendid addition to the pleasure of the bass
Lakes, Mr. Louis B. Adams, of New York City, gave
fisherman.
me the first "Floaters" I ever saw, and showed me
how to use them. Mr. Adams told me that he had Respectfully,
tied the flies, and that he had great sport with them B. F. Wilder
during previous seasons.
This letter is of particular interest given the
Though these flies were well and strongly tied, claim of Ernest Peckinpaugh in a letter written
and though they took bass, big bass and lots of bass, shortly before his death in 1947 that Wilder used
during the summer of 1911 I sought to improve the his (Peckinpaugh's) bugs. Judging by his 1918
model. Whether or not I succeeded is a matter of letter, Wilder would not have agreed.
opinion. Certainly my flies were not more
Will Dilg, the author of the article to which
attractive than were those made by Mr. Adams; but
Wilder was responding, became the foremost
www.pixachrome.com 16
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
advocate of floating bass bugs. Dilg was not a fly
designer himself, but he was a prominent angler,
promoter, outdoor writer, and contributor to Field
& Stream. He later was one of the founders and
first president of the Isaac Walton League. Based
in Chicago, Dilg hosted anglers from around the
country to fly fish for smallmouth bass from his
base in a houseboat on the Upper Mississippi
River. These anglers, many of whom were from
Chicago and were, like Dilg, members of Chicago
casting clubs, began further refining the design of
Callmac Bugs took the early floating cork lures to a new
the bass bug. Utilizing feathers, bucktail or a level of artistry by 1920. Photo courtesy Mr. James Dorr.
combination of the two, the Mississippi style they
developed with down wings that hugged the form of the art among the professional tiers of the
compact body was less bulky and cast better than era.
earlier versions. There was still much variation, Perhaps the best made and most popular of the
however. Dilg and others sensed a need for some commercial Mississippi bass bugs were those
standardization of patterns so Dilg invited "some made by James Heddon's Sons from 1924 until
of Chicago's expert fishermen and professional fly after WWII. The bass size Heddon "Bug with the
tiers" to a luncheon at the Chicago Athletic Club hackle" came in the 12 patterns standardized in
in 1916 or 1917, where the group standardized 12 the Chicago conference. The Baby Bass Bug came
color patterns, naming them for angling notables in 6 patterns. Simply put, they were works of art.
and participants at the meeting.
Individual professional tiers continued to sell The Feather Minnow
their bass bug creations by word of mouth or B.F. Wilder may have simply advanced the
advertisements in sporting magazines, but larger design of the bass bug, rather than originating it,
tackle manufacturers as well as more but he seems clearly to have been the inventor of
commercially oriented entrepreneurs recognized the feather minnow, a surface fly rod lure that was
the commercial possibilities of the increasingly at least as popular as the bass bug, if not more so.
popular lure. By the early 1920s they supplanted As related by Wilder in the October, 1923 issue of
the cottage industry. In addition to the Ernest Outers' Recreation, he had observed in a variety of
Peckinpaugh Company bugs, among the more angling experiences that "fish instantly took
well known and successful were the Callmac Bug, advantage of injuries which made their natural
made by South Bend Bait Company from 1921 food easy to catch." Although certainly not the first
into the 1950s. South Bend acquired the rights to angler to observe this phenomenon, he called on
the Callmac bug from its originator, Call J. his experience with cork bodied bass bugs to
McCarthy, a Chicago based National casting experiment with a surface fly rod lure that would
champion whom Dilg called "the greatest artist mimic an injured minnow and after many trials
with the rod and reel of his time" and who "hit upon a head made of cork and a body
patented a hook to resist lateral and rotational composed of long, springy cock's hackles. These
movement. His bass bugs were likely the highest feathers were tied in on either side of the hook-
17
POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS THROUGHOUT TIME
Heddon Bass Bugs, The bug with hackle, became the most popular of the Mississippi-style bass bugs. Photo courtesy Mr.
Jim Dorr.
shank with the natural curve of the feathers of one Dear Bill:
side opposed to the curve of those forming the
You know that feather minnow, and how deadly
other side, which resulted in a very flexible body
it would be in the hands of a fish hog? Well, I'm a
with the appearance of substance and almost no
little uneasy at having turned that lure loose, and
weight. Between head and body was a hackle, such
I feel it would sort of take the curse off to name it
as one may see upon almost any wet fly, which
after a friend of mine who, both by precept and
sloped and modeled the lines of the head into
example, has preached sportsmanship and
those of the bodyIt floated barely awash; it
moderation all his life. In short, I'd like to name it
appeared to struggle helplessly at the slightest
movement of the leader." The lure had a bullet
shaped cork head that was " in length and " in
diameter. The overall length was 3 ". Wilder was
concerned that the lure would be too effective so
he turned to his friend Will Dilg to suggest a name
for the lure:
www.pixachrome.com 18
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
South Bend and Heddonfeather minnows. Photo courtesy Mr. Jim Dorr.
Jamison Wigglers ushered in a new era of top water fly rod lures meant to imitate injured baitfish. Photo courtesy Mr. Jim
Dorr.
www.pixachrome.com 20
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Trout-Orenos were some of the first fly rod lures that incorporated a deeply cupped face which caused it to swim in an
erratic motion. Photo courtesy Mr. Jim Dorr.
marks and eight different color patterns, it was a What about Poppers?
real eye catcher. So far we have discussed what might be called
The first fly rod lure introduced by South Bend sliders or divers, but what about poppers? For
Bait Company, even before the Callmac bug, was most of us, there is no greater thrill in fly fishing
a diminutive version of its popular Bass-Oreno for bass than working a popper, anticipating either
bass plug. The 1 " Trout-Oreno introduced in that violent strike or the subtle, sucking take of
1920 and 1 1/8" Fly-Oreno introduced in 1921 had what is most likely a bigger fish. And the popping
a deeply cupped face that produced a wobbling,
erratic motion. Floats when not in motion -dives
and swims when moving." It was produced into
the 1950s.
Jamison and South Bend may have been the
first to market commercially successful "divers,"
but multiple other wobbling and wiggling fly rod
lures, some for surface retrieve and some designed
to dive, were marketed by many of the leading
tackle companies as well as many smaller "mom
and pop" companies during the heyday of the
1920s and 1930s. Many of them were of
exceedingly high quality and fine workmanship.
Some of them are depicted in the accompanying
picture. One of the first true poppers of modern day fly fishing, the
Pop-It fly rod lure from The Creek Chub Bait Company.
Photo courtesy Mr. Jim Dorr.
21
POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS THROUGHOUT TIME
sound is a part of that anticipation for the Pop-it, introduced by the Creek Chub Bait
fisherman, just as it is an attractor for the fish. Company in 1926. Creek Chub advertised that the
Poppers were the last of the solid body surface Pop-it was guaranteed: " to get bass when pulled
fly rod lures to be developed. At first, the thinking so as to make the bait go pop-pop on the surface.
was that surface bugs should be fished with a The reason it is such a killer is, that though it is a
minimum of disturbance. The lures themselves very small and light lure, when jerked it makes a
were designed with conical faces, in part to limit big fuss on the surface, which bass can't resist."
surface disturbance during the retrieve and lift off. Over a 30 year period, the Pop-it became the most
As anglers gained experience with surface bugs, successful of all Creek Chub fly rod baits.
they began to realize that surface fuss and noise, Other manufacturers soon joined in to make
employed properly, could add to their success, not popping bugs. E. H. Peckinpaugh, often
hinder it. Manufacturers began to design and then mistakenly given credit for the first popping bug,
introduce bugs specifically designed to "pop." The introduced his V-face "especially designed"
first commercial fly rod lure specifically designed popping bug in 1930 and more popping bugs came
to make surface noise was the cup faced Fly Rod later. Heddon bass bugs transitioned to flat face
www.pixachrome.com 22
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Examples of some of the variety of poppers available in the 1930s. Photo courtesy Mr. Jim Dorr.
23
POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS THROUGHOUT TIME
Additional examples of the Pop-It fly rod lure by The Creek Chub Bait Company of Garret, Indiana. Photo courtesy Mr.
Jim Dorr.
from feather shafts and sparrow feathers tied with friends or as a small cottage business using cork,
silk to resemble wings. The result was a highly wood or newer materials such as foam. And,
effective and realistic looking bug. although beyond the scope of this history, a
renewed interest and creativity in designing hair
Later History bugs developed, especially beginning in the 1970s.
The popularity that floating fly rod lures had Now as fly fishing in general and warm and
enjoyed prior to World War II did not return in saltwater fly fishing in particular have surged in
the first quarter century following the war. Many popularity, poppers, sliders and divers have once
reasons may have existed for this, but the foremost again resumed their rightful place. And, while
was the new and burgeoning popularity of spin there may still be campfire debates surrounding
casting, enabling lighter tackle to be used. Many the origin of the surface lure, we can all thank the
of the old line products -and many of the old line pioneers who enabled us to the experience. To
companies - died out. But examples could still be summarize, B.F. Wilder's words regarding top
had from companies like Arbogast and Weber in water lures simplistically states; "[they are a]
plastic or resins like Dylite. Individuals made splendid addition to the pleasure" of all fly
surface bugs for their own personal use, for their fishermen.
www.pixachrome.com 24
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Artisans Gallery
Tim Jacobs
Tim Jacobs, of New Castle, Colorado, is a prominent Western United States fly tyer using the technique of spun deer hair.
Top Row: examples of Tims diver-style spun deer hair flies. Middle and Bottom Rows: examples of classic deer-hair popper
style flies. Tims signature style includes using Whiting Farms black-laced white feathers dyed in various colors as the primary
tailing feather. In the tails, Tim also uses color-coordinated wispy spey hackle from Whiting Farms.
25
SECTION ONE
- Kirk Deeter, (fly fishing angler, author and publisher)
www.pixachrome.com 26
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
The authors fly tying area has plenty of bright working spaces, ample lighting, close-by material storage and good
ventilation. The room also serves as a photography lab, day-job office and sometimes a guitar studio.
27
TOOLS
Invest a little or a lot, or invest in materials with a will prevent paints and adhesives from damaging
friend and split the booty, your choice. a nice white working surface. And over time, the
As for the specialty tools that are needed to working board becomes nouveau art in itself.
make lure bodies, most can be made DIY (do-it Spilled glues, nail polishes and even a coffee cup
-yourself). This is partly the attraction to some ring or two add character to your work board.
and a necessity to others. Not all tools mentioned
in this section are readily available as
Good Ventilation
All the paint and adhesives used in the craft
manufactured products, so making them is a
emit some fairly potent fumes. An afternoon at
necessity.
the bench inhaling adhesives and enamels will
have your head spinning. Some like the smell of
Work Area Prep BTEX components in markers and paints
(benzene, toluene, ethylene and xylene), others
Great Lighting find the fumes noxious. Having good ventilation
With the multitude of colors, pigments and
will help reduce the headaches and speed the
shades involved in the materials used to make
drying time of adhesives, paint jobs and overcoats.
poppers, slider and divers, great not just good
Opening a window and the door to your tying
lighting is essential. Daylite fluorescent
room can provide enough cross-ventilation to do
lighting offers the lighting spectrum of sunlight,
the job. If your tying room doesnt have a window,
which will illuminate subtle shades and tints more
placing a small air-circulating fan in the corner on
accurately. The yellow light of standard
the floor can move ample air to create good
incandescent bulbs or the bluish light of some
ventilation.
compact fluorescent bulbs just wont do the colors
(or your eyes) justice. LED lighting is becoming
more mainstream and like fluorescent and
The Necessary Basics
incandescent lighting, can provide varying light The essential tools required for fly tying also
color. apply to making poppers, sliders and divers: a vise,
a bodkin, a thread bobbin and a sharp pair of
White Work Surface Area scissors. The jaws of the fly tying vise should be
A light-colored or white work surface helps in able to accommodate the larger hooks sizes used
the overall comfort of eyes as they process color, in poppers, sliders and divers - up 4/0 in some
tints, contrast and depth of field. A white work cases. If you plan on crafting lures for freshwater
surface helps by providing reflected light and a panfish, bass and pike, a vise jaw that holds hooks
good white backdrop. Your eyes will work less up to 1/0 or so will do. A larger vise jaw is required
and thus reduce eye and head strain over an for saltwater hooks, which are not only larger in
afternoon at the bench. size but also made of much thicker and sturdier
wire.
Working Board
When working with paints and adhesives, the Basic Tools for Painting
inevitable will happen at some point - spilled
liquids. Having a working board, maybe a small Base Coat Painting Jig
sheet of thin plywood, MDF or even a simple sheet For most natural material lure bodies, like cork
of box cardboard to place on a white work surface or balsa, painting a solid base color is required
www.pixachrome.com 28
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
29
TOOLS
which is imperative for professional looking
painted surfaces, and having no risk of the
pressurized air freezing up as it does when using
compressed air from a canister for long bursts at
a time. Youll find other uses for compressed air
at the tying bench too, such as drying adhesives
and paints faster or simply blowing off dust and
DIY Eye dot stamps make perfect circles every time for eyes
and spots on lure bodies.
www.pixachrome.com 30
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
jig and the adhesive spray box can also act as an
adequate garage or tool shed spray paint hood for
canned spray paints, although its best to be ultra
cautious about using canned spray paints indoors
using these DIY tools. More on making your own
DIY adhesive spray box can be found in the
section Adhesives.
Drying Wheel
A drying wheel is an essential tool to making
poppers, sliders and divers. Drying wheels can be
purchased or DIY made. If a DIY drying wheel is
A portable airbrush paint spray hood utilizes a small fan to your preferred method, the internet is loaded with
draw airflow through a two-filter system. A professional
spray hood like this one is useful for airbrushing with
Copic markers and acrylics, keeping the fine mist
contained.
31
TOOLS
A bead chain drying rack is easy to make using a sturdy base, Bulldog clips, alligator clips and spring-loaded weighted
two dowels and a length of chain. The home-made rack clips help hold mesh materials tight to the lure body when
above also has a few wine corks glued in the base as extra spray painting.
places to dry larger lure bodies.
useful for drying flies that are glued, flies with UV
wheels, such as Flex Coats 7 RPM cordless fly & cure resins, or freshly spray painted lure bodies.
jig turning wheel are also available online and A bead chain line is not very effective for drying
from local fly shops, usually as a special order item. epoxies as the epoxy will run and drip before
curing.
Bead Chain Drying Rack
Another very effective way to dry flies is to Adjustable Clamp Stand
make a bead chain clothes line of sorts. An adjustable clamp stand with small clips is
Extending a strand of bead chain, the larger beads handy for spray painting, hand-painting detail,
the better, across two stanchions will make an and applying finishes at various angles. It gives an
effective drying line. A bead chain line is very advantage of managing the detailed manipulation
required of spray guns and paint brushes when
Adjustable clamp stands are helpful for managing detailed
painting and applying finishes.
doing intricate work. Several different styles exist;
clamp stands with multiple flexible clips and
clamp stands with adjustable arms are most
common.
Clips
A variety of alligator and bulldog clips are
necessary for holding mesh and fabric stencils over
top water lure bodies while airbrushing or hand-
painting is performed. Berkley Bottom Finder
spring loaded stainless steel clips (pictured clips
with red ball weights attached) are useful for
www.pixachrome.com 32
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Having some semblance of organization will
help you avoid catastrophe at the bench. Having
many packets of expensive synthetics and a few
pricey rooster capes laying on the bench surface
is not a good idea when air brushing or painting
with lacquers, enamels and the like. Even opening
a small bottle of clear nail lacquer to finish off a
fly can tip over easily and ruin whats underneath
it. So, make a practice of ridding the work surface
of anything you dont want liquids to ruin - you
wont regret the extra minute or two it took to do
so.
A 3-ring notebook with baseball card storage sleeves is a
great way to store stick-on and 3D eyes. Store each Another key to organization is to keep
size/color combination in separate pages for easy reference. adhesives and small bottles of enamels and paints
in plastic baggies and stored in plastic storage
pulling the mesh fabric over the lure body to boxes when not in use. Adhesives in one box,
ensure it stays tight. paints in another. Over time, the bottle gremlins
will loosen a lid or cap and tip the bottle ever-so-
Other Items slightly. Out comes an oozing of paint or glue
There are other readily available tools that are
without your approval. It will happen to you.
handy to have: coffee stir sticks for mixing
adhesives and applying wood filler, nail files With all the long synthetic materials available
(emery boards) for sanding lure bodies, and paper today, theres plenty of options to store the
towels for cleaning up paint and adhesives. material besides using a long plastic baggie. For
example, once EP fibres or PikeSkinz fiber hanks
Thoughts On Organization are removed from the original long plastic baggie,
its all but impossible to get the entire hank back
With all the materials, paints, adhesives and
in the baggie without some sort of hassle. There
tools a lure maker needs, having a way to keep
are two storage methods I find invaluable for these
materials systematically organized is a good habit
sorts of materials.
to practice However, organization isnt everyones
cup of tea. Organization for one lure maker may The first method is to get a grip on long-strand
look like chaos to another. I am not here to say material - bind them with small, thin zip ties. Bind
what is good organization, but rather to share why the hank of material at the very end, leaving the
some sort of organization of all the things a lure minimum amount of material beyond the bound
maker needs is a good idea. The organization you end. The second method is to use large clear
employ has to work for you. For the most part, ice-cream shake straws to store each synthetic
the fly tyers and lure makers I know are wired to material hank within. The straws are usually 8
be organized, so a discussion on organization (20cm) long and 1/2 (13mm) in diameter. Most
doesnt need to be exhaustive - because as we all long materials will slide nicely into the large straws.
know, we are collectors of necessary materials,
not hoarders. Hoarders are disorganized,
collectors arent.
33
TOOLS
The authors top water fly box is displayed against a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains on the horizon (Longs
Peak in view, top center).
www.pixachrome.com 34
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
35
LURE BODY MATERIALS
FIGURE 1
www.pixachrome.com 36
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
at high speed and sandpaper is used to shape the
body. Coarse-grit sandpaper is used to rough-in
the body shape and fine-grit is used to smooth the
body in preparation for painting.
Cork should be prepped before painting.
Ideally, the small holes and surface variations
should be filled with a glue or sealer, then sanded
down to the desired body shape after drying.
After filling and sanding the cork body, its best Square balsa rods, cut into cubes, make whimsically fun
dice-shaped top water lure bodies.
to apply a coat of water-based wood treatment or
a solid color of acrylic paint before painting the
body. The wood treatment will allow the natural
color of the cork to come through while the acrylic Basswood
will lay down a base color for the popper and seal Basswood, also called lindenor limewood, is
the cork all in one step. When using opaque colors native to much of temperate North America. It
like acrylics or some air-brushed paints, one coat has a soft, nearly grainless texture. It is easily
of base sealant is all that is required. When using worked in wood sculptures and carvings and is
pigment-based colors like the Copic Air Brush ideal for popper body making and for waterfowl
System, a light or white acrylic base is best. This decoy art. It is also used to create furniture and
allows the air-brushed pigments to stand out window blinds since it is lightweight, strong and
against the light background base color of the stains/paints well. Native Americans harvested
popper. the inner bark, which produces a strong lengthy
fiber. This 'bast' was used for cordage, in textiles,
Balsa in basket weaving and in decorative dress.
