Bubblehead Popper – Final – With Instructions
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I played around with the bubblehead popper pattern this morning and figured out how to do it without the dermatology punch biopsy tool. This is a more user-friendly pattern.
Hook, Freshwater (shown below): bass bug hook (e.g. Orvis 8810 size 1/0)
Hook, Saltwater: Owner Spinnerbait, or TMC 911S, size 1/0 or 3/0
Thread: 3/0 heavy thread
Tail: Wig hair (Kanekalon) shown below, or flash fiber or Super Hair or Kinky Fiber, etc.
Flash: Flashabou (bluegill flash used below)
Body: Closed cell craft foam (non-adhesive back shown below but the traditional crease fly uses adhesive back foam with mylar sheets; I glued on thin wing material instead)
Eyes: Mylar stick on eyes or rounded eyes
Adhesive: Super glue
Tube for the bubble head: Thin drinking straw. Here I used IV tubing; you can get it at any specialty pharmacy store
Sealant: TuffleyeInstructions
Start a thread base the length of the shank
Make a pattern similar to the one shown below. Start with a general size appropriate to the hook and trim. It is best to start the pattern on paper and once you get it perfect trace on to closed cell foam, make this one the master and then trace others from that pattern.
Choose the color of foam appropriate to your bait fish. I chose light brown with the goal of making a brown/yellow/copper bait fish.
Make the tail with a gradient of light colors on the bottom/ventral, flash in the middle and darker colors on top/dorsal.
Apply the foam cut out pattern and glue in to place with super glue.
Cut out a few small pieces of open cell foam and pack it in the tail section little bits at a time. Be careful not to pack towards the front because that is where your tube will be placed.
Punch a hole at the top/dorsal section of the fly. I used a dermatology punch biopsy tool here (size 3mm) but you could easily make this hole with sharp scissors.
Cut a small piece of a small diameter drinking straw. Here I substituted I.V. tubing (medical intravenous tubing) about 1-2 long. Insert it in the front and pull it up to to the top/dorsal section of the fly. Then cut the tubing flush at the top/dorsal and on an angle in the front. Be careful not have the front section of tubing sticking out. Cut it back about 1-2mm from flush with the front (the part that will be colored red).
Here I glued on some thin wing material to give the fly a yell/spotted sheen but it is easier to use sticky back foam and transfer mylar sheet (technique is shown elsewhere on the internet, Google search crease fly).
Be careful to cut out the section over the top/dorsal tube hole!
Color the front part of the fly red
Add some gradient coloration to the fly with markers. Be careful not to over do it!
Apply the eyes and make a red gill slash behind them
Apply epoxy evenly. I use Tuffleye which makes this process much easier. Make sure to get epoxy in the front of the fly but BE CAREFUL not to plug up the opening of the front tube!
If you have done everything correctly you will have an open tube from the top/dorsal to the front. Here you can clearly see the hook eye from the top of the fly. Pretty cool!
Finished fly.
What an awesome fly Neal!
The hook you’ve used – has it been treated for the salt? Wont it rust?
I dont really tie for the salty fly fishing but one thing I would do differently is glue the thin skin on the foam before cutting out the shapes. Another thing that could work nicely if you do this is to use a paper punch to make the holes, assuming the foam will fit into the punch.
For those that cannot get the medical tubing, could possibly substitute with tubing used on the pumps/filters in fish tanks.
This would probably save on some material and time, enabling you to tie 1 or 2 extra. Again, an excellent tie – like it lots!Just a thought though! 🙂
Craft shop, great, there is one close to me; I will give them a bash. I currently get it from the fly shops, its great stuff, but the pieces are small and it gets a little pricey…
I love the fly, I got a feeling I will be tying a few bullet shaped ones, for some Largemouth Yellowfish… going to be fun…
I know that circular scalpel you showed, I had a piece of my flesh taken by one a few years ago. The doc said it wasn’t going to hurt, she lied….
Ha. In fairness you guys should probably be aware that Neal spent his formative years helping run a bass lure company. 🙂
Zach – what I’m thinking is to employ the Drummel Tool to make popper heads like we did last fall but to make a rocket shape, long and thin.
Thanks Neal, got 6 sheets of foam for the same price as one small pack from the fly shop… found a whole bunch of other stuff too… feathers, glass beads, scissors, fabric punch, threads, etc…
My best find was holographic mirror paper, mmmmmmmmm………………. can’t wait to give it a bash….
Mike – Please post a picture of the holographic mirror sheets!! If you can get that at a craft store it would be a huge find, that stuff can get costly.
Try these patterns first. They are classic soft bodied poppers and easier to tie without the need for epoxy. Remember to use wide gap hooks or your hook-up rate goes down.
The Gurgler by Jack Gartside
http://www.jackgartside.com/step_gurgler.htm
http://www.flyfishsaltwaters.com/flygurgler.htm
The Stealth Bomber
1. See recipe above for the saltwater hook equivalents. I tied this on a freshwater hook because it’s all I had handy. I would never fish this hook in saltwater.
Sorry, I did read the recipe, but when I had gotten to the botton of your post, I’d not matched the saltwater hook with the one in the pic. My bad.
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