MOST Anglers Don’t Fish A POP-R Correctly!! Try This PROVEN Retrieve!
POP-R Gear:
Strike King KVD Splash: amzn.to/4cYJD0e
Seaguar TactX Main Line (30lb): amzn.to/3JjxdTh
7’ MH Vursa Rod: www.44tackle.com/products/fit...
8.1:1 casting Reel: www.44tackle.com/products/vld...
Welcome to SonarFishing! My name is Miles “Sonar” Burghoff. I fish the Bassmaster Opens tournament trail, guide in Alaska, and just all around LOVE fishing! It is my goal to deliver fresh fishing content on a weekly basis, consisting of videos highlighting my life on the tournament circuit, as well as relevant fishing tips and tricks. Always remember to TRUST THE PROCESS!!
Please feel free to drop a comment, or email me at sonar@sonarfishing.com with video topic requests. Thanks for watching!
Be sure to follow me on the Major League Fishing Pro Circuit at: www.majorleaguefishing.com
Also, be sure to visit my website and social media platforms for more great content!
Website: www.SonarFishing.com
Facebook: / sonarfishing
Instagram: / sonarfishing
MY SPONSORS:
Z-Man Fishing- zmanfishing.com/cms/index.php
BassBoatElectronics.com- www.bassboatelectronics.com
Mi-Sher Fleet- www.mi-sher.com
44tackle.com- www.44tackle.com
Lowrance- www.LOWRANCE.com
Mercury- www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/
Hayabusa- hayabusafishing.com
Phoenix Boats- phoenixbassboats.com
Seaguar- seaguar.com
Power Pole- power-pole.com
Simms Apparel- www.Simmsfishing.com
Fitzgerald Fishing- fitzgeraldrods.com
Core Tackle- www.coretackle.com
Valley Fashions- www.vfoutdoors.com
It is always those big smart ones that run right for the cover and get off some how,had that happen mire times than i care to remember.Take care and be safe .Still in our prayers Miles ❤
I like them dumber than that! Lol. Thank you sir!
Good vid. I work it fast like that too. Always tie the mono leader directly to the popper. No split rings or clips.
On Those hot summer days throw one up in some shade and get ready! Bloop bloop splash!
Thank you for the tutorial. I have been fishing them wrong and have had no luck with them because of it. I am looking forward to trying it again.
The thing about fishing is you may have been fishing it RIGHT but just on the wrong day, or in the wrong place. Keep experimenting, and it will come more naturally!
I appreciate this video. Picked up some good stuff .Have a nice day.Hope every thing is good.
Thank you! You too!
Great video!! Thanks for showing how you fish a popper!! It was exciting watching you catch those bass and I even made a few calls on where you where going to throw before you did. Stay Safe & God Bless!!! 🤠👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
For beginners especially.. Do not watch your topwater lures. Some tend to set the hook way too soon and pull the lure away from the fish. I never set the hook till I feel the bite. It should improve your hook up rate.
My favorite top water bait of all time.
It’s a good one for sure!
Love a popper. Poppin frog too. Dang it. Come off under that limb. Thanks for the video Miles ✌️
Great video Miles, I used a River2Sea Bubble Walker80 this past weekend and it walks and leaves a bubble trail and catches good ones.😎😜🍀🎣🍀👏👏👏👏❤️🔥
That’s a good one for sure!
Been fishing Pop-Rs for over 30 years. Best luck I have is barely twitching it in place tail down. They work great at night too.
Thanks for the tip!
I have noticed so many folks fish the Pop R by starting to retrieve almost as soon as it hits the water. I have found that it really pays to wait at least thirty seconds when the bait hits the water before starting the retrieve. Have had some football size Smallies slurp the bait off the surface when it sits there. It’s like they can’t help themselves.
I agree that with this topwater bait in particular it is best to let it sit for a moment. Im pretty impatient though lol.
You should really show how to work the bait.
Just subbed liked the frog and now popper video really like how you explain
Really glad you enjoy the content. Glad to have you as a sub!
Bass have a visual advantage in the shade. It’s much harder to see them in the shade, fish in the light can’t see them. I noticed bass stacking up on shade lines when conducting electrofishing surveys. Once I noticed that I started fishing them and found a lot of active feeders on shade lines. Watch when the sun changes and creates shade across the lake, a nothing bank turns to ‘structure’ when a shade line is created
Very good points!
What Fun!
Still pursuing my first popper strike. Looks like so much fun.
I wouldn’t even try to walk the popper, I work it realllyyyy slowly and I slam on it, most of my popper bites have come while it was sitting there for a couple of seconds
You can do it! As others have mentioned, try different retrieve speeds, but more so than that, fish it during the spring when more fish are on the bank than offshore.
What I've found with Pop R s is don't be overly aggressive. A little "ploop"works better than a hula popper type SPLOOSH.
I agree, sometimes a lighter action is best. Thanks
A Pop R works well by itself for smallmouth but I generally use a Whopper Plopper as I can cover water faster. When I'm throwing a WP I always have another rod rigged with a Pop R as a throw back in case a fish blows up and misses the WP. Smallies will hit the Pop R almost every time in that scenario.