Balsa wood is a very porous and light wood. Basswood was even harvested for food. The
Fresh cut green balsa has to be dried in a kiln for cambium, the layer between the wood and inner
at least two weeks to evaporate the water that is bark, is slushy white and full in the spring, tasting
held in the large wood grain cells. The trees are something like sweet cucumber. Later in the
fast growing and exhibit a high strength-to-weight growing season, the cambium is a very thin layer
ratio. Balsa is a favorite of model airplane and can hardly be found. Basswood trees also
hobbyists, building and testing model bridges, and attract honey bees. The honey from a basswood
even used in the core of wind turbine blades. tree beehive is sought-after as a premium product.
Interestingly, the seeds of the balsa were once used
to fill life jackets, due to their buoyant, Styrofoam- High Density Polyethylene Foam
like nature. High Density Polyethylene Foam is one of the
Ecuador supplies over 90% of the world's most popular and easy to use materials available
supply of balsa, where over half is grown via balsa for custom popper making. It is readily available
plantations in densely planted balsa 'forests'. It is in most any form factor desired; from thin sheets
an inexpensive wood and readily available, making to blocks several inches thick. There are two types
it ideal for popper creation. of high density polyethylene foam to consider for
the fly tyer and lure maker: Cross-Link foam and
Evazote/Plastazote foam.
37
LURE BODY MATERIALS
Cross-Linked Polyethylene Foam (XLPE) is a clear seal and affix eyes before calling them
fine-celled foam with a smooth, medium-firm complete.
pleasant feel. With its closed cell density, XLPE Evazote is similar to Plastazote but has a more
has low moisture permeability and high buoyancy. rubbery look and feel. Evazote is more durable
This is the most common foam found in craft and and resilient to environmental factors such as
hobby stores as sheets ranging from 0.5mm to petroleum products and household cleaners.
several millimeters thick. Evazote is often used as soles in footwear.
Fly tying material suppliers package popular
colors and several thicknesses of XLPE. Polyurethane Foam
Polyethylene foam is easily glued together in Polyurethane foam is most often used as
layers, creating an infinite combination of color insulation, core material for production housing
options. It shapes and paints without too much walls and HVAC systems enclosures. It is rigid,
effort. It's easy to tie to a hook, is inexpensive, lightweight, highly insulating and has low water
readily available in a rainbow of colors, durable absorption. It can be carved and shaped similar
and floats reasonably well, especially if coated with to balsa wood, although with more care. While it
a water-based urethane before being fished. can be used to create conical or round lure bodies
There's not much to disapprove about XLPE for in a pinch, it is not the ideal body material since it
popper making. is the most rigid and brittle of all the foams
Evazote and Plastazote are also cross-linked discussed here.
polyethylenes, but add a copolymer to make the
resulting foam tougher and more resilient than Molded Closed-cell Polystyrene
other dense foams. Plastazote is easily fabricated
since it is more rigid than Evazote. Plastazote is
Foam (Styrofoam)
the ideal foam lure making material. Fly tying By itself, Styrofoam (a trademarked name by
material manufacturers sell it as pre-formed The Dow Chemical Co.) is not very appealing as
popper bodies in a variety of popular shapes, a material to shape into custom designs. It can be
colors and sizes. While the pre-formed bodies can difficult to work with and annoyingly messy as
be tied directly to the hook without painting, most discarded shavings, cuttings and sanded debris
tyers paint the foam bodies with custom colors or cling to anything that can hold a static charge. The
There are subtle differences between Plastazote (red) and Cross-Linked Polyethelene XLPE (gray, green) foams. Plastazote
has a more dense, firm feel with tighter cell construction, while XLPE foam is slightly softer to the touch, and more open
cell construction. XLPE is the most common material sold in craft stores as foam sheets. Here, you can see that the gray
XLPE is slightly more porous than the green XLPE - not all craft sheet foams are created equal.
www.pixachrome.com 38
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
39
LURE BODY MATERIALS
creativeness may be driven by the increasing cost Double-barrel popper bodies may require some
of pre-packaged materials in craft stores and fly trimming before using, as the molds to make the
shops. It may be driven by the need to be unique bodies tend to create some areas of thin material
with the use of an odd material, or a new method, around the edges.
or even a new lure or fly. Whatever the driver,
there always seems to be a creative idea or two that
pops up every year that is so novel and unique that
it makes a reason to buy new material or tie a new
fly to trick bigger fish to the net. Dont overlook
anything that could float, be carved, sanded,
shaped, painted and glued to a hook.
Pre-Manufactured Bodies
Fortunately for many of us who are short on
tying time, there are high-density foam lure bodies
and plugs in a wide variety of pre-shaped forms
and colors. Pre-molded Styrofoam bodies are
manufactured by Wapsi as the Perfect Popper
Pack. They come in a variety of popular sizes and
shapes for both freshwater and saltwater use. For Zudbubbler Popper Bodies are made of a light and dense
those with little time to make poppers from cross-linked polyethylene and pre-cut for convenience.
scratch, molded Styrofoam bodies are the way to
go - you cant go wrong with the Wapsi Perfect
Popper kit. Flymen Fishing Company
manufactures double barrel popper bodies which
make quick work of making a few poppers for a
last minute trip. They are made of soft EVA foam,
similar to the foams used on the midsole of
running shoes. Unique to the double barrel bodies
is an inset eye socket in which stick-on 3D eyes
can be affixed and protected, and an inset tail Comal Tackles hard Styrofoam snap-on floats can be cut
socket which fits over tailing materials nicely. in half and shaped like cork or wood by shaping with a
Dremel rotary tool and sanding. The longer shape gives
more to work with when creating large saltwater surface
lures.
www.pixachrome.com 40
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
1 2 3
Rainys manufactures high density foam popping heads in a variety of sizes and solid colors. 1) Rainys Pee-Wee Pops are
designed for small panfish using hook sizes 10 and 12. 2) Rainys small Mini Mes Pops are larger than Pee-Wee Pops
and accommodate hook sizes 4-8. Rainys medium Mini Mes Pops are designed for hook sizes 1/0 - 4. 3) Rainys
Pre-shaped Bass Pops come in sizes small, medium and large to accommodate hooks from 10 to 1/0. They have a flattened
underside, good for adding in weed guards.
Holschlags Blockhead Popper Heads by Rainys come in Rainys Diver Heads come in a variety of solid colors in
a variety of solid colors in sizes small, medium and large to sizes small, medium and large to accommodate hook sizes
accommodate hook sizes 12 to 1/0. 12 to 1/0.
1 2
1) Rainys Cylinder Poppers come in a variety of colors and diameters, from 3/8 (0.95cm) to 1.25 (3.2cm). 2) Rainys
Art Deco Cylinder Poppers with Hole are pre-drilled for tubes or rigging as bangers. They are pre-painted in four common
color combinations and come in two diameters, 3/4 (1.9cm) and 1 (2.54cm).
41
LURE BODY MATERIALS
1 2
1) Rainys Pencil Poppers have angled cupped popping heads, come in a variety of solid colors and sizes for hook sizes 4
to 1/0. 2) Rainys Sliders have cupped or flat faces, and are not cut an an angle.
1 4
3
2
4) Wapsis Perfect Poppers are available in high-density foam as well as in pre-molded hard Styrofoam, as shown on the
previous page spread. 5) Wapsis Foam Cylinders are available in a variety of solid colors and sized 1/16 through 1 in
diameter (1.6mm - 25.4mm).
www.pixachrome.com 42
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
43
HOOKS & THREAD
hook set. Illustration 1 depicts proper and Illustration 1.1 - Proper Hook Selection
improper hook choices for various body styles,
while Illustration 2 demonstrates an improper
choice of hook for the desired lure body style.
Another trick to provide enough hook gape is to X
trim the bottom of the lure body, which is often Y
seen in top water popping bugs. Illustration 3
In this example, an extended body slider may require a 3x
details an example of trimming the bottom of a or 4x hook. The ideal hook choice would ensure the hook
lure body to expose the hook gape. gape width with the slider body affixed (Y) would equal or
In todays hook manufacturing world, hook be greater than the original gape width (X).
points and barbs have never been sharper. For
example, the ubiquitous Mustad CK52S kinked-
shanked popper hook comes with a chemically Illustration 1.2 - Improper Hook Selection
sharpened needle point. Likewise is true for the
Daiichi 2720 wide-gape stinger hook. More
X
options exist for salt water hooks where circle and
harpoon points are available. The most common
hook points used for freshwater fishing are needle
and hollow points. The anatomy of a hook is
detailed in Illustration 4.
www.pixachrome.com 44
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Illustration 1.4 - Anatomy of a Hook various adhesives illustrates the best adhesion
combinations. For example, the common
adhesive E6000 is a good multi-purpose
household glue, but does not make for a good
adhesive in lure making or fly tying. On the other
hand, CA glue (a.k.a. Super Glue) is the single
best option for gluing any body type to a hook
shank.
Understanding a hooks anatomy can help you select the
proper hook for the job. Putting It All Together
With specific hooks made for popper, slider
and diver bodies, its hard to choose the wrong
hook these days. For a vast majority of lure
making needs, commercially available kinked-
Illustration 1.5 - Common Hook Point & Barb Styles shank and wide-gape hooks will fit the bill. In
some rare circumstances, it may be necessary to
modify a hook to fit a unique lure body shape, but
that circumstance is rare and care must be taken
in bending hooks, which compromises the
Needle Point strength of the hook metal.
Hollow Point
Gel CA adhesive is
best for most usage
Excellent holding Excellent holding Excellent holding Excellent holding Excellent holding
scenarios allows
power. Can be power. Can be power. Can be power. Can be power. Can be
CA Glue 10-12 seconds of
reinforced to a reinforced to a reinforced to a reinforced to a stronger reinforced to a
working time before
(Super setting. Doesnt soak
stronger hold with a stronger hold with a stronger hold with a hold with a coat of stronger hold with a
coat of epoxy. coat of epoxy. coat of epoxy. epoxy. coat of epoxy.
Glue) into porous materials
like standard liquid
CA adhesive.
Good solid bond, but Good solid bond, but Good solid bond, but Good solid bond, but Unpredictable bond
Polyurethane
expansion of expansion of adhesive expansion of expansion of adhesive depending on foam
adhesive that
Gorilla requires water to
adhesive requires requires clean-up adhesive requires requires clean-up after type. Deforms some
clean-up after curing. after curing. clean-up after curing. curing. foam. Not flexible.
Glue activate; expands 3-4
times before curing.
Flexible strong,
waterproof bond on
Solid bond but can be Solid bond but can be Good solid bond. Good solid bond. Insert Light bond. Will pry
most surfaces. Takes
pried apart. Insert the pried apart. Insert the Insert the hook shank the hook shank into the loose easily.
24 hours to
hook shank into the hook shank into the into the tightest slot tightest slot possible.
Aquaseal completely cure.
tightest slot possible. tightest slot possible. possible. Can be Can be reinforced to a
Can be reinforced to Can be reinforced to a reinforced to a stronger hold with a
a stronger hold with a stronger hold with a stronger hold with a coat of epoxy.
coat of epoxy. coat of epoxy. coat of epoxy.
Flexible waterproof
bond. Solid bond
Good solid bond. Solid bond but can be Good solid bond. Weak bond. Not a Weak bond. Not a
after 4 hours, 24
Insert the hook shank pried apart. Insert the Insert the hook shank good choice. good choice.
hours to completely
Liquid cure. Works best on
into the tightest slot hook shank into the into the tightest slot
possible. Can be tightest slot possible. possible. Can be
Fusion natural materials.
reinforced to a Can be reinforced to a reinforced to a
stronger hold with a stronger hold with a stronger hold with a
coat of epoxy. coat of epoxy. coat of epoxy.
Flexible waterproof
contact adhesive, for
Weak bond. Can Weak bond. Can Moderate bond. Will Excellent holding Weak bond. Can
extreme
easily be pried loose. easily be pried loose. pry loose with some power. Can be easily be pried loose.
Liquid temperatures and
force. Can be reinforced to a stronger
conditions. Solid
Nails bond after 1 hour,
reinforced to a hold with a coat of
stronger hold with a epoxy.
6-8 hours to cure.
coat of epoxy.
Multi-purpose
E6000 styrene rubber Good bond, but too Good bond, but too Good bond, but too Good bond, but too Good bond, but too
(tube) adhesive; flexible; flexible; can easily be flexible; can easily be flexible; can easily be flexible; can easily be flexible; can easily be
Water-proof. pried loose. pried loose. pried loose. pried loose. pried loose.
www.pixachrome.com 46
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Common Kink-Shank Hooks Common Wide Gape Hooks
Hooks with kinked-shanks are ideal for Wide-gaped hooks are ideal for thicker lure
securing various lure bodies and preventing the body flies such as bass bugs and divers. The wide
body from twisting on the hook shank. These gape gives extra clearance between the lure body
hook styles are most common for popper, slider and the hook point.
and diver lure making.
47
HOOKS & THREAD
tying. Therefore, waxed thread is not as desirable
Tying Thread as un-waxed thread for lure making.
Theres no magic in choosing the correct thread
The most confusing part of thread choice can
for tying poppers, sliders and divers. The thread
be the thread thickness nomenclature. Left over
must simply be strong, durable and available in
from the days of silk threads, the measurement of
the color needed for the job at hand. Standard dry
the thread diameter was given a series of zeros to
fly thread need not apply.
indicate thickness. More zeros equal finer
Way back when, the only tying thread available diameters. For example, 00 thread (aka 2/0 or
was made of silk. Fortunately today there are two-aught) has a larger diameter than 000000
many other options to choose: nylon, polyester, (6/0) thread. The additions of more sequential
gel-spun polyethylene (GSP), Kevlar and hybrids zeros to indicate a finer thread diameter is
thereof are available in a rainbow of colors. antiquated and arbitrary at best. It does not tell
Common tying thread brands include Benecchi, the exact measurement of threads diameter. This
Danville Flymaster, Gordon Griffith, Gudebrod, means that the 6/0 thread from one manufacturer
Veevus, Uni-Stretch and UTC Ultra. may be equal to or finer than the 8/0 of another
Nylon thread has more vivid colors than manufacturer.
polyester threads, and can stretch to a small extent, According to a transcript written by the late and
which aids in wrapping secure, tight wraps. great deer hair wizard Christopher Helm, The
Polyester, in comparison, does not stretch like Chenille Company tabbed the aught
nylon, which is advantageous in thread control. nomenclature in the late 1930s. In 1988, Mr. Tom
Kevlar, known for bullet-stopping strength, is Schmucker of WAPSI Fly, Inc., Introduced the UTC
more expensive and is best suited for large fish flies thread in deniers simply called 70 UTC, 140 UTC,
where toothy takes may destroy the wraps using etc.
less durable threads. One may notice the stiff
Denier is defined as a unit of weight by which
nature of Kevlar, which can be difficult to work.
the fineness of a thread is measured, equal to the
GSP also has impressive thread strength (a tad
weight in grams of 9,000 meters of the material.
stronger than Kevlar and two to three times as
Confusing, huh? Essentially it is a unit of mass
strong as the same denier of nylon of polyester)
density for a length of fibers. For example, A
and is available in a wider palette of colors than
denier of 50 is thinner than a denier of 150. The
Kevlar. GSP has an advantage because it is a more
larger the number, the larger diameter of thread.
supple nature, making it easier to tie with in
comparison to Kevlar. GSP also has a tendency Since the aught system uses thread diameter
to flatten easily, which is an advantage to securing and the denier system uses mass, they cannot be
materials or splitting thread. Its hard not to compared equally For example, Veevus 8/0 has a
choose GSP for most any tying application today. denier of 110, while UNI 8/0 has a denier of 72.
This would indicate that Veevus 8/0 would be
Some threads come waxed or un-waxed.
stronger than the equivalent UNI 8/0 polyester
Waxed threads have the advantage of providing a
thread, but it may not be. A complete fly tying
more secure hold on material and that layered
thread table is found on the following pages.
wraps to adhere to themselves, making a solid tie.
