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August 16, 2007

Poppers

My most recent popper session was on the Russell/Mulgrave River system with my old mates Terry Holman and Les Marsh. The ‘Three Amigos’ managed to get out on the water again and did we have a fantastic day! Awesome would better describe the queenie action we encountered as these speedsters pounced on almost anything we cast their way, they were thick!

Using light spin outfits loaded with 5 to 8 kilo Amnesia fine diameter braid we tied on a metre long 15 kilo mono leader via a spider hitch double. This gave us the desired ‘shock absorber’ in the system and allowed us to present poppers with a ‘clear’ leader rather than coloured braid, an important tip! Arriving at our spot where a creek entered the main channel there was a defined current line as the tide was till moving in. Terry’s Custom Craft sportfishing punt is well laid out with centre seating that can be moved around so three anglers can have their own space so we all spread out, dropped the anchor and began to cast.

Some of the more popular poppers, from top right hand, clockwise: Rebel Pop ‘R’, Halco Rooster, Chug Bug, River To Sea ‘Dumb-Bell’, T.D. Popper, Heddon ‘Baby Topedo’, Manns Chug N Spit, Rapala Skitter Pop

Using 7 to 9cms poppers such as the Manns Chug'n Spit, Team Daiwa bloppers and Rebel Pop R’s we began casting towards the current line, the action was instant. C R A S H, I was monstered after only a few bloops as a leaping 3 kilo queenie strutted his stuff, he went hell for leather around the boat before coming alongside to be ‘tailed’ then gently released. No sooner had I let him go than Terry was on, then Les. I made a cast to the other side of the boat and soon became attached to another aerial acrobat. A TRIPLE hookup, it was a long time since I’d experienced this, and to make matters worse terry’s fish was hooked up the bum and was giving him all sorts of curry! Les and I had a chuckle and passed a few comments on his method of hooking fish and how we were beginning to worry about the lad!

Young Les Marsh with his first queenie of the day, he was using a slightly bigger ‘Barra’ popper

All three fish were brought to the boat, photographed then released. You can never short change queenies, no matter what size they are they always give a good account of themselves. We switched poppers trying to see if we could tempt those ‘metre-plus’ specimens that are often found down the Russell system with bigger offerings but it didn’t work and we had to make do with queenies in the 2.5 to 4.5 kilo size bracket, which on the lighter spin gear and smaller poppers we still quite a challenge.

We barely moved from this spot for over 4 hours, and when the fish became a little wary we had a cuppa or something to eat then got back into them. Amazing stuff and something we rarely experience. We made a rough tally of over 25 queenies caught, all on poppers. Wow!!

As the tide continued to run out several sand bars and drop offs were exposed. This is ideal small G.T. country so we moved over and began the same popper routine. B A N G, it was on again as these hard pulling tropical rogues gave us heaps, one after the other. Sizes ranges from .75 kilo to 1 kilo but can they pull! Again we didn’t have to shift, and the beauty of lighter spin outfits with such fine braid is that you can cast a small popper a country mile allowing us to explore several gutters and sand bars. What a days fishing!

Making our way back to the ramp - yes it was still drizzling as it had been most of the day - we were bragging about our three triple hook ups on queenies and the 15 or so small G.T’s we’d caught but most importantly how much we all enjoyed popper fishing and the good laughs we had. Vic McCristal was right, there’s no fish in our local rivers that won’t take a popper and to see the ‘strike’ is one of the ultimate sport fishing thrills.

I took Capt. Cranky (Barry Cross – skipper of Joe Joe) down there the next week – we started late and only arrived there about 12:30 pm.

But still we landed 10 queenies, 3 trevally, two very good flathead, 1 jack and one barra out of the six that hit our lures. And no, we didn’t catch them all on poppers.

The highlight of the trip was when we went up the Russell for a look at low tide. The queenies had gone quiet so Barry took me to one of his old barra snags – unfortunately they were not there but just downstream from his spot a shallow rock bar juts out. I kept telling Barry how I often caught flathead from the “rocks” which was very amusing to him. As we drifted closer he gave me heaps about flathead, I really do catch them here I explained.

One of the many double hook ups on queenies, we even had three triple hook ups, and all using poppers. Note the overcast drizzly conditions.

The author pointing the business end of that ‘hoodlum’ sportfish we call a ‘queenie’, our most acrobatic performer!

Well on my next cast I had a strike but failed to connect. As we drifted over the rocks I could see the flathead sitting on the bottom only a couple of metres away – I cast my orange mad mullet over its head and retrieved it back to the boat – I connected just out of arms length and proceeded to fight and land a quality flatty to about 70 cm.

We were both in stitches but wait there’s more – Barry cast downstream a bit further to the end of the rock bar and was instantly hooked up. And guess what, he caught the twin to my flatty – we both had a good laugh I can assure you.

It sure goes to show that “fish are where you find them” and that certain features (i.e. a shallow bar stretching out into the main current) is a prime ambush point for any predator, right!

If you havn’t tried fishing with poppers all I can suggest is to ‘give it a go’, you’ll have a ball!

When are we going fishing again?

Keith Graham
Bransfords Tackle