Sounds like a good system to me!
Great tips
Glad you think so!
Lol when you lost the 5 pounder I said damnit at the same time so I subscribed, thanks for the vid
Lol, glad you felt my pain! Glad to have you as a subscriber!
I lost a Rico that I bought out of Tx or Ca in the late nineties. 35$ which was real money then. Lost it on a big SMB that took me in buck brush in 2018. I even went and got my snorkeling gear and traced the line but the lure was gone. Good vid, thanks.
That hurts!
Yes I know I have a question why do you pass a color red is it because of they can see it better
good way
Works deep into fall for me. Basically not winter. Texas. Expensive as hell, but the Megabass PopMax hard to beat.
I haven’t fished the PopMax but ill have to try it.
Here in Va. I cast poppers and jitterbugs on cold winter days. But on the smoothest quietest waters only. Bass rarely hit them. But the Gar, Pickeral and Grenal love them.
Enjoyed the video and the tips. I would like to see how the Pop-R compares to a Rapala Skitter Prop bait. Make 10 cast with each one and see which one gets more bites.
I've done that.I'm going pop R.
Great idea!
I never fish Pop Rs in the wind. But whatever works..but yes I work them several ways depending on structure and location.
Yeah, I generally don’t fish them in the wind either. That day I had a few windy areas, but overall like you, I seek out calmer areas.
well, I caught a 6lb smallouth on a White Bone POP-R & have it mounted I must done something right I Twitch mine 1-2 pause 1-2 and boom he nailed it! Now how is that wrong?
Doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong…sounds like you did everything right for that fish to bite. Kudos on the big Smallie. Thanks for watching.
Great video, really appreciate all the info: Stay Safe
Thanks, you too!
What’s an ideal set up, rod, reel and line for poppers?
I like a 7’ MH rod, a 8.1:1 reel, a 30lb braid main line and a 12” 15lb mono leader.
Switch those treble hooks out with singles if your not eating the fish what’s the point in a treble hook.
As Im a shore fisherman its just foolish to spend much over $7 let alone $10 on any luer as when they snag and they do a lot as the lakes I fish are LOUSY with visible and submerged wood all over the lake(imagine thats what makes them such good bass lakes) I have very little chance to get them back even if using braided line Just this past week I lost one $9 spinnerbait W/ trailer one $9 chatterbait W/trailer and my son lost two chatterbaits and a spinnerbait for a total cost in lost baits and trailers of $45 so baits costing >$10 are just a no go for me.
I love braid ,but not in wood. IMO, braid cuts into wood. You will land more fish with mono, copolomer, or floro . I use P Line Premier
Just as another viewer mentioned, braid is not a good line choice around wood. It is strong, yes, but it digs into wood and causes the bait to snag.
Why would you choose a popper over prop bait? Just wondering because because I feel they are similar but no one really talks about prop baits unless they’re in Florida
Really great question! I think a Pop-R and a Prop Bait share a lot of the same scenarios that they work well in. Really for me, I like to fish a prop bait on any type of grass edge- could be Kissimmee grass, hydrilla mats, water willow or other emergent grasses. With a pop-r Im usually fishing individual targets. Again, I think the scenarios each will excel are broader than that, but that’s how I make my decisions most days.
You can really put a popper anywhere and fish will bite it
I wish I had more days like THAT!! Thanks for watching
When do you choose a popper over a stick bait like a spook? Is there a situation that would tell me to choose the popper over the stick?
Popers for staying close to a target and keeping it there walkers for covering ground and hunting for them in more open water 2 of my favorites use them as a combination as you go down the bank using 1 or the other depending on what you see
What @garlawrence5070 said was spot on. Pop-Rs are good for casting at individual targets and fishing slower, and walking baits are great for covering larger areas like flats and long tapering points.
Miles what was the water temp
It was 68 degrees that day.
I throw pop R P71
Nice choice!
Im curious how long it took you to ask Most anglers how they fish a Pop R. That is quite a hefty task. Lol.
It took awhile for sure! 🤣. Unfortunately having a title that is a little exaggerated is what the KZhead algorithm requires. Thanks for watching!
You fish that thing hella fast like a walking bait.
Yeah, in this instance I was definitely fishing it really fast, but sometimes I work it extremely slow, so it just depends on the bite.
I like your content ,but I’m not down with sonar or any tech to catch fish specifically if you’re in any kind of tournaments !!!!!!!!!!!
That’s a hot topic right now. I grew up fishing without electronics so I’d probably benefit from tournaments not allowing them, but do still enjoy using my electronics. Thanks for watching!
Way too fast , 90% of the time fish react to it not chase it.
I fish it both very slow and very fast depending on the mood of the fish on a particular day. Thanks for watching
Tic-tac-toe happening in the skies is disgusting.
You are fishing a popper, not a pop-r, specifically a p70 pop r. Its a totally different thing. A pop-r doesnt really pop, its more of a finnesse walking bait.
Very true. However, the Pop-R was so successful many people use it in place of the term Popper. But technically yes, you are correct.