However, waxed thread does not absorb tying
cement as easily, which can be important for lure
www.pixachrome.com 48
49
Dia Test Denier
Brand Product Material Aught Denier Strength Flat Split Smooth
(Mm) (Grams) (per mm)
FIGURE 3
Benecchi Super/Ultra Strong GSP 10/0 50 0.033 1077 1515 Strong high good smooth
Benecchi Ultrafine 12/0 Polyester 12/0 70 0.048 450 1458 Average
Benecchi Superfine 10/0 Polyester 10/0 120 0.051 680 2353 Average
Benecchi Fine 8/0 Polyester 8/0 150 0.056 822 2679 Strong
Benecchi Ghost Thread Mono 60 0.076 312 789 Weak none none very smooth
Danville Flymaster Plus 140 Nylon 140 0.046 907 3043 Strong
Danville Flat Waxed Nylon Nylon 210 0.051 1304 4118 Very strong
Danville Flymaster Plus 210 Nylon 210 0.071 1360 2958 Very strong
Danville Spiderweb Mono 16/0 30 0.051 142 588 Very weak none none very smooth
Danville Monocord Nylon 3/0 116 0.066 737 1758 Strong medium possible neutral
Danville Monofilament Ultra Fine Mono 0.102 none none very smooth
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Gordon Griffiths Cobweb Polyester 6/0 134 0.104 1900 1288 Very strong
Gordon Griffiths Wisp Polyester 8/0 108 0.056 425 1929 Average
Gudebrod 6/0 Mono Mono 6/0 131 0.152 862 none none very smooth
Gudebrod 3/0 Mono Polyester 3/0 176 0.102 1077 1725 Strong
Gudebrod G Mono 210 0.178 1559 1180 Very strong none none very smooth
Gudebrod G Polyester 330 0.089 1673 3708 Very strong
Gudebrod Kevlar Kevlar 3/0 115 0.089 1292 medium difficult coarse
Gudebrod 10/0 Polyester 10/0 45 0.025 255 1800 Weak medium possible neutral
Gudebrod GX1 GSP 70 0.025 2523 2800 Extremely strong high good smooth
Gudebrod GX2 GSP 130 0.042 3095 high good smooth
Gudebrod 8/0 Polyester 8/0 67 0.046 450 1457 Average medium possible neutral
Gudebrod 6/0 Polyester 6/0 143 0.058 920 2466 Strong
Dia Test Denier
Brand Product Material Aught Denier Strength Flat Split Smooth
(Mm) (Grams) (per mm)
Gudebrod 10/0 Mono Mono 10/0 50 0.152 1219 329 Very strong none none very smooth
Lagartun Polyester 150 0.048 907 3125 Strong
Lagartun XX Strong GSP 50 high good smooth
Lagartun XX Strong GSP 75
www.pixachrome.com
high good smooth
Lagartun XX Strong GSP 100 high good smooth
Lagartun XX Strong GSP 130 high good smooth
Lagartun Polyester 74 0.03 454 2467 Average
Lagartun Polyester 95 0.036 482 2639 Average
Montana Fly Co 8/0 Nylon 8/0 72 0.036 397 2000 Weak
Montana Fly Co 6/0 Nylon 6/0 110 0.051 652 2157 Average
Montana Fly Co 3/0 Nylon 3/0 135 0.056 709 2411 Strong
Montana Fly Co Nylon 350 0.081 1927 4321 Very strong
Orvis 12/0 Polyester 12/0 0.05 medium difficult neutral
Orvis 8/0 Polyester 8/0 0.055 medium difficult neutral
Orvis 6/0 Polyester 6/0 0.06 medium difficult neutral
Pearsall Silk Silk 140
Petitjean Split Second Thread 8/0 good
Roman Moser Carbon Fiber Tying Thread Carbon (?) 3/0
Midge
RST Dynacord (Dynema) GSP 150 0.135 3430 1111 Extremely strong high good smooth
Semperfli 6/0 Fly Tying Thread Polyester 6/0
Semperfli Nano Silk Ultra Fine 30D 18/0 GSP 18/0 30 1140 Strong high good smooth
HOOKS & THREAD
50
51
Dia Test Denier
Brand Product Material Aught Denier Strength Flat Split Smooth
(Mm) (Grams) (per mm)
FIGURE 3
Semperfli Nano Silk 50D 12/0 GSP 12/0 50 1900 Very strong high good smooth
Semperfli Nano Silk Predator 100D 6/0 GSP 6/0 100 3800 Extremely strong high good smooth
Semperfli Nano Silk Big Game 200D 3/0 GSP 3/0 200 7600 Extremely strong high good smooth
UNI UNI-Cord GSP 7/0 100 0.036 3622 2778 Extremely strong high good smooth
UNI UNI-Thread 3/0 Polyester 3/0 220 907 Strong medium difficult neutral
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
UNI UNI-Nylon 210 Nylon 210 0.051 1500 4118 Very strong high good smooth
UNI Kevlar Kevlar 3/0 200 3798 Extremely strong high difficult coarse
UNI UNI-Cord GSP 8/0 75 0.036 1928 2083 Very strong high good smooth
UNI UNI-Thread 1/0 Neon Fluorescent Polyester 1/0 234 992 Strong
Common Tying Threads and Their Characteristics, continued
UNI UNI-Mono Fine Mono 3/0 0.102 623 Average none none very smooth
UNI UNI-Mono Medium Mono 0.178 1670 Very strong none none very smooth
UNI UNI-Cord GSP 12/0 50 0.023 1811 2174 Very strong high good smooth
UNI UNI-Thread 8/0 Polyester 8/0 72 0.051 450 1412 Average medium difficult neutral
UNI UNI-Nylon 70 Nylon 70 0.074 822 946 Strong high good smooth
UNI UNI-Thread 6/0 Polyester 6/0 135 0.041 930 3293 Strong medium difficult neutral
Dia Test Denier
Brand Product Material Aught Denier Strength Flat Split Smooth
(Mm) (Grams) (per mm)
UNI BigFly Polyester 400 0.089 2830 4494 Extremely strong low difficult neutral
Veevus G20 30D GSP 18/0 30 0.025 652 1200 Average high good smooth
Veevus G20 100D GSP 100 0.033 3030 high good smooth
Veevus 16/0 Polyester 16/0 50 0.038 430 1316 Average high good neutral
Veevus G20 150D GSP 150 0.042 3742 3571 Extremely strong high good smooth
www.pixachrome.com
Veevus 12/0 Polyester 12/0 70 0.047 530 1489 Average high good neutral
Veevus 14/0 Polyester 14/0 70 0.049 520 1429 Average high good neutral
Veevus G20 200D GSP 200 0.05 4000 high good smooth
Veevus 10/0 Polyester 10/0 110 0.055 800 2000 Strong high good neutral
Veevus 8/0 Polyester 8/0 110 0.059 1000 1864 Strong high good neutral
Veevus 6/0 Polyester 6/0 110 0.065 1000 1692 Strong high good neutral
Veevus Monofil Thread Mono 0.1 none none very smooth
Veevus Monofil Thread Mono 0.2 none none very smooth
Wapsi GSP 100 GSP 100 0.03 3630 3333 Extremely strong high good smooth
Wapsi UTC 210 Nylon 210 0.081 1350 2593 Very strong high good smooth
Wapsi GSP 130 GSP 130 0.051 2950 2549 Extremely strong high good smooth
Wapsi UTC Ultra Thread Kevlar Kevlar 200 medium difficult coarse
Wapsi GSP 75 GSP 75 2720 Extremely strong high good smooth
Wapsi GSP 200 GSP 200 7250 Extremely strong high good smooth
Wapsi UTC Mono Fine Mono 0.01 none none very smooth
Wapsi UTC Mono Medium Mono 0.015 none none very smooth
Wapsi UTC Mono Thick Mono 0.02 none none very smooth
Wapsi GSP 50 GSP 50 0.02 1815 2500 Very strong high good smooth
Wapsi UTC 70 Nylon 70 0.028 450 2500 Average high good smooth
high good smooth
Common Tying Threads and Their Characteristics, continued
Field Descriptions
Material: Mono is monofilament nylon. Silk is natural silk. The rest are synthetic multifilament threads produced using different methods. Aught: The most common way to
indicate thickness. Not a physical standard. Larger number means thinner thread, so 8/0 is thinner than 6/0. Denier: The weight in grams of 9000 meters of thread. A physical
standard used in the textile industry, but not an indication of thickness or strength. Dia: Diameter in millimeters (mm) or thousands of inches (.000"). As specified by the manufacturer
or measured by other sources. Test: The breaking strength or test of the thread in grams (g) or ounces (oz). Denier/mm: A simple calculation of what the Denier would be if the
thread was 1 millimeter thick, and a way to compare the Deniers for the different threads. Ideally this number should be the same for threads made from the same material, but the
numbers clearly indicate that the Denier number does not help us much in comparing even almost identical threads. Denier and thickness are NOT correlated. Strength*: The
absolute breaking strength of the thread compared to all other threads and not taking diameter or material into consideration. Diameter. Flat*: The thread's ability to flatten when
tying in materials. Split*: The thread's ability to split when used for the split thread dubbing technique. Smoothness*: How slippery or smooth the thread is against the hook shank
or materials. Its ability to "grip" materials. * = Subjective evaluations based upon use.
HOOKS & THREAD
52
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Marking Pens
53
MARKING PENS
www.pixachrome.com 54
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
consistently achieve. Acrylic markers, unlike
oil-based markers, can be used to mark on leather.
Before use, be sure to shake the pen canister
thoroughly to mix the water and acrylic paint. For
lure painting application, a fine-tip or medium-tip
pen is best (2mm - 5mm) . If coloring larger areas,
a wide-tip up to 15mm is recommended.
Similar to oil-based markings, epoxy is the best
final coat option. Allow the acrylic markings to
dry at least 24 hours before applying the final
epoxy over coat.
55
MARKING PENS
colors can be an attractive addition to coloring
lure bodies. In simple terms, fluorescence is the
emission of light by a substance that has absorbed
light. Most common to our eyes is when a black
light, or UV light, is applied to a fluorescent
material and a resulting hot color appears.
Fluorescent materials cease to glow immediately
when the light source stops, unlike
phosphorescence, where it continues to emit light
for some time after. Sharpie makes five markers
in neon fluorescent colors: blue, orange, yellow,
green and pink. Like other Sharpie markers, the
colors will bleed, blend and run if covered with
alcohol or solvent-based coatings. The only
effective coating over Sharpies neon markers is
two-part epoxy.
Metallic markers work well over the top of a white base and
require a top coat finish of epoxy to prevent running and Marker Inks: Dyes vs. Pigments
bleeding.
Not all permanent inks are the same some
use dye and others use pigment-based ink. The
ink found in all black Sharpies contains
Neon (Fluorescent) Markers permanent ink dye, which is primarily alcohol-
Human eyes require a black light to see the based and also contains ethylene glycol monobutyl
ultraviolet reflectivity of neon colors while most ether (a solvent that evaporates quickly and is
fish can see reflected UV light naturally. This completely soluble in water). The colors in all
opens up the debate if fluorescent colors actually other Sharpie markers contains Permchromeink.
add fish-attracting value to a lure. While the Permchrome ink is a pigment-based ink used
debate will remain, theres no denying that neon primarily in ink-jet printer cartridges using xylene
Sharpie neon colors add fluorescence and vibrancy to lure bodies. These mini popper heads were colored exclusively with
Sharpie neon markers, then coated with thirty-minute epoxy for durability. Notice that some of the marabou in the tails
also contain fluorescent dye.
www.pixachrome.com 56
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
and toluene as binding agents to give the ink Copic permanent markers also function as
longevity. Pigment-based ink resists fading; as spray painting markers and are discussed in more
dye-based inks could fade over time if not treated detail in the following section on paints.
with a clear overcoat. According to Sharpie,
Sharpies permanent markers applied to non- Working With Marking Pens
porous surfaces will last 3-4 months when exposed Permanent marker colors work best when
to outdoor weather. applied to a white lure body to allow the color
The ink in Bic Mark-It markers is an alcohol- vividness comes through. Permanent markers
based, acid free pigment ink. Bic Mark-It inks applied to natural wood and cork will absorb into
tend to fade more in sunlight over time, compared the material and spread unless the material has
to Sharpies, even though the basic ink technology been pre-coated with a clear wood treatment. In
is the same. Sharpie and Bic Mark-It inks rare circumstances, applying permanent marker
noticeably fade in little as two weeks when exposed color to untreated natural materials is desired, but
to full sunlight. See Figure 4 - Effect of Sun for most popper body applications, the color
Exposure to Common Marking Pen Ink. should not bleed or spread. Oil-based markers are
best for painting untreated wood and cork. The
The ink in ProMarkers is an alcohol-based dye
oil-based ink is opaque, water-, fade- and
ink. Markers with alcohol dye-based inks tend to
abrasion-resistant, as well as quick drying.
work better with natural material surfaces and
yield more vibrant colors. Markers with pigment-
based inks tend to work better on synthetics.
57
MARKING PENS
FIGURE 4
Colorfastness Colorfastness
Colorfastness Colorfastness Colorfastness Colorfastness Colorfastness
Sharpie Vibrancy Vibrancy
Vibrancy Vibrancy Vibrancy Vibrancy Vibrancy
Neon
= high = low
Fly tyers and lure makers are most concerned with Colorfastness means the stability and longevity of a marker
colorfastness and the vibrancy of the colors. Some markers color on the material over time, with exposure to sunlight
perform better than others on various materials. This chart and use in water.
demonstrates the colorfastness and color vibrancy of Vibrancy is the saturation and hue of the color on the
common marking pens upon common lure and fly tying selected material. A marker color may look vibrant on the
materials. The cells highlighted represent the best option(s) marker tip, but may not be accepted by the material with the
for each marker-material combination. same vibrancy. Fabric markers are a prime example of this.
www.pixachrome.com 58
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
FIGURE 5
What is the Best Marking Pen?
Effect of Sun Exposure on Common Extended exposure to sunlight certainly affects the
Marking Pen Ink longevity of the ink colors, as does extended
exposure to water. The material in which the color
Estimated % Fading
after 30 days in direct sunlight is applied will affect how the ink takes to the
material itself. And, as we have learned, not all
Bic Mark-It 75%
markers are the same, even within the same marker
Elements Metallic 0%
line as in the ubiquitous Sharpie - some contain
Fabric Marker 0%
ink dyes and others ink pigments. And of course,
Sharpie 50%
a clear overcoat will help with the colorfastness of
Sharpie Paint Pen 5%
Sharpie Neon 50%
the marker ink itself. So, which marker is the best
Posca Acrylic Pen 0% to use? While metallic, acrylic and fabric markers
Pro-Marker 5% resist fading, they are not suitable for all materials,
and can leave a dull appearance. They are slightly
Marking colors were applied to a sheet of premium
more expensive than Sharpies or Bic Mark-Its
photographic paper and exposed to direct sun for 30 days.
One half of the sheet was taped over with opaque tape to
and are not found in every art store. Sharpies and
block sunlight exposure. After 30 days, the two sides of the Bic Mark-It are vibrant and work well with most
paper were visually compared to estimate the percent of substrates, but fade rather quickly in sunlight if not
fading to the original color markings. Bolded text coated. They are inexpensive and readily available.
represents the most sun-resistant marker options.
That leaves the Pro-Marker. The Pro-Marker is
more expensive than other marking options and
are not found in every art store. They have the
advantage of having two marking nibs in each
marker - a fine pointed tip and a chisel tip. The
colors take to most natural and synthetic lure
making materials well, with exception of bucktail,
where Sharpies have an arbitrarily slight edge in
color vibrancy. It is the authors opinion the
Letraset Pro-Marker is the overall best option for
lure and fly making. But given the higher expense
and limited general art store availability of the
Pro-Marker, Sharpies or Bic Mark-It markers
make a quite fine alternate, or even primary
marking solution for the hobbyist.
59
MARKING PENS
FIGURE 6
Colors of the ProMarker Color System
www.pixachrome.com 60
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
FIGURE 7
61
MARKING PENS
www.pixachrome.com 62
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Paints
Spray Paint
Spray paints contain three ingredients:
pigments for color, solvents for the carry agent,
and a propellant, usually HFC (hydro
fluorocarbons) to atomize the paint as it is released
from the can. The pigments can act like an opaque
paint or a tinting paint. While water is a good
carry agent, it dries slowly and can even rust metal
surfaces. Therefore, non-aqueous quick drying
solvents are used. These solvents will sometimes
react negatively with the surfaces, underbody
coatings and adhesives used to construct the lure
body. Testing and experimentation is necessary
before production tying a batch only to find out
the paint and surface materials dont behave well
together.
Enamel Paint
Common enamel spray paint makes a good base layer for Oil-based enamel paint produces a hard, high-
further airbrushing or hand-painting. The best base layers gloss finish when dry (think Testors model
have a flat or satin sheen, which allows subsequent paints
paint). It is best used on non-porous surfaces.
to adhere better. Semi-gloss or gloss are better for final
coats. Enamel is most often applied with a brush and as
63
PAINTS
some brush stroke streaking may occur. It is
important to allow enamels to dry completely
before applying other coats of paint, such as colors
from the Copic Air Brush System.
Once dry, metallic paints take permanent
markers well. A metallic undercoat with some
Enamels are available in a wide variety of solid colors, neon creative marker work can make a very attractive
and metallic options. Enamels cure hard enough and may and functional lure body. Of course, the lure body
not require an additional protective coating, although a requires a coat of epoxy to protect the metallic base
protective clear coat will add durability and shine appeal. coat and marker coloring.
Metallic Paints How to spray paint with the Copic Air Brush
System is covered in more detail in Section Two
Metallic paints can be sprayed on with aerosol - Elements of Design, Painting Techniques.
cans, air brushed or hand painted. Spray cans of
metallic paint can be found at any hardware or big
box general retailer and come in a variety of shades
around three basic colors: gold, brass and silver.
Small jars of metallic paint can be purchased as
a brush on, commonly found in craft stores as
Liquid Leaf. If not brushed on with a soft-bristle
brush and allowed to thoroughly dry overnight,
www.pixachrome.com 64
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Z Basic Copic Color Choices
Purchasing sketch markers in core basic
colors suited to popper making is a good
economical way to start airbrushing with
the Copic Air Brush System. Consider
these eight colors to start:
YR04 Chrome Orange
R27 Cadmium Red
Y08 Acid Yellow
YG06 Yellowish Green (lime)
G07 Nile Green
YG97 Spanish Olive
N10 Neutral Gray (the longer it is sprayed
the darker it gets, covering shades from
The Copic Air Brush System can be purchased in a variety
light gray to near black)
of kit options. All kits include the air adapter and marker
air grip. Some kits also include a can of compressed air in B24 Sky Blue
a variety of sizes. The larger the size, the longer it lasts.
65
PAINTS
plasticizers, thickening agents and stabilizers that
prevent color fading and a film-forming adhesive
polymer, such as nitrocellulose. To dissolve the
adhesive polymer in the mixture, an acetate is used
(note: acetate, not acetone - which is used to
remove nail polish). Because acetate is in nail
polish, it will dissolve, blur and blend marker and
airbrush colors applied underneath it.
Nail polish is typically applied using the built-
in cap-brush or a small hobby paint brush. It is
not an effective medium for painting large lure
bodies since it is too time-consuming. Painting
larger lure bodies with an air brush system is much
Acrylics can be purchased as an artists paint (ABOVE:
thicker consistency) or as an air brush medium (BELOW:
more time and cost effective. For small popper,
thinner consistency). A basic assortment of opaque, slider and diver bodies, nail polish can be an
transparent and neon acrylic paints will provide a good effective one-stop paint method. Nail polish
arsenal to create nearly limitless color combinations for air dries relatively quickly and produces a modestly
brushing and hand-painting lures. hard and durable finish. As few as two coats are
all that is needed to solidly color the lure body.
After a few base coats of nail polish, eyes can be
painted on or 3D-eyes can be affixed with CA glue
(Superglue), then covered with a coat or two of
clear nail polish such as Sally Hansens Hard-As-
Nails. This technique will yield quickly made top
water lure bodies, if getting out on the water with
some fishable lures is the goal.
There are three basic types of nail polish to
consider. The first type is standard nail polish that
has been around for decades. It is somewhat thin
Airbrushing fly rod and spinning lures has and will run easily, yet dry quickly. A few coats is
necessary to obtain a solid color and coating. It is
become an art in itself. Just Google airbrushing
often on sale and can be purchased for well under
lures to result hundreds of articles and YouTube
a $1 US. A second type, gel-like nail polish, is
videos on the craft. How to air brush with acrylics
thicker, dries more slowly and yields a thicker
is covered in more detail in Section Two - Elements
coating. It is meant to imitate the popular UV gel
of Design, Painting Techniques.
style of nail polish without requiring a UV curing
Nail Polish light. One coat can be sufficient, but two coats
provide a reasonably durable finish. It can be
Nail polish has long been used as a paint for
slightly more expensive than standard nail polish,
lure making. It is simply a lacquer mixture that
but also can be found on sale frequently for just a
contains a coloring agent (dyes or pigments),
few US dollars. The third type is UV gel nail
www.pixachrome.com 66
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
67
PAINTS
FIGURE 8
www.pixachrome.com 68
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
n Base Coat Painting Jig Place sturdy tape over
the pin heads to secure
A simple jig to spray paint lure bodies a solid base them in place and
color can be made with a cardboard box, some Mark evenly spaced dots prevent them from
straight pins and some sturdy packing tape. where the straight pins punching back
should be placed. through.
DIY STEPS
1. CARDBOARD BOX SELECTION: Select a
cardboard box that can hold about a dozen lure
bodies spaced 3-4 apart. Ideally, the amount
of lure bodies created at a time in batch-mode
would equal the amount of space available on a
drying wheel or bead-chain drying line. The
entire lure production line, from body prep to
final coat, should support the flow of a consis-
tent amount of lure bodies. For most, a dozen
seems to be an ample quantity. A 8W x 10L
box top surface is adequate to paint a dozen
lure bodies.
The bottom inside of the base coat painting jig has the
2. STRAIGHT PIN PLACEMENT: Mark the in- straight pins inserted 3 to 4 apart and the pin heads are
side of the box where each straight pin should secured in place with sturdy packaging tape.
be pushed through. Spacing each pin about 3
or 4 apart provides enough space between
each lure body for painting. Push a straight pin
from the inside bottom of the box through to
outside, using each x or dot as a guide for
placement. A few coats of spray paint around the base of each
3. SECURING THE PIN HEADS: Once all the straight pin will act as glue to help keep the pin in
place.
straight pins are pushed through the box bot-
tom, cover the pin heads with tape to prevent
them from pushing back in when sticking lure
bodies on the pin points. Applying a bead of
hot-melt glue will also secure the pin heads in
place. Spray a few thin layers of spray paint at
the base of each pin point. The dried spray
paint will act as a glue to help hold the pin in
place.
4. PLACING LURE BODIES ON THE PIN
POINTS: It doesnt take much effort to stick a
cork, balsa wood or foam body on a straight
pin point. Firm but gentle pressure is all that is
required. When spraying the paint, be sure to Gently sticking the lure bodies on the pin points allows
for easy spray painting of base colors with little trouble.
cover the area around the pin point, which can
It also makes a good drying rack until the base paint is
be the most difficult to reach.
thoroughly dried.
69
Artisans Gallery
Matthew Zudweg
Matt Zudweg has taken the artistic license to a new level when decorating his visually appealing Zudbubbler flat-faced
poppers. The examples above are made of hand-shaped balsa and decorated with a variety of modern techniques including
stenciling, custom-printed labeling and hand painting with acrylics.
Poppers made and painted by Matt Zudweg.
www.pixachrome.com 70
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Adhesives
www.pixachrome.com 72
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
To help the epoxy, urethane or silicone
adhesives perform best, its ideal to roughen the
two surfaces to be joined together with a piece of
medium-grit sandpaper. This is particularly true
for gluing hard materials together like hard
Styrofoam.
Gluing Foams
The best consumer option for gluing foam
together is 3M Super 77 spray adhesive. A
similar product, made by Loctite, is called High-
Performance Spray Adhesive (be sure to select the
heavyweight bonding version). These spray
adhesives are very sticky and tenacious. It can be
found in most hardware stores, big box general
retailers or online. More on how to use Super 77
can be found in Section Three, Common
Procedures, DIY tip 5 - Making Sandwiched Sheet
Foam Blocks.
Another option is to use Formica contact
adhesive. This type of adhesive is usually found
in pint, quart and gallon sized containers and
requires brushing versus spraying. It is less
convenient and more of a potential mess
compared to spray adhesive.
Foams can also be glued together using weather
strip adhesive. Weather strip adhesive is 3M Super 77 spray adhesive is a tenaciously strong contact
spray adhesive for gluing layers of sheet foam together. Be
sure to apply it outdoors as the fine over-spray can make a
Z Using Spray Adhesive mess of nearby work surfaces and fine furniture if used
indoors.
Follow these tips when spraying 3M Super 77
spray adhesive:
Wear disposable latex gloves
waterproof and flexible. This type of adhesive can
Wear a dust mask to prevent inhaling the be purchased in a variety of colors. For most lure
adhesive over-spray requirements, clear is the best choice.
Spray outside if at all possible
Use short bursts to cover materials until a
Shaping Feathers and Synthetics with
hazy white coating can be seen Adhesive
use a small box, such as a copy paper box, as Shaping feathers and synthetics with adhesive
a spray hood to prevent over-spray from is a great way to create flexible lure parts to be tied
drifting; place the items to be sprayed at the in at a later stage in the lure building process. A
bottom and spray into the box common examples are a tail fin on a bait fish or
73
ADHESIVES
Liquid Nails is a good adhesive for gluing most lure body Aquaseal works best on materials that are least porous.
materials together.
E6000 Excellent bond,
(tube) Excellent bond. Excellent bond Excellent bond Excellent bond. requires firm pressure
overnight to set
Good solid bond.
CA Glue
May pull apart due to
Excellent bond.
Excellent bond, but
(Super Glue) Excellent bond Excellent bond Caution - will melt softer
the frail nature of may eat some foams
Styrofoam
balsa
Liquid Nails Excellent bond Excellent bond Excellent bond Excellent bond Pulls apart easily
Gorilla Glue Excellent bond Excellent bond Excellent bond Good solid bond Pulls apart easily
Good solid bond.
2-part epoxy Good solid bond May pull apart due to
Excellent bond. Excellent bond. works ok, but can
pull apart
the frail nature of balsa.
The best choice for
3M Super 77 works ok, but can
Excellent bond Excellent bond Good solid bond. gluing sheet foams
pull apart
together.
Aquaseal Pulls apart easily Excellent bond. Excellent bond. Excellent bond. Pulls apart easily
Liquid Fusion Excellent bond. Good solid bond Good solid bond Good solid bond Pulls apart easily
Bishs Original
Good solid bond.
Tear Mender
May pull apart due to
Fabric & Leather Pulls apart easily Pulls apart easily Pulls apart easily Pulls apart easily
the frail nature of
Adhesive balsa
75
ADHESIVES
www.pixachrome.com 76
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
77
BODY FILLERS & FINISHES
ranked in preferential order of ease of use and
Primer durability.
Coatings and Wood Hardener
Sealants For exceptionally soft woods, Minwax Wood
When coloring Hardener is a good base coat applied before any
lure bodies, other preparation and artistry is done. A few coats
regardless of applied in rapid succession until shiny is all that
material, it is best to is needed. Allow to dry for 2-4 hours (it will turn
apply a few layers of tacky dry in 20 minutes). Then lightly sand
a primer coat before smooth. Applying wood hardener is also a great
painting. A base way to waterproof natural body materials.
primer coat serves
multiple purposes: Two-Part Epoxy
Some lure makers apply a few thin coats of
A filler for small epoxy by wiping the lure with a lint-free rag.
porous surfaces Using 30- minute, 60-minute or rod building
A method to apply epoxy will yield the thinnest coats and wont
a solid under-color yellow like 5- or 10 -minute epoxy. Lightly sand
prior to final between coats with 320-grit sandpaper or finer
marking or painting and wipe dust-free with a dampened lint-free rag
Minwax Wood Hardener is an A consistent to ensure the smoothest finish on uneven surfaces.
excellent choice for prepping medium which
and sealing wood and cork applies a good base Enamel Spray Paint
before painting. for applying markers Many times, a solid color undercoat is desired
and other paints prior to adding details a lure body. It acts as a
A water-tight sealant sealant too. Colors like white, light gray, metallic
A white primer coat will make subsequent silver, metallic gold and metallic brass are
color layers pop more vibrantly common as base colors before applying final
A black primer coat will provide good contrast artistic coloring and marking.
against subsequent bright color layers
Standard enamel spray paint works well for
A metallic primer coat will make transparent
cork and Styrofoam, but may react and deform
color layers shine with fishy appeal
some foams. Test the material first before
spraying in production. A fail-safe way to apply
It is essential to completely seal wood and cork
an enamel color to foam is to coat the foam with
lure bodies. Water will be the ultimate demise of
a water-based urethane sealer first, lightly hand
a partially sealed wood lure. Moisture trapped
sand, then apply a coat of enamel spray paint in
under a mostly-sealed lure body will never
the color of choice.
completely escape and thus, the body will rot away
over time. Plus, a popper, slider or diver just wont Water-Based Latex
work as designed when it is waterlogged. Below Water-based latex (common house paint) has
are several options for sealing wood lure bodies, many advantages over oil-based house paint.
www.pixachrome.com 78
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
not dry evenly on the
lure body, leaving
uncoated areas when
dry.
Water-Based
Urethanes
Water-based
Loon Outdoors Hard Head Pearlescent and
urethane can be used
Phosphorescent water-based urethanes make the perfect
under coat primer before applying final markings and
as a primer or final
colorings to a lure body. coat on all body
material types, but it
Latex doesnt yellow over time, dries faster and is should be used with
easy to clean up with soap and water. However, caution as a final coat.
Latex paint will swell wood grains and require It will become brittle
some sanding between coats if the wood isnt and crack quickly over
treated beforehand. time.
A latex paint undercoat will take Copic and Water-based
acrylic paint air brushing well, but requires a coat urethanes can either be
of clear nail polish before applying any other brushed (using a
water-based urethane, such as Loon Outdoor product like
Hard Head Pearlescent urethane. Water-based Ceramcoat) or Loon Outdoors Hard Head
urethanes tend to be phobic to latex paint and will sprayed via aerosol clear water-based urethane is
can. Spraying a water- the perfect base medium for
adding powdered coloring
based urethane will agents and glitter.
least disturb marker
colors and air brush colors, avoiding the bleeding
and discoloration.
Brushing water-based urethanes on surfaces
that have been marked with most permanent
markers or painted with Copic markers, for
example, will cause the colors to slightly bleed,
blend and discolor. Be gentle when applying
water-based urethanes over these color substrates.
Coloring epoxy and water-based urethanes with powdered
coloring agents is an easy way to add professional looking
Loon Outdoors produces water-based clear,
finishes. Loon Outdoors has 12 colors and one phosphorescent and pearlescent urethanes specific
phosphorescent powder to choose from. They are packaged for lure making and fly tying. The pearlescent
in sets of three colors per collection - Primary Series: sheen in the pre-mixed urethanes is made of a
Firebrick Red, Solar Yellow, Electric Blue. Bright Series: microscopic powder, much like what is found in
Imperial Purple, Bright Pink, Kingfisher Blue. Earthtone
facial make-up powders. The sheen it produces
Series: Pumpkin Orange, Chocolate Brown, Midnight. Flash
Series: Pearl Red, Pearl Green, Pearl Blue. when dry resembles most closely the sheen fish
79
BODY FILLERS & FINISHES
scales produce. While suitable primer coat on
there are nail polishes balsa, wood, and cork
that have pearlescent lure bodies as it accepts
sheen, the powder in acrylics well. For foam
the nail polish is not as bodies, two coats is all
fine as the powder that is required. It seals
found in Loons the foam and adds
products. Its hard not durability, although it
to use Loon Outdoors is not impervious to the
Hard Head teeth of a few caught
Pearlescent or fish.
Spray urethanes (L) and
Phosphorescent
urethanes as a base Cyanoacrylate acrylics (R) are available in
matte, semi-gloss and gloss.
layer before applying Adhesive They are an effective way to
colors and patterning Some lure makers apply a micro-thin coat over
Ceramcoat Varnish is good hand decorated lure bodies,
on top. It certainly use cyanoacrylate
for sealing finishes on home- especially over marker inks.
made foam popper bodies,
adds a professional (CA) adhesive (a.k.a.
Brushing on urethane and
where no painting is required. touch and appeal to Super Glue) to fill acrylic clear coats will blend
the lure body. gaps and holes in lure and blur marker ink, where
Loon Outdoors also markets non-toxic Fly bodies. While it the spray will not. Apply a
works well, its a light first coat and let it
Tying Powders, shown on previous pages, which thoroughly dry to ensure the
is the best way to add pigment and glimmer to messy and expensive
inks will not blur. A few more
clear tying cements, urethanes, UV resins and way to prepare heavier coats can then be
epoxy. Pouring some water-based urethane in a porous lure body applied before a final epoxy
separate container and mixing in some Fly Tying materials. If you have coat is applied.
www.pixachrome.com 80
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
popper bodies. Light sanding between coats is a temperatures, the epoxy will cure tack free in 4-7
necessity for a smooth finish. hours and cure completely in 72 hours.
Envirotex Lite
Pour-On High Gloss
Finish
Envirotex Lite is a
thick high gloss finish
commonly seen used in
restaurant bar and table
tops. It is Using 5- or 10-minute epoxy as a final coat yields more
negatives than positives. The short work time provides little
approximately equal to
time to coat too many bodies in a production mode.
30-50 coats of standard ABOVE: As the epoxy begins to harden, bubbles cannot
Envirotex Lite Pour-On varnish and is hard as escape, leaving an imperfect finish, as shown above. Five
High Gloss Finish yields a nails. For small and ten minute cure epoxies also tend to yellow quickly, as
rock-hard and extremely seen in both examples here.
freshwater lure bodies,
durable finish. If you are BELOW: A test fly was built using the following materials:
making lures for toothy fish, it may not make sense unsealed basswood, Copic marker red banding, nail polish
this would be a good finish to to mix up a small batch eye paint and 5-minute epoxy coating. After a summer on
consider. and apply to a few lures. the dashboard of a vehicle, the epoxy became brittle,
However, for larger yellowed and the marker coloring bled.
freshwater and salt water lures, Envirotex Lite
provides an extremely durable clear finish. The
measurement of resin and hardener must be exact
for the results to be perfect. Any slight deviance
from equal parts will result in a tacky or
permanently un-cured state. At normal room
81
BODY FILLERS & FINISHES
Mixing color powders and sparkle agents in
epoxy as the hardener and resin are mixed can add
extra effects and realism to lure bodies. These
microfine powders can be added to epoxy, fly tying
cement or UV cure resins giving extra sparkle and
realism to lure bodies. The powders are pigments
and will not dissolve in liquid adhesive. The
powders are specifically designed to not interfere
with the adhesive cure time or strength.
www.pixachrome.com 82
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
UVcure resin is available from many manufacturers in various viscosities including a fluorescing, red, orange and yellow
colors. (L to R): Solarez Thin, Thick & Flex, Loon Outdoors 1oz bottles with applicator tips, Loon Outdoors 4oz Thick
(also available in Thin) and Deer Creek Fine and Diamond Fine Flex Tack Free. Loon Outdoors also markets a handy UV
Fly Tying Kit which includes Thick, Thin, Flow, a variety of tips and a penlight-sized UV cure light.
tyers and lure makers are Loon Outdoors and provide unique features such as fluorescence and
Deer Creek. Other UV brands include Crystal UV color.
Resin, Bondic and Solarez. UV resins are primarily acrylic based. They
Light curable resins have three basic bond with equal structural strength to epoxies and
components: 1) photoinitiator, 2) monomer, and can be water white and moisture resistant. The
3) oligomer. The photoinitiator triggers the curing same amounts of epoxy or a UV curing adhesive
process when it is exposed to UV light. The would be used, as both are gap filling and provide
monomer provides adhesion to the substrate. The structural support.
oligomer yields most of the post-cure mechanical Another advantage of using UV cure resins is
properties such as hardness, elongation, elasticity, that parts can be manipulated after applying the
shrinkage, etc. Small percentages of additives may adhesive. Curing doesnt begin until the adhesive
also be incorporated into the formulations to is exposed to the curing UV light. Uncured
FIGURE 10
Light Wavelength (nanometers, nm)
X-Rays Ultraviolet Light Visible Light Infrared
Vacuum-UV UV-C UV-A
UV-B
83
BODY FILLERS & FINISHES
2 3 4
5
UV lights come in all shapes and sizes. Single LED lamps (1, 2) are ideal for a traveling tying kit or curing small areas.
Multi-LED lamps (3,4) are good for larger jobs and to have at the tying bench. UV-Gel nail polish cure lamps (4) have
multiple LEDs and are better for curing larger lure bodies since the entire lure can be placed in the reflective UV LED
lighting area.
adhesive can be easily wiped away with isopropyl 360nm. Professional cure lamps can emit UV light
alcohol. from 300nm to 550nm in a single lamp unit.
These units often use mercury vapor lamps, which
UV Cure Tackiness operate at high temperatures and can be expensive.
Why do some UV cure resins set up with a Specialized UV fluorescent lamps also emit UV
tacky feel when cured? It all has to do with the light, but are larger and not necessarily hand-held.
nanometers of the UV light waves used to cure the Ultimately, hand-held LED UV lights are most
adhesive. Most UV cure resins have suitable for the lure maker and fly-tyer. LED UV
photoinitiators that react to the UV-A spectrum lights emit a narrow light spectrum which is
of UV light. The higher the UV wavelength (in closely matched to the photoinitiator component
the 300-400 nanometer range), the better the in the UV cure resin. For this reason alone, it is
overall internal cure of the adhesive, but the best to use the manufacturers UV light to cure its
surface will feel tacky. In contrast, lower UV light own UV adhesive. However, exceptional results
waves (in the 200-300 nanometer range) cure the can be achieved using a third-party UV LED light.
surface better, but will not cure as thoroughly as Its best to test the LED lamp with the brand of UV
higher UV wavelength light. The ideal UV cure cure resin you plan to use, before purchasing the
lamp will be able to cover a wide spectrum of UV light.
light; UV-C, UV-B and UV-A spectrums.
To solve the issue of tackiness after a UV
UV resin manufacturers typically offer UV adhesive has been exposed to UV light, dab the
lamp/Light options to cure the adhesive. UV area with a drop or two of isopropyl alcohol or
lights range from a small penlight size lamp using coat the area with clear nail polish. Or, consider
one UV LED to a large, multi-LED UV light trying Deer Creeks 100% Tack Free line of UV
requiring several batteries to power. A 365nm adhesives.
LED light is most common. Some lights contain
multiple LEDs that emit different UV light Clear Nail Polish
spectrum, giving a wider range of curabililty. A As discussed in the Paints chapter of this book,
common UV-LED range for LED-UV lights is nail polish is a reasonable, but not best, option for
390nm-410nm, with some lights going as low as not only painting lure bodies but also for applying
www.pixachrome.com 84
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
clear finish coats. A standard clear nail polish, like
Sally Hansens Hard-As-Nails, is ubiquitous to
fly tyers who use it as a tying glue or as a clear coat
finish. Thinned down with a few drops of acetone,
it makes a fine tying glue. A few coats of un-
thinned liquid makes a hard coating on a small
Airhead Topwater Fly This
popper. Durability is short-lived however. hollow-bodied popper/diver
is made of large pearl EZ
Clear nail polish also comes in gel-like and UV
body and a looped section of
cure gel types as well. The gel-like consistency is monofilament for a diving
thick, similar to UV cure glue, taking more time lip. An initial coat of Softex
to dry. The UV cure glue is also thick but can set seals the body and adheres
the feathers on top. A final
in a matter of a few seconds with a UV cure
coat is given by dipping the
penlight. Both only require a single coat to finish entire body in Softex. Fly
a popper, slider or diver body. tied by John Ryzanych.
85
BODY FILLERS & FINISHES
Plasti Dip by Performix
adds a matte soft-touch
protective coating to lure
bodies. Spraying Plasti
Dips Glossifier Top Coat
will add some shine, but not
entirely glossy like epoxy.
A few thin coats of Plasti
Dip Glossifier will add a
nice finish to top water
lures coated with Softex as
CS Coatings vinyl lure finish yields a very durable and tough
well.
finish for top water lure bodies. While more detailed paint jobs
with color transitioning and fading are difficult to achieve,
vinyl lure paint is a viable choice for a solid color finish.
www.pixachrome.com 86
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
FIGURE 11-A
Weathering Effects on Cork, Balsa & Basswood with Various Coatings
Treated
Untreated
Body Untreated Treated
Treated Treated Body with Treated
Coated Coated with Body with Body with
Un-Treated with Wood Body with Liquid Body with
with 30-Minute FlexCoat Liquid
Body Hardener FlexCoat Fusion Vinyl Lure
Loon Epoxy Lure Epoxy Fusion
Only Lure Epoxy Coating Finish
Hard Head Coating
Urethane
Sharpie Noticeable
Treatment Urethane
Some fading
FlexCoat No fading but
Colorfast with Some fading Bleeds colors
Marker helps reduce helps reduce helps block more
fading and yellowing yellowing with yellowing underneath
fading fading weathering yellowing
Winsor & Pro-Marker
Pro-Markers
fades more Pro-Markers
Newton Treatment
than
may fade very
may fade very
No fading but
Bleeds colors
Pro- Some fading helps reduce slightly, but not slight Colorfast Colorfast
Sharpies slightly, but underneath
fading significant, yellowing
Marker under
some yellowing
not significant
urethane
Copic fades
Copic slightly
Copic Treatment more than
fades with
FlexCoat No fading but
Very slight
Bleeds colors
Marker Some fading helps reduce Sharpies helps block slight Colorfast
some epoxy fading underneath
fading under weathering yellowing
yellowing
urethane
Acrylic
Colorfast with
Colorfast with
Paint Colorfast Colorfast Colorfast Colorfast slight Colorfast Colorfast Colorfast
yellowing
yellowing
Colorfast with Colorfast but
Nail Polish Colorfast Colorfast Colorfast
Colorfast with
Colorfast slight Colorfast Colorfast may blend
yellowing
yellowing colors
FIGURE 11-B
87
BODY FILLERS & FINISHES
Above are two examples of the Water Wobble pattern detailed in Section Three - Using Pre-Shaped Styrofoam.
The top example uses the Copic Air Brush System to create the head coloration. The bottom example uses
a custom-made flame-style vinyl sticker made with a personal die cutting machine. The sticker was applied
over a large cupped Wapsi Perfect Popper painted black. In both examples, the popper head was mounted
on the hook shank backwards to create a diver head.
OPPOSITE PAGE
www.pixachrome.com 88
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
89
BODY AND TAILING MATERIALS
2
1
6
7 8
Natural Materials. 1) Chartreuse barred rabbit strip from Hareline Dubbin. 2) Kingfisher blue polar bear. 3) Natural red
fox tail. 4) Olive dyed bucktail. 5) Yellow-dyed calf tail. 6) Blue and red dyed squirrel tail. 7) Orange dyed goat fur. 8) Natural
black bear fur.
Like bucktail, kid goat fur fibers are long and and lighter. Grey fox fur ranges from almost
straight. However, they tend to be less firm and black, all shades of grey, to white. Arctic fox fur
are wispier. Kid goat fur fibers are typically is most often found as a near pure white fur,
shorter than bucktail, averaging two-to-four yielding from a winter harvest, but also sometimes
inches in length. Kid goat fur takes color dyes well is bleached near color-free.
but is not commonly found in retail stores. It can Fox pelts will have plenty of under fur, which
be found online with some searching - when you can add good bulk to a fly without the weight, but
do find it, grab some. also adds material that will absorb water faster,
Fox fur, such as arctic fox, is a much more fine which can add to difficulty in casting. The long
fur fiber, which adds to the movement of the lure guard hairs are perfect for longer wispy tailing.
when fished. Red fox fur ranges in color from Fox fur ranges in length from a few inches to five
reddish-brown, tan, sand, ginger, yellow, straw inches or so. Fox fur takes color dyes well and is
www.pixachrome.com 90
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
common to find online, but not always available variety. Whiting Farms budget-minded High &
in stores. Dry dry fly hackle product line is perfect for collar
Bear fur can best be described as a hybrid of all hackling poppers and adding tails to poppers, ,
the furs mentioned previously. Some fur of a bear sliders and divers. The hackle fiber length is not
hide have the subtle waviness of calf tail, the firmly as small as the traditional dry fly lines of Whiting
long straight fibers of bucktail and the soft and Farms, such as the Whiting line (former Hoffman
fine fur of fox. Black bear ranges in color from genetics) or the Hebert-Miner dry fly genetic line.
cinnamon brown to jet black, naturally. Natural The slightly larger hackle fiber length is preferred
polar bear is a very pale straw yellow. Polar bear for poppers, sliders and divers.
has an additional unique characteristic that it is Soft hackle is primarily used in smaller
somewhat translucent. When color dyed, the poppers. The small one to two inch feathers are
fibers appear to glow in the sunlight, adding extra rounded and curved, forming a perfect set of frog
appeal to tails for lures. Black bear fur ranges in legs when tied concave-side out. Not all soft
length from a few inches to six inches or so. Polar hackle is good for popper tying. Typically, rooster
bear fur ranges in size from a few inches to eight chicken soft hackle is preferred over the hen
inches or more. Bear fur is a good substitute for chicken soft hackle. The feathers are slightly larger
bucktail, and vice versa. and more firm, holding their cupped shape longer.
While soft hackle is from the breast and sides of
Hackle any bird, it is the feathers of water fowl and
Generally, larger hackle with longer barb length domestically raised chickens that are most
and a more rigid rachis (feather stems) are desirable for lure making.
preferred over the dry fly variety, which has
smaller barb length and thinner, less durable Black-Laced White Feathers
rachis. Black-Laced White feathers, produced by
Saltwater pelts, such as Whiting Farms Whiting Farms, are marketed in Popper Packs.
American Hackle line, offer large feather barb They offer a unique naturally-marked feather
length, firm hackle stems and a wide variety of perfectly suited for tailing material on lures,
colors in natural earth tones, from vivid color dyed particularly as frog legs on frog-style poppers. The
white pelts, to natural and vivid color-dyed grizzly black-laced white feathers come from an
pelts. The feathers are perfect for tails on large
Black-Laced White feathers imitate frog legs on a small
freshwater poppers to bulky tails on saltwater
popper quite well.
banger-style flies. Capes and saddles offer
different advantages to the lure maker. Capes
provide an all-around size selection, in feather
length and hackle fiber length, and have spade-
shaped feathers which are useful for tailing.
Saddles offer much longer feathers, up to 14 or
so, which is ideal for many saltwater lure tailing
applications.
Dry fly pelts have their place in lure making
too, even if the lure is not meant to be a top water
91
BODY AND TAILING MATERIALS
1
2
Hackle. 1) Shrimp dyed grizzly American rooster hackle by Whiting Farms. 2) Natural grizzly rooster dry fly neck by
Whiting Farms. 3) Yellow dyed American rooster soft hackle by Whiting Farms. 4) Orange dyed black-laced white American
rooster soft hackle by Whiting Farms. Bottom: Whiting Farms High & Dry Hackle is perfect for tailing on poppers, sliders
and divers.
www.pixachrome.com 92
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
3
2
5
6
7
8
Feathers. 1) Bird Fur by Whiting Farms. 2) Yellow dyed guinea fowl. 3) Fiery orange dyed and barred marabou by Hareline
Dubbin. 4) Tea-stained natural mallard flank. 5) Fuchsia dyed extra select marabou by Hareline Dubbin. 6) Chartreuse
dyed spey plumes by Hareline Dubbin. 7) Red dyed ostrich plume by Hareline Dubbin. 8) Olive dyed and barred ostrich
plume by Hareline Dubbin.
ornamental chicken called a Polish, known for are naturally pure white, making them ideal for fly
their eccentric head dress of feathers. The gradual tying and lure crafting purpose. Today, most
natural curve of the feather stem is ideal for frog marabou comes from farm-raised turkey. The
leg imitations. white marabou feathers are cleaned, sometimes
additionally de-colorized with a mild bleach or
Marabou other whitener, and dyed into a myriad of colors.
If there were one material to have for tying in Marabou is a quite durable feather for being
tailing material for poppers, sliders and divers, thin and wispy for most of the plumage length. It
marabou would be it. Marabou feathers originally is this advantage that makes it desirable for tailing
were found from the rear underside of the material. When tied in to the tail of a lure, it flows
marabou stork. Marabou stork underside feathers
93
BODY AND TAILING MATERIALS
plume feathers is the seemingly unrestricted
n Multi-Color Marabou flowing movement they add to the body and tail
Create your own multi-color marabou
of a lure. Similar to CDC fibers tied into wet flies
tips. Using markers that work well with
and nymphs, ostrich moves and undulates in the
feathers such as the Letraset Pro-Marker,
water, adding life-like motion to a lure as it is
color the tips of marabou on a scrap piece of
fished.
cardboard. Work from the center of the
feather outward to the tips. A chisel-tip or Guinea Fowl
wide-tipped marker works best. Let dry Guinea fowl is a unique feather that contains
overnight and brush the tips out with a perfect white dots within a dark feather
soft-bristle toothbrush. Some dried marker background. When color dyed in bright or
residue will powder off, but most of the color fluorescent colors, the feather stands out and adds
will remain. special appeal to a lure. Commercially available
lures do not typically use guinea fowl as it is more
difficult to raise, harvest and provide as a source
material in large quantities to manufacturers.
www.pixachrome.com 94
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Craft Fur & Psuedo Hair and Magnum (20 inches long and 1/32 inches
Craft fur has a texture and flexibility similar to wide, 51cm long, 0.8mm wide). Flashabou also is
human hair. The workable length is available in a Krystal Flash-like material called
approximately three inches (75 cm). Whats not Accent. Like Krystal Flash, it is a staple material
to like about craft fur? - Its inexpensive, easy to for making top water lures.
work with and moves well in the water. However, Flashabou Magnum is 2x wider (1/32,
since it is a thin, limp material, it has a tendency 0.8mm) 2x longer (16, 40.6cm) and 2x stronger
to get fouled around the hook bend. In a pinch, according to the manufacturer, Hedron, Inc.
its a suitable replacement for marabou. Hareline
Dubbins Pseudo Hair is similar to craft fur, but is
Lateral Scale Flashabou
Lateral Scale Flashabou deserves is own
finer and has a silky sheen. A white section of
mention apart from standard Flashabou products.
Pseudo Hair, colored with permanent markers,
Lateral Scale features a kinked texture
makes a versatile wispy tailing material that reacts
permanently embossed along the length of the
with the slightest of movement.
strand. It mimics scales quite well. A few strands
Krystal Flash can be tied in as tailing to add extra sparkle and
Known to all fly tyers, Krystal Flash is a flash or glued in to the sides of a top water lure
common tailing and legging material for lure body to form lateral lines and the appeal of scales.
makers. It is long (10, 25cm), supple and has a Lateral Scale is approximately 10 (25cm) long and
reflective twist, which makes great tails on lures 1/16 (1.6mm) wide.
and flies. Krystal Flash is available in over forty
colors.
EP Fibers
EP fibers are a translucent material in water
Flashabou & Flashabou Magnum and are easy to cast as it does not absorb water in
Flashabou is a supple, long and straight mylar the material. The fibers exhibit a movement
that is thinly cut (8 inches long, .010 inches wide, somewhere between marabou and bucktail. The
~20cm long, 0.25mm wide). Flashabou comes in 10 (25cm) fibers come in a wide variety of colors
several styles as well; Glow, Holographic, Pearl, and material deniers (thickness).
BEFORE: Some materials have fluorescent properties. AFTER: Illuminating the same three flies with a UV lamp
Under normal daylight, the human eye cannot detect the exposes the materials that emit fluorescence.
fluorescence.
95
BODY AND TAILING MATERIALS
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11
Synthetics. 1) Extra select craft fur by Hareline Dubbin. 2) Pseudo Hair by Hareline Dubbin. 3) Peacock Flashabou by
Hedron, Inc. 4) Dark purple MicroLon by Hedron, Inc. 5) Black pearl Lateral Scale by Hedron, Inc. 6) Pearl Sparkle
Flash by Tiewell. 7) Orange Krystal Flash. 8) Orange Esox Pike Skinz by Jerkbaitmania. 9) Peacock green Ice Dub Shimmer
Fringe by Hareline Dubbin. 10) Fluorescent orange black barred Flashabou Magnum by Hedron, Inc. 11) Red EP Fibers
by Enrico Puglisi Flies. All materials are available via local fly shops and national retail chains, distributed by Hareline
Dubbin.
www.pixachrome.com 96
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
MicroLon
MicroLon is a light, durable, 70-denier flat-
strand nylon which comes in 10 (25cm) bound
hanks. It has a unique micro-scale sheen, similar
to a toy dolls hair, which helps build top water
tailings with a natural appeal. It comes in a
wide-variety of colors.
Rattles
In rough and off-colored waters, rattles can be
like a dinner bell.
Fish can detect underwater sound and the
direction from which it comes, using the sound
www.pixachrome.com 98
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Artisans Gallery
Kirk Dietrich
Kirk Dietrich lives in Southern Louisiana, where he has perfected the art of the top water lure for saltwater fishing. Not
only do Dietrichs lures catch fish, his lure painting and finishing methods far surpass the best production lures available
today. Top Left: Kirks Golden Rabid Dog. Top Right: The original Rabid Dog. When attempting to mimic a fly rod
version of a Zara Spook, Dietrich says it moves side-to-side like a Zara Spook, but dips underwater in doing so. Its an
unintended favorable consequence of the design, and highly effective. Dietrichs Rabid Dog pattern is a go-to redfish and
bass fly in Southern Louisiana. Middle: Kirks Perch Float Popper, made with one-half of a small perch float, keeping the
center hole unobstructed. Bottom Left: Kirks Mylar Popper. Bottom Right: Dietrichs Diver, created in 1987 as a
by-product of trying to replicate a fly rod version of the shallow diving Rapala, Kirk shares fish really like it; its a good
example of a failed design being a [fishing] success.
99
SECTION TWO
Elements of Design
Body Styles & Shapes
Eyes
Texturing & Scaling
Tails & Collars
Hook Guards
Legs
Diving Heads & Lips
Spinners & Rattles
Adding Weight
Bubble Heads
Painting Techniques
Applying Finishes
- Dennis Braid, Legendary big-game angler and world record holder
www.pixachrome.com 100
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
1. Poppers
Flat-Faced (Pushers)
Cup-Faced (Chuggers) Flat-faced poppers are the simplest form of
When most anglers think of poppers, the popper. Common examples are cork stoppers,
cupped variety comes to mind first. When pre-formed Styrofoam bodies and high-density
retrieved in short, quick, erratic bursts, the cupped foam cylinders. While they make a popping sound
face spurts water and makes loud popping sounds, when retrieved, it is not as pronounced as with a
causing quite a commotion on the water surface. cupped popper face. They are excellent for
This commotion is what makes the lure style work pushing plenty of water when retrieved, which is
best. This body style benefits by deigning the lure ideal for attracting fish from the depths. Large
body to ride tail-down in the water, as swiftly saltwater and freshwater flat-faced poppers are
retrieving the lure will cause the head to dip often called plugs, pushers or bangers. They work
downward with each strip. The angle of the cup best when retrieved at a slower, methodical or
and the depth of the cupping contribute to the jerking pace.
noise and commotion the popper may make, not
101
BODY STYLES & SHAPES
The original McNally popper such as this example crafted Buzzer-style poppers can be designed with flat or cupped
by Thomas McNally himself, featured small cylindrical faces. These vintage Buzzers have cupped faces.
raised eyes and an impeccable paint job. Popper courtesy of
Bob McNally.
Buzzer-Style
Buzzer-style poppers were popular in the 1940s
through 1970s primarily for bass fishing. A
variation is tied for trout fishing, commonly called
the Skwala Bug. Buzzer style poppers are often
made with simple bottle-stop corks and having
some sort of winging material tied in at the head,
extending backwards like wings.
Gurgler-Style
McNally-style poppers are typically tied with hook in the
Jack Gartside popularized the Gartside Gurgler,
up position, but theres nothing wrong with tying the style
hook-side down. Author Tom Nixon referred to this style a foam-bodied fly that was designed to cause
as Swallow Tails. commotion on the surface. Gartside tied it in
varied styles to fish for striped bass, trout, tiger
fish, largemouth bass and more. Each was fished
McNally-Style in a slightly different manner meant to entice the
McNally style poppers were popularized in the
targeted fish.
1950s by Thomas McNally. McNally was an avid
outdoorsman, prolific author and one of the
founders of Fly Fisherman Magazine. One of his
fly creations, the McNallys Frog Popper, is a
classic to this day. McNally-style poppers use a
cupped or flat-faced popper body with an inverted
hook and integrate frog-like legs extending from
the back sides of the popper body. Depending on
the angle of the leg material, they can act as a weed
guard of sorts, besides forming an effective
silhouette of frog legs.
The Gartside Gurgler fly pattern has inspired hundreds of
variations, including this Everglades Gurgler by Umpqua
Flies.
www.pixachrome.com 102
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
2. Sliders 4. Divers
Slider-style bodies combine the high-floating Divers are a close relative to the slider-style
nature and the commotion-making ability of body. While sliders dive, they do not dive as deep
poppers with a body style that can make them as diver-style bodies. Aggressive continual
slightly dive when aggressively stripped. Adding stripping of a fly line will keep a diver body under
a weed guard to this body style makes a deadly lure water. The faster the strip, the deeper the lure may
for fishing in heavily weeded waters. The style is go. There is a limit however, to the depth in which
popularized by the Sneaky Pete pattern. a diver-style fly can go as they typically are made
of a floating body material. Some divers include
a small lip or an aggressively sloped collar to direct
the lure deeper as it is retrieved.
A Sneaky Pete pattern is a deadly top water fly for bass and
panfish of all kinds.
5. Walkers
There are several top water lures that imitate
the side-to-side motion of the venerable Zara
Spook spin fishing lure. The characteristic
walking-the-dog motion of the lure became a
spin fishing standard since it was introduced in
Skating top water lures are effective for schooling and
the 1950s. Today, several fly rod top water lures
aggressively feeding fish.
imitate Heddons Zara Spook: Charlie Bisharats
Pole Dancer, the DC Dodger and Zaggin Zook
are just to name a few.
103
BODY STYLES & SHAPES
www.pixachrome.com 104
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Darter style bodies are extremely effective example, a bare hook can be prepared in advance
fleeing surface bait fish imitations. They are with a weed guard. Having an assortment of tube
meant to be a sleek floating imitation of slender plugs allows the angler to interchange, or even
bait. They cause much less commotion on the stack, tube plugs ahead of the hook with the hook
water surface than poppers or bangers. Darter guard. Tube plugs give the angler a quick-change
style bodies are often created by simply reversing method on the water to meet changing fishing
a pencil popper body on the hook shank. conditions.
However, there are a number of very creative
darter styles using a wide variety of materials. Popping Heads (Bubble Heads)
Such an example is Todds Wiggle Wog - a foam Popping, or bubble heads, serve three purposes:
cylinder affixed to a curved shank salmon or spey 1) to cause a surface commotion when the trailing
hook. When retrieved, it darts wildly and lure is retrieved, 2) to suspend the trailing lure at
randomly from side to side. the desired depth, and 3) provide visual feedback
to the location and cadence of the retrieve in
9. Tube Plugs, Popping Heads off-color water. The commotion of popping heads
is primarily meant to imitate surface feeding or
(Bubble Heads) & Teasers fleeing bait fish. A smaller 2.5 to 4 popping head
is typically used for calm water and larger popping
Tube Plugs heads 4 to 6 long are used for choppy water.
Tube plugs in general provide effective means Popping heads are typically made as tube-style
to interchange heads on a fixed-style hook. For heads and rigged as illustrated in Figure 12 -
105
BODY STYLES & SHAPES
Sliding
stopper bead
between knot
and popper
www.pixachrome.com 106
painted eyes
Brian Schmidts uniquely creative top water pattern, Spook-R, is effective fly in freshwater and saltwater alike due to its
walk-the-dog motion with pops, darts and dives. The highly erratic and unpredictable motion is key to this flys success.
107
BODY STYLES & SHAPES
Mice
Mouse poppers, especially layered sheet foam
patterns are particularly effective fishing mid- An extended foam body, a foam popper head and some
summer Alaskan rivers and streams. Patterns like winging material makes quick work of a popping damselfly
the Morrish Mouse or Rainys Mouse are equally pattern.
effective. Some tyers take the simple foam mouse
bodies can be used to make a popping or skipping
pattern to the next level or two by adding in extra
version of a dragonfly or damselfly.
features to make the lure look almost like the real
thing.
And The Others
While this chapter is meant to illustrate todays
Dragonflies and Damselflies most significant top water lure styles, theres just
Warm water ponds, slack water sloughs in
as many, if not more, that dont fit any one
rivers and even slow flowing rivers all produce
category. And thats where the beauty in the art
dragonflies and damselflies. The pattern can
is captured, in those patterns that defy
particularly be effective lake fishing for trout or
categorization and are highly effective fish-
bass. Most dragonfly and damselfly patterns are
catchers. It is these patterns that have yet to be
made with sheet foam, however thin pencil popper
created from the hands of artisans such as yourself.
It is these patterns that will continue to shape the
future of top water fly rod lures and the beauty
in the art is not lost with good functionality.
www.pixachrome.com 108
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Reversing the Wapsi Perfect Popper body to become a Wapsis Perfect Popper pencil popper situated as a diving
diving head places more of the buoyancy near the bend of slider rests flush with the waters surface.
the hook, raising the tail.
109
BODY STYLES & SHAPES
Photographs 1-5: High-Density Polyethylene Foam was
used to create five variations of the same lure head style. B
Various head angles, from sharp diving angles to sharp
popping angles were cut in the leading edge of the lure head
to demonstrate how the lure head floats on the waters
surface.
A long furled rabbit strip tail tends to make the lure head
ride straight up-and-down in the water and will affect how
the lure behaves when retrieved. Compare how this popper
2 head (Photograph B) sits in the water to the short-tailed
example (Photograph A) on the previous page.
www.pixachrome.com 110
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Eyes
And in saltwater, eyes become even more Achieving crisp edges on the circles and shapes
important. Most pelagic fish have distinctively for hand-painted eyes is key to a good looking
large eyes, needed for seeking out prey in deep paint job. The best way to achieve perfect circles
dark waters. Even terrestrial evolution has is to not hand-paint, but dab the eye circles with
determined that eyes are important - caterpillars, a metal dowel, or eye stamp. Using wood or plastic
moths, snakes and some small lizards have eye-like will not create the sharp edges required for crisp
markings at the opposite end of their real eyes in looking eye circles - use metal rods to achieve the
as an evolution of fool to survive. One of the best looking hand-painted eyes. (Refer to the DIY
most popular saltwater game fish, has eye mimicry Making Eye Stamps section later in this chapter.)
too - the tail of the redfish. As discussed in Section One - Paints, there are
The opposing side of the argument leans on many options for eye paint. The most commonly
motion and scent being more important than used is acrylic paints. Hobby enamels and nail
features, like eyes, legs or tails. And there is some polish also work well for creating hand-painted
merit to this discussion. Many baits, like soft eyes. Place a small amount on a white sheet of
111
EYES
Z Painted Eye Choices
Using the primary colors plus black and
green, the eye templates shown here Offset Eyes
illustrate some of the variations that can be
created. Typically, darker pupils (centers)
are desired over lighter pupils. Centering
the pupil has a more static effect while
offsetting the pupil provides a more living
look to the eye.
Centered Eyes
printer photo paper or aluminum foil and dip your when dabbing it on the lure body. Allow each dab
eye stamp in the small pile of paint , taking only of paint to dry before adding the next.
what is necessary to dab one eye dot. Eye paint will dry more quickly on absorbent
There is an art to painting eyes using eye standard copy paper, cardboard or paper towels.
stamps. Practice on a white sheet of printer photo None of those substrates make good choices as an
paper until you achieve perfect circles within each artists color palate. Youll find after only a few
other. The photo paper mimics the surface minutes, the paint will start to form a thin skin
tension of a lure body and provides the best and become more viscous. There is a fine balance
feedback on practice. Use alternating light and between paint that is too thin and runny and too
dark colors so you can determine progress. Youll thick, where it wont spread manageably well in
quickly learn how much paint to dab on the end either case. Again, practice with the paints you
of the eye stamp and how much pressure to apply choose and youll learn when it works just
www.pixachrome.com 112
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
handle in a later step. For larger metal rods,
n Eye Stamps filing flush most likely is not necessary as
Making your own set of eye stamps is simple, the rod is already cut and has a finished
using commonly available materials. edge when purchased. Youll just have to
cut it down to hand-size to suit your needs.
1. Source the metal rods and needles: Metal
rods can be made of darning needles, tapestry 3. Prepare handles: Prepare 3-4 (7.5 - 10cm)
needles and aluminum or brass rods found in handles made of soft wood like balsa.
most hardware stores and hobby shops. Yarn Round handles tend to roll around on the
darning needles are larger in diameter than painting desk, thus square or triangle han-
tapestry needles. Just like thread in fly tying, dles tend to stay put better.
the larger the size number, the smaller the 4. Put it all together: For the smaller sized
diameter. So a size 14 darning needle is needle rods, just push them in the end of a
larger than a size 20 tapestry needle. handle about 1/2 (1.25cm) deep. Pre-drill-
Large Rods: Assemble a wide variety of di- ing holes of approximate size in the ends of
ameters from pin sized to as large as 3/4 the handles will have to be done for the
(1.9cm) or even larger if you are painting larger needles. Apply a drop of cyanoacry-
large saltwater patterns. A common set of late glue as you insert each needle to secure
sizes for freshwater and light saltwater use it into the handle. Then, apply some 2-part
contains 5/8, 1/2, 3/8 1/4, 1/8. epoxy around the needle at the point it is
Mid-Sized Needles: Yarn darning needles inserted into the handle for extra durability.
typically come in packs ranging from size 14 Finish the handle with a protective coating
to 18. for a more professional look.
Small Needles: Tapestry needles typically
come in packs ranging from size 18 to 22.
2. Cut and file: For each needle, cut the eye end
off and file the end perpendicular to the rest
of the needle. Obtaining a crisp and defined
edge is essential. Do not cut off the pointed
end. This will be used to insert into the
Eye stamps dont have to be pretty (as evidenced by the authors set), just functional in order to make perfect circles
with defined edges.
113
EYES
perfectly for dabbing with eye stamps. Eyes make ultra-realistic 3D eyes. Choose from
Keeping the eye stamp perfectly perpendicular eye patterns such as roach and carp, deep sea
to the lure surface is also important. Applying eye predator, chameleon, cutthroat, piranha, dragon,
paint at an angle will create an oval. Sometimes lizard, frog and shark. As certain as you are
this is a preferred outcome, however. In nature, reading this, there are more realistic 3D eye
not all pupils and eyes are perfectly round, so while patterns being created.
this section focuses on perfectly round eyes using Making your own 3D stick-on eyes is illustrated
eye stamps, it is entirely not required to have in the section DIY Stick-on and 3D Eyes found
perfect circles for eyes. A bit of variation and later in this chapter.
asymmetry is quite ok. As the immortal painter
and TV show host Bob Ross once said, We dont
make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.
3D Eyes
Three dimensional eyes certainly add a touch
of realism to any top water lure. There are many
3D eye options on the market. Manufacturers like
Ultra-realistic 3D eyes, such as these, add lifelike realism to
Fish Skull Living Eyes and Deer Creek Gator
any top water lure.
www.pixachrome.com 114
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
n Stick-On and 3D Eyes
Its easy to make your own flat stick-on eyes 1
with adhesive prismatic film and sharp edged
2
hole punches.
1. Apply a small length of adhesive backed pris-
matic film to a rubber or fine-grained wood
cutting block. Wood tends to dull the edges
of the cutting tools over time, but certainly
works well. You can find the adhesive pris-
matic film online in sheets or in tape.
2. Gently press and rotate a hole punch to cut
through the prismatic film.
3
3. Remove the cut film circle and place on wax
paper or a kitchen silicone pot holder or triv- 4
et pad. The cut circles will not stick perma-
nently to silicone.
4. Making Flat Stick-On Eyes: Using high-
gloss nail polish and a eye stamp smaller
than the diameter of the prismatic film eye,
dab a pupil with the nail polish. After dry-
ing, they are ready to apply to a lure.
5. Making 3D eyes: Take an extra step and ap-
ply a small amount of thick brush-on UV 5
cure resin to the prismatic film eye and work
to the edges, but not farther. The thick na-
ture of the UV cure resin will tend to stay
within the confines of the prismatic film eye.
Cure the UV adhesive with a UV cure light.
The DIY eyes are now ready to apply to a
lure.
115
EYES
Hot Melt Glue a quick way to add eye patterns, but the detail is
marginal compared to hand painted eyes or 3D
Hot melt glue can also be used to create bulging eyes. For large top water lures and spots on fish
eyes, similar to the frog pattern above. Hot melt lures, it is an effective method.
glue can also be used to craft any specific 3D
feature. For example, the small finlets between the Stencils can be made from overhead
second dorsal fin and the caudal peduncle (tail) transparency film or similar weight clear plastic.
on many mackerel and tuna can be shaped using Freehand shapes can be cut into the film with an
hot melt glue. X-ACTO knife and holes can be cut using hole
www.pixachrome.com 116
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Other Eye Materials Top: Various stencil shapes have been punched and cut into
overhead transparency film for use in air brushing.
Classic plastic doll eyes have been used for Bottom: The signature black dot on the trailing edge of a
many years in lure making. The pupils move bluegills gill plate was created by air brushing through a
freely within a clear plastic eye bubble. While they stencil.
are not as aesthetically pleasing as other 3D eyes
available today, the subtle rattling sound may add
to the fishy appeal of using plastic doll eyes.
Another unique way to create 3D eyes is to ball
up a small portion of aluminum foil, place it in the
center of a pre-cut eye material as described in the
DIY section entitled Stick-On and 3D Eyes, and
epoxy or UV cure glue into place. Color the
aluminum foil with a transparent paint or marker,
The original 3D lure eye - the classic plastic stick-on doll
such as Copic colors, for a more appealing look. eyes and the posted cat eyes for spun deer hair lures.
117
Artisans Gallery
Pat Cohen
Acclaimed warm-water enthusiast Pat Cohen is a leading spun deer hair designer, where he creates fishing works-of-art.
Even though this book does not cover the technique of spinning deer hair, it would be remiss not to include Pats incredible
work, if nothing more than to inspire cork, foam or balsa equivalents. TOP LEFT: Stank Leg Slider, TOP RIGHT: Frog Leg
Popper, MIDDLE ROW: One-Eyed Willy Popper, BOTTOM LEFT: Frog-Leg Slider, BOTTOM RIGHT: Frog Leg Diver.
www.pixachrome.com 118
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Legs
Fur Strips
Zonker cut or cross-cut fur strips of fox,
squirrel or rabbit make quick work of imitating
legs on a frog lure pattern. The fur strips also have
the added benefit of imparting extra movement in
the water and simulating mass without the extra
The McNally style bucktail legs can take many creative weight. For frog poppers in sizes 2 and larger,
routes, including this Viking ship or flying fish style rabbit strip legs are easy to tie in and hard to beat
pencil popper.
for fish-teasing movement.
Synthetics
There are so many synthetics for making legs
to choose from today, each one with different and
unique characteristics. Some of the more popular
synthetic leg materials are EP Fibers, Psuedo
Hair, Darlon, Fishair, Flashabou, Krystal Flash,
McFlylon, Ice Fur, Sculpting Flash Fibre, Pike
Skinz, Sparkle Yarn and so on. Regardless which
synthetic material becomes your favorite, tying
legs on top water lures is done rather consistently Fur strips tied in as legs on a frog pattern makes a quick and
using one of a few methods. The legs typically are easy way to imitate legs with plenty of motion.
www.pixachrome.com 146
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Zonker cut squirrel or arctic fox strips also
make interesting side adornments, giving the
illusion of mass without weight, like as applied in
a balsa wood mouse pattern.
Using the medium frog leg stencil below, light green foam
was decorated to match the cork bottle stopper popper body.
Of course, the decorations on top are for catching people,
not fish.
Medium - 2 (~5cm)
147
LEGS
with paints, markers, glitter and whatnot for easy They can be tied in such a way that they stick out
and quick legs. Copy the DIY Frog Leg Stencils perpendicular from the hook shank. When
provided on the previous page to make your own. retrieved, they offer incredible motion and extra
action, even when the fly is at rest. Long legs tied
Rubber & Silicone in at the collar (and inserted as part of the lure
As discussed in more detail in Section One - body) are reactively sensitive to small twitches,
Body & Tailing Materials, rubber and silicone legs micro-currents and sudden breeze.
are available in seemingly an endless array of
colors and patterns. They are a versatile legging
material that can be tied in at the tail or threaded
through the lure body itself. There are pros and
cons to rubber versus silicone - rubber is more
elastic and durable but will deteriorate when
exposed to the elements. Silicone is more fragile
than rubber, but will outlast rubber since it is more
impervious to heat, chemicals and UV light.
One caution worth mentioning is that silicone
legs and CA adhesive do not play together well. Rubber legs were tied in at the collar and allowed to flow
CA adhesive will certainly adhere the silicone legs backward with the tail and forwards, ahead of the lure body.
to any base medium, but the adhesive makes When fished, the rubber legs give a lot of motion and are
silicone brittle and the silicone legs will break off sensitive to any twitch imparted.
Leg Styles
A course synthetic material (PikeSkinz) was chosen for these
Legs Tied in at the Collar knotted legs to help keep the legs from fouling around the
Legging material tied in at the collar is most hook gape. The knot to form the junction of the legs and
feet was thoroughly soaked with tying cement to keep things
often (read almost always) rubber or silicone legs.
in order as it is fished.
www.pixachrome.com 148
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
other end. Cut the knotted hank in the middle to should bend, shaping the legs becomes quite easy.
form two separate legs. Liberally apply tying Liberally apply Softex or Plasti Dip to the feet of
cement to the knots to keep them in place. Tie in the frog legs and shape them with your fingers.
as legs on a frog pattern. Trim the feet portion of After drying, bend the thread wraps to angle the
the legs to appropriate size for the lure. feet outward and shape the feet to your liking with
sharp scissors. The result is a nice impressionistic
Thread-Wrapped Legs set of legs that is quick to tie in, easy to cast and
Once you get the hang of tying thread wraps wont easily foul around the hook gape.
over materials without the aid of a hook shank or
a vise, youll quickly find this method of making Jointed Legs
simple frog legs quite appealing. By tightly Jointed legs take more effort to make, but the
wrapping 1/8 to 1/4 (3mm - 6mm) thread wraps result is a nearly free-moving set of legs that
around leg material (either synthetics or bucktail) impart a very natural motion. The leg material
to act as the joints where the legging material
149
LEGS
the benefit they derive, and may not always work
Kevlar fishing line is looped
through each leg loop and tied
consistently. For this reason, it is better to install
back onto the hook shank. legs in and through lure bodies after the lure body
is painted and coated with a top coat like epoxy.
An added benefit of installing legs after the final
top coat is applied is the top coat provides a firm
Tie the leg loops in just behind foundation in which to start the hole.
the hook point to help prevent
fouling around the hook gape.
Sealing Leg Holes in Lure Bodies
Once the legs are heated, drilled or punched
through the finished lure body, apply a small
Use Kevlar fishing line to secure each leg on either side of
amount of tying cement, Softex or Plasti Dip to
the hook shank. Securely tie the Kevlar thread along the
length of the hook shank and leave two 2 (5cm) tags ends seal the small holes in the lure body. If done
extending backwards. Thread one Kevlar tag end through carefully, applying a very small amount of epoxy
one of the leg loops and tie the Kevlar back onto the hook around the base of the leg material is also a very
shank going forward. Dont make the Kevlar thread too effective way to water-proof a lure body around
tight restricting movement of the leg. Repeat for the other
holes made for legs. Allow the epoxy to cure
leg loop.
overnight on a drying wheel.
Installing Legs in Lure Bodies As mentioned before, avoid using CA adhesive
to seal leg holes with silicone legs - the legs become
There are several ways to apply legs to a lure
brittle and break off easily. Its OK to use CA
body. The lure body material determines the best
adhesive on rubber or other non-silicone leg
method to use. Of course, if the legs are shaped
material, but the adhesive easily soaks into the
to imitate the real thing, such as frog legs, they are
material, making it completely hard and inflexible
usually tied in on the back of the hook shank
at the base. Avoid using too much CA adhesive.
behind the lure body. But for legging material like
rubber or silicone legs, or legs made of a synthetic Legs in Polystyrene Lure Bodies
fiber material, there are more options than just There are two ways to install leg material in
tying them in at the back of the hook. Styrofoam polystyrene lure bodies (eg - Wapsis
Perfect Popper) - use a hot needle or drill a small
Install Legs Before or After the Final hole. It is very difficult, if not futile, to punch or
Protective Lure Body Top Coat? thread a hole through polystyrene.
There are pros and cons of installing legs in lure The hot needle method is best reserved for lure
bodies before or after a final top coat is applied. bodies with less girth. A hot needle is not an
It is easier to insert legs in or through a lure accurate way to make a hole in thick material. The
body before a final protective coat is applied. But more times a hot needle is inserted through a hole,
it becomes problematic to keep the wispy and the larger the entry hole will become.
flexible legging material out of the curing top coat, On the other hand, drilling a hole through
such as epoxy, as the lure turns on a drying wheel. polystyrene is an accurate way to make a
Some innovative lure builders concoct fancy consistent diameter hole.
ways to keep the legs from falling into the epoxy With either method, sealing the holes after the
coating, but these tricks are often more work than legging material is inserted is less of a concern
www.pixachrome.com 150
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
with polystyrene since water and the elements will be useful for large diameter lure bodies or really
take a long time to rot the lure body from the dense high-density foam.
inside out. It is estimated to take 500 years or If a heated needle is used, be quick about
more for polystyrene to break down in nature. punching the hole through the body. Lingering
If the hole made in the polystyrene body is too or inserting the heated needle in and out a few
large for the leg material, and the legs are easily times will only create a larger hole than is needed.
pulled out, applying a small amount of Softex or If that happens, the rubber or silicone legs wont
Plasti Dip will affix the legs in place and help seal hold in the foam well and can easily be pulled out.
the small holes. A small discreet amount of epoxy Try an unheated needle first as your best overall
also works well. Its your choice whether to use a option for inserting leg holes in high density foam.
hot needle or a hand drill with a small diameter
bit - they both are effective for inserting rubber or Leg Positions
silicone leg holes in polystyrene lure bodies.
Straight Through
Legs in Cork & Wood Lure Bodies The most common position for rubber and
The preferred method for making leg holes in silicone legs is straight through the lure body,
cork and wood lure bodies is to drill using a small perpendicular to the hook shank and behind the
diameter drill bit. A hot needle will do nothing eyes. The legs can be short, imparting very little
more than burn partially the way in, not all the movement, or long and flowing back towards the
way through. It also leaves darkened or charred tailing material.
areas around the hole, which can be a visually
unappealing look to the finish of a lure.
If holes are made in cork or wood bodies, be
certain to seal the entry and exit holes very well
with any of the methods discussed thus far
(Softex, Plasti Dip, or epoxy).
Ideally, if you can avoid poking holes through
wood and cork lure bodies, please do so. I am not
a fan of threading rubber legs through cork or
wood bodies as it creates a hole where water can
get in and cause rotting. Even if you think you
have sealed the entry and exit holes well, its still In this popper example, rubber legs were inserted with an
a hole and ultimately water will get in. Its just as unheated needle and after the epoxy final coat has been
applied.
effective to tie rubber or silicone legs in at the tail
of the hook as it is to punch holes through cork or
wood lure bodies. X-pattern
The X-pattern for legs is a great way to create
Legs in Foam Lure Bodies the appearance of front and back legs on a lure
The preferred method for making leg holes in
body. The downside is the method creates two
high-density foam lure bodies is with a needle.
more holes in a lure body that require proper
Most times, a needle that has not been heated
sealing against the elements to prevent internal
works just fine, although heating the needle might
rotting in the future.
151
LEGS
Cowens Creatures Frog Legs
Innovative fly tyer Pat Cohen has created
realistically-shaped frog legs in seven sizes ranging
from X-small, mini 3/4, micro 1/2, small 1.5,
medium 1.75, large 2.5 and XL 3.5. The legs
are laser-cut ultra suede and can be colored with
markers or the Copic Air Brush System to create
realistic or artistic frog legs for lure bodies. When
tied in, they have realistic movement in the water
and are easy to cast.
www.pixachrome.com 152
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
155
DIVING HEADS & LIPS
Figure 13 - The Retrieve Path of a Typical Un-Weighted Diving Lure Head
1 3
In this simplified illustration, the typical path of a flat-faced un-weighted diving head is shown. Many factors influence the
dive rate and depth of a top water lure: angle of the head, rate of the retrieve, buoyancy of the lure head material, leader
diameter and material, tail material length and buoyancy, etc. (1) When a top water diving lure is retrieved, the initial lure
reaction is to make a surface commotion and push water upward and forward. (2) It then quickly begins to dive and wobble
to a point where the diving head is nearly perpendicular to the water surface. At this point, the head will wobble with an
extended retrieve, but not dive much further downward. The resistance of the leader is the primary reason it has reached
maximum diving depth. (3) Once the retrieve strip ends, the lure takes a more direct path to the waters surface, back to
the original resting position.
www.pixachrome.com 156
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
For those who may not want to bother with
shaping foam, Rainys diver heads are perfectly
crafted of smooth high-density foam, ready to
paint, decorate and add to a hook.
FlyLipps add a
professional touch to top
water lures requiring a
diving lip. Unmodified,
the FlyLipp is easily tied
onto a hook before
finishing the lure. To fit
A monofilament loop facing forward at approximately a top water lure body, the
45-degrees downward is formed similar to making a tie-in stem should be
monofilament hook guard. Applying a few coats of Softex trimmed on either side to
will fill in the monofilament loop and create an effective and thin the profile and allow
durable diving lip. Fly tied by John Ryzanych. a lure body to be adhered
to the hook and FlyLipp
www.pixachrome.com 158
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Spinners
Like diving lips, spinners tend to make top water
lures more wind resistant and difficult to cast. They
are often referred to in error as propellers -
propellers move a body by pushing or pulling wind
or water. Spinners move because the water or wind
159
SPINNERS & RATTLES
methods to add weight). Its best to place a bead
before and after the spinner to offer least resistance
to spin. The beads can be affixed in place or free on
the hook shank - the body size and design
determines the best way to prepare the beads and
spinner on the hook shank. A faster hand retrieve
or a slow troll is most effective to make the spinner
rotate and make water disturbance.
Rattles
Adding rattles to top water lure bodies adds to
the ability for fish to find your lure in murky or off
color water, and to draw fish from farther away.
Rattles typically have a few metal balls encased
within glass or plastic tubes. As they move back and
forth, the rattling sound is created by the metal balls
striking each other and the ends of the tube. The
larger the rattle, the louder the sound can be.
Different body materials have a significant effect on
the pitch and volume of the sound made by a rattle.
Glass rattles have a slightly more crisp sound than
plastic rattles, but there is little volume difference.
Epoxy coatings have little effect on the sound of Holes were drilled in the center of the two popper bodies
rattles as well. Figure 13 illustrates the volume and above, and rattles were inserted before finishing. It is a
handy idea to mark lure bodies that have rattles with a small
FIGURE 14 indicator, so they are easily identified in a fly box. In these
Effect of Rattle Sound in Different Lure examples, a small dot was painted on the top of the leading
lip to indicate the lure has a rattle inside.
Body Materials
Lure Body Material Rattle Volume/Sound pitch variances of rattles in various body materials.
Volume Overall, balsa and cork help project the loudest and
Balsa Pitch: SHARP HIGH clearest rattle sounds.
Volume
Cork Pitch: SHARP HIGH
Glass and plastic rattles are available in many sizes to fit
Volume most fly rod top water lures.
Basswood Pitch: DULL HIGH
Volume
Wapsi Perfect Popper Pitch: HIGH
Volume
High-density foam Pitch: DULL MID-HIGH
= Loudest = Quietest
Pitch is relative to the body material used; balsa and cork
help project the clearest rattle sound while basswood tends
to mute the sound. High-density foam projects a loud
sound, but the pitch is lower.
www.pixachrome.com 160
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Adding Weight
Types of Weight Lead tape offers a quick way to add weight on the water in
The most commonly available weight is split-
an effort to fine-tune the performance of a lure body.
shot. It is easy to apply to a lure body and allows
for small adjustments. Weight also comes in the
form of beads, tape, powder and strips. Powder is
helpful for fine-tuning the overall weight Adding Weight
distribution as a finish is applied to lure bodies. Adding weight to a lure body is as simple as
Tape and strip forms are helpful when adding a drilling a hole and placing small weights inside,
larger amount of weight to an area on a sizeable then sealing the hole with wood filler or epoxy.
lure body. The weight tape is helpful in adding Determining the amount of weight can be a matter
weight after the lure is finished and as the lure is of a guess or of calculated precision. The latter
being fished. will deliver more consistent and predictable results
with your top water lure designs. In the case where
more weight is required, weight strips and tape
can be used.
Another method is to add tungsten powder to
a lure body coating or finish, although youll need
to know exactly how much tungsten powder is
required ahead of time to ensure the weight is
adequate. Be aware that adding weighted powders
to lure body finishes distributes the weight across
the entire lure body and wont tilt the body one
way or another, if so desired. Of course, you can
Split-shot weight is commonly available for weighting top add weighted powders to lure finishes on just a
water lure bodies. Smaller weight sizes, like #4 and #6 allow section of a lure body, but the amount of weight
for fine-tuning the action of a top water lure.
161
ADDING WEIGHT
www.pixachrome.com 162
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
designed for cold pickerel and muskellunge water head has enough body material in the forward
will perform quite differently in warm coastal salt section of the lure body to drill a few holes and
water, for example. add small split-shot. However, a long pencil
Body material buoyancy (wood, balsa, foam, popper affixed to the hook backwards to form a
etc.), the weight of the hook and the weight of the long, slender diving body doesnt have forward
coating all have a part in determining the amount body mass to drill into. Instead, external weight
of weight required for a lure body to sink, dive or options are more applicable, or weighting the
float low in the water. hook before the hook is inserted into the lure body
The shape of the lure head also can help and glued in place.
determine where the weight can be added.
Examples in this chapter further illustrate this
point.
To summarize, there are five primary ways to
add weight to a lure body:
1. Insert split-shot into small drilled holes
A properly front-weighted top water lure should tilt the
2. Weight the hook shank with weight thread front of the lure body downward under the water surface
before applying the lure body just slightly. The stripping action, the tapered shape of the
3. Apply weighted strips or tape to the outside lure head, and the tilted nose slightly downward will make
of a lure body or before a lure is painted and the lure dive efficiently.
finished
4. Add weighted beads to the hook shank in
Rear-Weighted Lure Bodies
front of the lure head
Most top water lure bodies will ride canted
5. Add weighted powders to paints and finishes
slightly backwards since the hook weight and the
drag of the tailing material impart the backwards
The rest of this chapter will focus on methods 1-4
tilt. The backwards tilt aides in making the lure
listed above.
pop and throw water when retrieved. However,
some fly rod lures bodies can benefit from having
Determining the Right Amount
of Weight
Front-Weighted Lure Bodies
For most situations, diving lures require
forward weight to make them behave optimally.
Adding just enough weight to make the nose dip
slightly under the waters surface when at rest will
impart quick diving action when strip-retrieved.
It also slows down the rate of ascent to the surface
30 - 45
to a small degree, which often can be a fish strike angle
trigger.
A properly rear-weighted top water lure should tilt rearward
The shape of the lure head helps determine enough to create a 30-45 degree angle of the lure face to the
which weight form should be used. A diving cone waters surface. This will create good splash and disturbance.
163
ADDING WEIGHT
additional weight in back to make it skip, walk or
Displacement Method: Adding Weight for
pop better. A representative top water lure body
that may need weight is a standard cork popper.
Neutral Buoyancy
Prepare the desired top water lure without weight,
The buoyant lift of the cork body places the angle
and prepare a wide-mouthed jar filled to the brim with
of the lure body too level on the waters surface for water. Weigh the jar and water before placing the lure
effective popping action. in the water. Carefully place the lure in the jar of water
filled to brim, allowing the water to displace outside of
the jar. Remove the lure, wipe the outside of the jar
dry and weigh the jar and water again. The difference
between the weight of the jar and water before and after
is the weight needed for neutral buoyancy.
This method works well for large top water lures
that have plenty of bulk to begin with, but is not a good
method to judge weight needed for neutral buoyancy
on smaller top water lures unless you have a very
accurate scale.
This example of a rear-weighted cork stopper body
illustrates a good angle of the popper face to the water Trial and Error Method
surface. When stripped in, the face of the popper will throw It seems rather unscientific yet very fitting for the
water up and out, creating more noise and surface lure making artist - the easiest method is simply to add
disturbance. Weighting this popper is described on the next weight temporarily to a finished lure using removable
page. painting tape. Adjust the position of the weight and
the weight amount itself until the desired resting
position is achieved. Of course, the resting position
Neutral Buoyancy Lure Bodies and the action of the lure when retrieved is not always
Neutral buoyancy lures use heavy or dense congruent. Be sure to test the lure action in a bathtub
water-absorbing materials for the tail and/or add filled with water or on a pond or lake, then carefully
a small amount of weight in the body prior to observe the action of the lure as you strip-pull it along.
finishing to make the lure sink slightly when Many times, some minor tweaking is necessary.
retrieved. Some lures are made with heavier- Plan to make three or four of the same top water
density wood to achieve the same results. Larger lure as close to final form, using each to fine-tune the
fly rods are typically required to cast neutral weight needed to achieve the desired top water action.
buoyancy flies given their size and weight. Darters Theres no need to paint them, but be sure to add all
the other materials to make the tail and legs, which can
and divers are especially effective body styles to
affect the performance of a lure. Be sure to add the
convert to neutral buoyancy flies. When stripped
final coat as well, as the finish coating can affect weight,
in, they impart action under water due to the buoyancy and affect the overall weight distribution of
shape of the body. Refer to the Body & Tailing the lure.
Materials chapter for more information on how Once you have dialed-in to the desired weight and
tailing materials can affect lure performance. location, take photos and make notes in a lure making
journal for future reference so you dont have to go
through the experiments again.
www.pixachrome.com 164
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE:
Using Drilled Holes with Split Shot - Rear Using Drilled Holes with Split Shot - Front
Weighting Weighting
Resting position BEFORE rear weight was added.
165
ADDING WEIGHT
EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE:
Using Shank Weighting Using Weighted Beads
www.pixachrome.com 166
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Applying Finishes
Water-Based Urethane
As mentioned in Section One - Body Fillers and
Finishes, water-based urethane can be used as a
final coat on all body material types, but it should
be used with caution. It can become brittle and
crack or chip away over time. Once it shows signs
of cracking, water will seep in and begin to rot
away the lure body underneath. Often, the finish
will crack or chip away after just one day on the
water. Water-based urethane does not make a very durable coating
for top water lures. The simple high-density foam popper
Water-based urethanes can either be brushed
was fished only once. Notice the separation of the urethane
(using a product like Ceramcoat or Loon layer on the front of the popper face.
Outdoors Hard Head) or sprayed with an aerosol
can. Spraying a water-based urethane will least The first drawback is its not as economically
disturb marker colors and air brush colors, friendly to cover large lure bodies as using epoxy,
avoiding the bleeding and discoloration. Another UV cure resin is more expensive compared to
consideration for aerosol spray water-based other coating options. Secondly, most UV cure
urethanes is the tendency to dry with a slight resins still require a coat of clear nail polish to
yellow tint. Brushed on water-based urethanes do remove the residual tackiness from the surface.
not exhibit this tendency. And the third drawback is it can be difficult to coat
a medium or large lure body with UV cure resin
Brushing water-based urethanes on surfaces
without it running or pooling before being cured
that have been marked with most permanent
with UV light. Thin UV cure resin should be used
markers or painted with Copic markers, for
with caution for this reason, use UV cure resin
example, will cause the colors to bleed, blend and
with a thicker viscosity.
discolor. For this reason, water-based urethanes
are best as top coats on lure bodies painted with You will experience mixed results when using
acrylics or enamels, or for lure bodies that dont UV cure resin as a protective coating as it quickly
require painting such as some high-density foam bleeds acid-based marker colors together and even
heads. Two or three coats are optimum. fades some colors significantly. It pays to
experiment before ruining a perfectly good
UV Cure Resin painted lure body. The verdict is UV cure resin
should be left to finishing fly heads and not coating
UV cure resin can be used as a final top coat
but has a few drawbacks to note alongside with its entire hand-painted top water lure bodies.
advantages.
The prime advantage to using UV cure resin is
Clear Nail Polish
Clear nail polish can be used as top coat option
its quick. In a matter of minutes, a lure body
over acrylics and enamels, although not as good
can be coated and light-cured, provided the lure
as epoxy. Clear nail polish will not work well as a
body is small.
top coat over permanent markers or the Copic
Air Brush System. Because acetate is in nail
www.pixachrome.com 198
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
polish, it will dissolve, blur and blend marker and polish will leave permanent fingerprint
airbrush colors applied underneath it. Another indentations in the paint.
good use for clear nail polish is a top coat over UV
cure resins to prevent the tacky feeling after the Epoxy
UV cure resin cures. One caution to note: nail Two-part epoxy is the best finish for highly
polish will tend to blister under heat (direct sun) durable and professional looking top water lures.
as the air and slight moisture content inherently The best two-part epoxies to use are those that take
trapped in the material coated by the nail polish more time to cure. Sixty-minute or longer cure
expands. Nail polish is very flexible, unlike most times is preferred (such as rod building epoxy).
epoxies. (However, FlexCoats Lure Gel epoxy is Epoxies that cure quickly ( 30 minutes or less) tend
quite flexible, as it was specifically designed for to yellow quickly, turn brittle and chip away under
lure making.) normal fishing conditions in sun and water. They
One last note on using nail polish as a paint and will barely last a summers worth of fishing.
top coat - allow each application several hours to Note that quick-cure epoxies generally spread
dry completely. Even though it may seem dry after and cures evenly over most surfaces, especially if
only 20 minutes, it is not dry throughout. a lure turning wheel. However, some epoxies will
Touching incompletely dried applications of nail tend to have a phobic nature to nail polish and
some markers, and will ball-up on the lure body
where the epoxy separates and does not cover the
body surface. Flex-Coat lure gel coat does not
exhibit these phobic tendencies.
Flex-Coat produces some of the best lure
making epoxy available - Lure Epoxy Gel Coat.
Flex-Coat epoxy yields a highly durable and
flexible coating. It takes at least 12 hours to cure
tack-free and thus requires a turning wheel to
ensure an even coat. It is thin in viscosity and easy
to work on the lure and into small areas using a
small disposable craft/paint brush. The lure gel
coat remains crystal clear and wont yellow over
time. Because its viscosity is low, mixing in
coloring powders and glitter agents is easily done,
producing excellent results.
In general, epoxy doesnt like sharp edges on
These two examples of surface lures were painted with nail lure bodies. The sharp edges force epoxy to
polish and coated with clear nail polish. The top lure body
migrate away using the path of least resistance.
was a Wapsi Perfect Popper body. The nail polish
expanded and wrinkled under normal fishing conditions. The result is an unprotected edge and a bulge of
The bottom cork popper was not sealed, painted with nail epoxy between the sharp edges. Rounded edges
polish and coated with clear nail polish. The result is a finish on lure bodies will allow the epoxy to settle evenly
that blisters under normal fishing and weather conditions. over the entire body.
Sealing the cork prior to painting would have helped
prevent the blistering.
199
APPLYING FINISHES
Enamel and Varnish edges with sandpaper will help finishes adhere and offer
better edge protection, as shown in the bottom unfinished
Traditional spray and brushable pencil popper above.
varnish/enamel is composed of an oil, a resin, a BELOW: A well-fished cork popper shows signs of wear
around the sharp edges where the epoxy finish did not
glossifier and a thinner or solvent. The labels of
adequately cover and protect.
varnish and enamel can be confusing product
names as some latex and water-based urethanes
also use these same terms to describe their
products. For purposes of this discussion, enamel
and varnish are distinguished as being oil-based
media.
Enamels and varnishes dry hard and naturally
glossy, unless the added glossifier is a semi-gloss
or matte finish. Lures coated with enamel or
www.pixachrome.com 200
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
varnish are well-suited to the harsh outdoor
extremes that lures are subjected to. Lures top-
coated with enamel and varnish also take lure
makers back to a time when that was how all lures
were finished. Todays polymers, epoxies and
plasticizers have revolutionized what we use to
finish top-water fishing lures.
Because enamels and varnishes have solvents
in them, they will smear and distort most any color
underneath, especially nail polishes and acid-
based marker colors. They do not react with
This hand-shaped high-density foam popper was air
acrylics, however. brushed with Copic markers, spotted with nail polish and
Spraying enamels and varnishes in very, very finished with two coats of Softex. The result is a popper
light, even coats is best to prevent any reaction to body that has life-like soft and flexible characteristics similar
the colors and mediums underneath. Slowly build to real frog skin.
up a few ultra-thin coats of enamel/varnish,
allowing ample time between coats to dry (1 hour which distinguish themselves. Plasti Dip is a
or longer). commercial multi-purpose rubber coating that is
intended for light industrial conditions that do not
Softex and Plasti Dip relate to fly tying. Softex is specifically
Sometimes, a matte or semi-gloss finish that formulated for fly tyers to work with fly tying
isnt rock-hard is a good thing. A good example materials.
is with frog-style poppers. To mimic the texture The advantage of Softex and Plasti Dip is
and look of a real frog, consider applying one or both are self-leveling, meaning the liquid, before
two coats of Softex or Plasti Dip over a shaped it dries, will level out across the lure body, creating
high-density foam body. The Softex or Plasti an nice even coating. Softex self-levels better
Dip is best quickly brush applied and allowed to than Plasti Dip. Softex or Plasti Dip can be
dry thoroughly before applying another coat. brushed on or dipped. Brushing the finishes on
Realistic looking and feeling frog skin can be creates less waste than a dipped lure body. Again
achieved using this technique. Softex is easier to brush on versus Plasti Dip.
Contrary to popular opinion, Softex and Plasti Softex is slightly thinner, clearer and is more
Dip are not the same. While the chemical pliable/flexible than Plasti Dip. Softex is easier
composition of each is trade intellectual property to apply in thin layers whereas Plasti Dip builds
(IP), there are seemingly no limits to the creative up thickness rapidly. Repairs are also more easily
efforts of fly tying enthusiasts to ascertain that the done with Softex since it self-levels quickly and
two are the same. Personal discussions with the bonds to itself quite readily. Plasti Dip is more
creator of Softex, Mr. John Ryzanych, and an difficult to work with when it comes to repairing
adhesives chemical engineer (a personal friend) a faulty or torn coating.
have given practical advice on the differences Each can work equally well as a durable life-like
without breaching the valuable IP of each product. coating on a top water lure - it is ultimately a
They both appear to be the same at first glance. matter of personal preference. My preference is
However, they each have their unique properties to work with Softex for most applications due to
201
APPLYING FINISHES
its comparable ease of use and known
compatibility with most fly tying materials.
Adjuncts
Craft Glitter
A simple and effective way to add a fish scale
effect to any top water lure is to add glitter to the
final finish medium. Adding too little glitter will
result in an ineffective visual representation of
shimmering fish scales, and adding too much
glitter will yield a lure that looks like a grade-
school art project. With just a little
experimentation, knowing how much glitter to
add to the finish medium will become second
nature. Of course, it ultimately is personal choice.
There are two types of glitter to consider for
the lure maker transparent and opaque.
Transparent glitter will shimmer, allowing the
color underneath to show through while opaque
glitter will visually provide a sparkly speckling Micro-fine hobby glitter is useful for adding sparkle to
appearance. Transparent glitter is more represent fish scales.
commonly used in lure making.
ranging from the smallest size of 50 microns
Glitter is available in various sizes as solvent- (0.002, 0.05mm) to 3125 microns (1/8, 3mm).
resistant, rainbow, fluorescent, pearl, metal (such Extra fine glitter is sold online and in hobby shops,
as aluminum flakes) and luminous. Glitter can be and is ideal for general lure crafting. Glitter made
found in various shapes too, including round, for school and craft use is best for larger bangers
hexagonal, and star-shaped. Generally speaking, and saltwater lures.
lure makers prefer the smaller round or hexagonal
sizes in rainbow, pearl and luminous colors. Powder
Glitter is available in base colors such as red, violet, Pearlescent powders can be added to top coat
blue and turquoise. Glitter is sized in microns, finishes to give added realistic sheen and iridescent
The micron-measured diameter of various glitters give appearances from an iridescent sheen to a grainy scale effect when
added to top coat finishes. Glitters range from a fine powder to distinct flakes: (1) Loon Outdoors powder, 400+ microns.
(2) 300-micron glitter. (3) 200-micron glitter. (4) 100-micron glitter. (5) 75-micron glitter. (6) Micro-fine hobby glitter.
(7) Standard craft glitter.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
www.pixachrome.com 202
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
appeal. Most powders, like those found in make- surrounded by strata of salt-water which constitutes
up, are made of natural materials like ground fish a powerful conducting medium, must be capable of
scales, mica, various minerals, titanium dioxide, an enormous electric tension of their flashing
bismuth oxychloride and even crushed and organs to enable them to shine so vividly in the
ground insects. water.
Fly tying powders manufactured by Loon To understand why luminosity and glowing
Outdoors are specifically made for lure making. lures work so well, we need understand how light
The twelve colors work well with water-based travels through water and how fish see it.
urethane and epoxy finishes. Colors of the light spectrum travel at different
As an alternative, blush make-up added to a rates through water. Reds and oranges under
top coat finish will add a natural sheen similar to daylight travel the least distance under water,
what scales provide. appearing almost gray in just ten feet of water. On
the other end of the spectrum, blues travel the
Phosphorescence furthest under water. Green, a combination of
Much has been studied and written over the yellow and blue, is somewhere in between. (See
years (since at least the early 1800s) regarding the Figure 10 - Light Wavelength in Section One - Body
appeal to fish of bioluminescence and the science Fillers & Finishes.) Similar to green light under
today of luminous lures. water, UV light is equally as visible, although salt
Sometime around 1802, Alexander von water tends to limit how far UV light travels
Humboldt, the first known scientist to make compared to fresh water.
mention and study of bioluminescence, wrote: It stands to reason that as lures emit a UV green
The luminous animals of the ocean appear, phosphorescent glow, they will be more easily seen
from these conjectures, to prove the existence of a by predator fish with eyes that are big and attuned
magneto-electric light-generating vital process to stalking in low-light conditions. Predator fish
the small Infusoria of the ocean, being also key on the eyes of prey, so glowing eyes on
lures can also add to their fish catching ability.
In the spin fishing lure world, spinner baits,
buzz baits, crankbaits, jig heads, molded worms,
crayfish and salamanders all are available with a
phosphorescent option. Even spin fishing hooks
are manufactured with proprietary finishes that
glow-in-the-dark (eg - Gamakatsu Octopus Hook
UV).
The more senses in game fish you can trigger,
the better a lure will work. Adding glow-in-the-
dark powder to lure finishes can only help the
Loon Outdoors fly tying powders add plenty of lures ability to catch fish, not detract from it,
pearlescence to epoxy, water-based urethanes and UV cure especially if you fish after the sun sets.
resins.
203
APPLYING FINISHES
Personalization
After investing hours of time applying several
layers of paint and finishes to a lure body, it can
become a work of art. And if it is a work of art,
personalizing it like famed artists is the thing to
do. Its the last step before sealing everything
together with a final top coat.
www.pixachrome.com 204
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Artisans Gallery
Jason Goodale
When it comes to spinning and packing deer hair for top water flies, Jason Goodale of Northern Colorado ties them as dense
as they come. Jason has also perfected shaping the spun hair with surgical precision, as evidenced by his spun deer hair examples
above. Jason has been tying flies since the age of five and is a fly designer for Montana Fly Company.
207
SECTION THREE
Common Procedures
Using Pre-Shaped Styrofoam
Using Craft Sheet Foam
Using Sandwiched Sheet Foam
Using High Density Foam
Using Balsa & Basswood
Using Cork
- Tom Nixon, Author of Fly Tying and Fly Fishing For Bass and Panfish
www.pixachrome.com 208
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
skipping unnecessary finishing steps. For
Z 12 - The Basic 8 Finishing example, Step 2 - Wood Sealer is not needed for
Steps foam or Styrofoam, and Step 7 - Acrylic Sealer is
usually not needed for most painting applications.
Professional looking and performing top water
Of course, the bare minimum can be applied
lures dont come quickly. They require several
as well, such as one layer of paint, or just wood
time-intensive and precise steps to the final
sealer and stick-on eyes. The result however, is a
product. It can take up to 26 hours to complete
top water lure that not only looks less than
one lure body. Thus, it is most efficient to make
complete, but also lacks durability and longevity.
a handful of lure bodies at the same time, since it
Ultimately, the incremental investment of time
takes negligible extra effort to make several versus
to thoroughly finish a batch of top water lures is
one.
well worth the effort expended. Youll be
Referring to the tip The Basic 8 Finishing Steps
rewarded with professional looking and long-
on the opposite page, not all eight steps are needed
lasting lures that can outlive your lifetime.
for all top water lures, so time can also be saved by
The author displays a respectable peacock bass that took a hand-painted surface popper he made. While its a spin fishing
popper, all of the techniques discussed in this book for painting and finishing were used to make the lure.
221
COMMON PROCEDURES
Z The Basic 8 Finishing Steps
The estimated fully dry/cure times for each finishing layer is estimated for the Basic 8 Finishing
Steps below.
www.pixachrome.com 222
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
223
PRE-SHAPED STYROFOAM
Step 1. Preparing the Body 2a
Prepare a tapered cup Wapsi Perfect Popper
per the instructions in the previous chapter,
Common Procedures: 1 - Preparing Pre-Shaped
Styrofoam. Painting a solid color (white)
undercoat is not necessary at this point. A white
undercoat will be required after the eye sockets
are created in the next step.
225
PRE-SHAPED STYROFOAM
3. Small black spots - apply a few sparse dots of
black nail polish around the larger frog spots 5d
using a small sized eye stamp (Photo 5d)
4. Top glitter green dots - apply glitter green nail
polish on top of the black/olive spots using a
small sized eye stamp (Photo 5e)
A note of caution: if acrylics are applied on top
of nail polish, the nail polish will bleed through.
Always apply nail polish on top of acrylics to
prevent color bleeding.
5e
Step 6. Affixing the Eyes
On the flat surface of the eye sockets, apply
Harelines adhesive holographic 5/32 gold eyes
(Photo 6). Depending on the size of the eye
sockets you created, you may have to adjust the
size of the eyes up or down a size to fit. There is
no need to glue these in place, the adhesive
backing should adequately hold them in place
until a top coat is applied.
6
Step 7. Applying the Epoxy Top Coat
The last step in finishing the popper body is to
coat and protect it with two-part epoxy. Flex
Coat Lure Gel epoxy is ideal for a water-clear,
flexible epoxy coat. You have the choice of adding
in micro-fine glitter to add some sparkling flair to
the epoxy coat. In this example, no glitter was
added.
Refer to the DIY tutorial entitled How to Apply
Two-Part Epoxy in Section Two - Applying
Finishes, on how to correctly apply two-part epoxy.
Dont forget to sign your work of art with a
permanent fine-point marker. Give the ink time
to dry or dry it briefly with a hair dryer. This will
ensure the ink doesnt smear or run as the two-
part epoxy is applied. Also dont forget to clear
the hook eye of any paint before applying epoxy.
www.pixachrome.com 226
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Step 8. Tying in The Tailing Material 8a
Using 8/0 golden olive thread, tie in 2 plumes
of marabou, a cream colored plume first then a
golden olive plume directly on top (Photo 8a).
The length of the marabou tail should roughly
equal the distance from the eye to the hook bend.
On either side of the tail, tie in 3 to 4 strands
of silicone olive micro legs where the marabou
was tied in (Photo 8b). The length of the silicone 8b
legs should extend backwards slightly beyond the
length of the marabou tail and forward to the
hook eye.
To make things easier when tying in the collar
hackle, tape the front legs forward against the
popper body to get them out of the way. Then,
tie in two Whiting Farms American Rooster soft
hackle by the stem, at the common material tie-in 8c
point (Photo 8c). Apply a drop or two of tying
cement to help lock in the thread wraps and
hackle as it is wrapped around the collar area
(Photo 8d, 8e).
After the collar hackle is wrapped and tied in,
whip finish the thread to complete the popper.
8d
8e
AFTERWORD
The Essence Of Design
301
Photograph/Illustration * INDEX
Bobs Banger *............................................................................................................ 104
INDEX Bobs - Surface lures..................................................................................................... 13
Body and Tailing Materials........................................................................................ 89
3 Body Fillers and Finishes............................................................................................ 77
3D Thermoform Stencils *....................................................................................... 188 Body Shape Characteristics...................................................................................... 109
3M Super 77 spray adhesive............................................................................. 73, 212 Body Shaping Considerations.................................................................................. 217
3-ring Notebook Storage *.......................................................................................... 33 Body Styles, Shapes & Characteristics.................................................................... 101
www.pixachrome.com 302
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Dietrichs Diver *......................................................................................................... 99 Foam, Tail Anti-Foul *.............................................................................................. 134
Dilg Fly Rod Minnow, The......................................................................................... 19 Forked Sweeper Hook Guard *................................................................................ 141
Dilg, Will H................................................................................................................... 16 Forked Sweeper Hook Guard, removable *........................................................... 144
Diving Head Shapes.................................................................................................. 155 Fresh Water Hooks...................................................................................................... 43
Diving Head, Shaping a Conical head *................................................................. 156 Frog Leg Diver *......................................................................................................... 118
Diving Heads & Lips................................................................................................. 155 Frog Leg Popper *...................................................................................................... 118
Diving Heads, Bubble-Creating *............................................................................ 157 Frog-Leg Slider *........................................................................................................ 118
Diving Heads, Craft Foam *..................................................................................... 157 Fur Strips, as Leg Material *..................................................................................... 146
Diving Heads, Cupped *........................................................................................... 156 Furling a Tail *........................................................................................................... 236
Diving Heads, Flat *.................................................................................................. 155 Fuzzy Bodies *............................................................................................................ 128
Diving Lips *............................................................................................................... 158
Diving Triceratops *.................................................................................................. 275 G
Dorr, Jim....................................................................................................................... 13 Gartside Gurgler *...................................................................................................... 102
Double Loop Hook Guard *..................................................................................... 137 Gartside, Jack.............................................................................................................. 102
Double-Barrel Popper Bodies *................................................................................. 40 Gary Krebs Popper Jig Set *..................................................................................... 254
Drying Wheel *............................................................................................................. 31 Gesso.............................................................................................................................. 80
Durability of Lure Finishes......................................................................................... 86 Gluing Foams............................................................................................................... 73
Gluing Foil.................................................................................................................. 123
E Gluing Hooks to Lure Bodies..................................................................................... 71
E6000 Adhesive *....................................................................................................... 76 Gluing Materials Together......................................................................................... 72
Effect of Commonly Used Marking Pens on Selected Materials *....................... 58 Gluing Wood and Plastic............................................................................................ 72
Effect of Rattle Sound in Different Lure Body Materials *.................................. 160 Goat Fur *...................................................................................................................... 90
Effect of Sun Exposure on Common Marking Pen Ink *...................................... 59 Goodale, Jason............................................................................................................ 207
Effect of Tail Length on Lure Bodies *.................................................................... 129 Gordon, Theodore................................................................................................. 13, 14
Elements of Design.................................................................................................... 100 Gorilla Glue *.............................................................................................................. 76
Elmers Wood Filler *................................................................................................ 77 Grey, Zane..................................................................................................................... 19
Enamel Spray Paint...................................................................................................... 78 Guinea Fowl *............................................................................................................... 93
Envirotex Lite Pour-On High Gloss Finish *......................................................... 81 Gurgler-Style.............................................................................................................. 102
Epoxy, How to Apply *............................................................................................. 205
EP Fibers by Enrico Puglisi Flies *.......................................................................... 96 H
Evazote *................................................................................................................ 37, 39 Hackle............................................................................................................................ 91
Eye Dot Stamps *......................................................................................................... 29 Halford, Frederic.......................................................................................................... 13
Eye, Painted Eyes *.................................................................................................... 112 Harvey Wallbanger *................................................................................................. 278
Eyes with Hot Melt Glue *........................................................................................ 116 Heddon Bass Bugs *..................................................................................................... 18
Eyes, 3D *.................................................................................................................... 114 Heddon Feather Minnow *........................................................................................ 19
Eyes, Beads *............................................................................................................... 116 Heddon, James............................................................................................................. 13
Eyes, DIY Photo-Realistic *...................................................................................... 119 Helm, Christopher....................................................................................................... 48
Eyes, Flat Stick-On *.................................................................................................. 114 Henshall, Dr. James A................................................................................................. 14
Eyes, Making Your Own *........................................................................................ 115 High & Dry Hackle by Whiting Farms *.................................................................. 92
Eyes, Stencils............................................................................................................... 116 High Density Foam, Using....................................................................................... 263
High Density Polyethylene Foam *........................................................................... 37
F History of Top Water Flies......................................................................................... 13
Feathers for Texturing *............................................................................................ 128 Holschlags Blockhead Popper Heads by Rainys *................................................. 41
Feathers, as Leg Material *........................................................................................ 145 Hook Guard Styles..................................................................................................... 136
Field & Stream Magazine............................................................................................ 15 Hook Slot, Cutting in Wood and Cork *................................................................ 220
Filling a Hook Slot *.................................................................................................. 210 Hooks, Kink-Shanked................................................................................................. 47
Finishes, Applying..................................................................................................... 204 Hooks, Wide-Gape...................................................................................................... 47
Finishes, Archival Ink Marker *.............................................................................. 204 Hopper Poppers......................................................................................................... 108
Finishes, Clear Nail Polish........................................................................................ 198 How Tails Affect Lure Performance *.................................................................... 130
Finishes, Craft Glitter *............................................................................................. 202 Humboldt, Alexander von........................................................................................ 203
Finishes, Enamel and Varnish................................................................................. 200
Finishes, Epoxy.......................................................................................................... 199 I
Finishes, Pearlescent Powders *............................................................................... 202 Importance of Eyes on Lures................................................................................... 111
Finishes, Phosphorescence....................................................................................... 203 Imprinting Versus Imaging...................................................................................... 123
Finishes, UV Cure Resin........................................................................................... 198 Inconsiderate Frog *.................................................................................................. 239
Finishes, Water-Based Urethane............................................................................. 198 Integrating the Tail and the Lure Body Together................................................. 133
Finishing Coats............................................................................................................. 81 Iwata HP-C Plus *...................................................................................................... 178
Fish-Head Diver *...................................................................................................... 103
Flash or No Flash?..................................................................................................... 132
J
Flashabou Magnum by Hedron, Inc. *................................................................... 96 Jacobs, Tim................................................................................................................... 25
Flat Fred *.................................................................................................................... 108 Jamison Wiggler *........................................................................................................ 20
Flat-Faced Popper *................................................................................................... 101 Jamison, William J. (and William J. Jamison Company)...................................... 14
Flex Coat Lure Gel Coat epoxy *.................................................................... 82, 200 Jarhead Frog *.................................................................................................... 252, 269
Floating Night Bug....................................................................................................... 15 Jiffy Popper *.............................................................................................................. 253
Fly Rod Pop-it.............................................................................................................. 22 John J. Hildebrandt Company................................................................................... 15
FlyLipps Diving Lips *............................................................................................. 158 Jointed Top Water Lures.......................................................................................... 107
Flymen Fishing Company.......................................................................................... 40
Foam Cutting Cylinders, making *......................................................................... 213
K
Kirks Mylar Popper *................................................................................................. 99
Foam Cylinder Bodies, Shaping.............................................................................. 216
Kirks Perch Float Popper *........................................................................................ 99
Foam Skater *............................................................................................................. 244
Kirk's Golden Rabid Dog *......................................................................................... 99
Foam, as Leg Material *............................................................................................ 147
Knurling Aluminum Foil *....................................................................................... 124
303
Photograph/Illustration * INDEX
Krystal Flash *............................................................................................................. 96 Nail Polish, UV Gel..................................................................................................... 67
www.pixachrome.com 304
DESIGNING POPPERS, SLIDERS & DIVERS
Rattles, Glass and Plastic *.................................................................................. 98, 160 Texturing with Wrinkles.......................................................................................... 123
Red Fox Tail *............................................................................................................... 90 The Feather Minnow.................................................................................................. 17
Retrieve Path of a Typical Un-Weighted Diving Lure Head *............................ 156 The Spindler *.................................................................................... 217, 260, 284, 295
RetroPop *................................................................................................................... 294 The Treatyse on Fysshynge with an Angle (1496).................................................. 13
Ripley, Ozark................................................................................................................ 14 Theatrical Eye-Shadow *........................................................................................... 122
Rollie Pollie................................................................................................................. 297 Tools for Gluing and Drying...................................................................................... 31
Rotary Tool................................................................................................................... 35 Trout-Oreno *.............................................................................................................. 21
Round Dinny *........................................................................................................... 107 Tube Plugs *................................................................................................................ 105
Rounded & Conical, Diving Heads *...................................................................... 157 Twistons line weight *............................................................................................... 162
Rubber & Silicone, as leg material........................................................................... 148 Two-Part Epoxy............................................................................................... 71, 78, 81
Rubber and Silicone Legs............................................................................................ 97 Two-Part Epoxy *........................................................................................................ 72
S Tying Thread................................................................................................................ 48
305
STEP-BY-STEP PATTERNS INCLUDED IN THE BOOK
www.pixachrome.com 306