Popper

WITH A BLUNT or concave face that makes a little splash when it’s tugged, this venerable topwater fly has been fooling fish, and delighting anglers, for more than a century. In quiet water, poppers work best when fished slowly, with long pauses between strips. This lets the feather and rubber appendages float seductively, which often seals the deal. Largemouth are especially notorious for staring at poppers from short range, taking their time before finally engulfing them. Many fly anglers are surprised to learn this fly is also deadly in rivers, where a drift-pop retrieve can provoke slashing hits.

HOOK: WIDE-GAP, 2XL TO 4XL, SIZES 4 TO 2/0 TAIL: 2 TO 6 SADDLE HACKLES

COLLAR: A FEW WRAPS OF SADDLE HACKLE

BODY: FOAM, CORK OR SPUN DEER HAIR

LEGS: RUBBER STRANDS

EYE: 3-D, GOOGLY OR PRISM TAPE

WEEDGUARD (OPTIONAL): 20-POUND MONO

Slumpbuster

Traditional poppers are made of deer hair, but pre-shaped foam or cork bodies fish just as well, and they’re easy to work with. Just make sure the entire body is positioned forward of the hook point. Many poppers are incorrectly made with the body too far back, bocking the point and preventing hook-ups. Weedguards are optional, but I always bring a few weedless ones for throwing into lily pads and grass. Honestly, every part of this fly other than the body and tail is optional. It’s basically a platform you can experiment with, creating sleeker or bushier versions as needed.

ANOTHER NEWER CREATION, the Slumpbuster is known for tempting plus-sized river trout from their lairs. Such a fly is also usually good for bass (of any size), which this one very much is. The Slumpbuster tantalizingly fills the important—and often overlooked—food category of “small, meaty and not too flashy.” Bass might prefer a big meal, but they still have to eat when their ideal prey isn’t available. If you’ve ever looked at their stomach contents, bass in both rivers and lakes do eat a lot of bugs, small crustaceans and other less-glamourous food.

The crucial element of the Slumpbuster is its pine squirrel wing and collar, and there really is no substitute. Pine squirrel fur is shorter and thicker than other common fly-tying furs, such as rabbit, giving this smallish fly an extra-dense profile. Pine squirrel also looks beautifully alive in the water as it undulates. The result is a versatile fly for dead-drifting or swinging in current, while in slack water it swims with a subtle jigging wobble. You can’t go wrong with the classic creepy-crawly colours of rust, black, olive or the mottled grey-brown of the natural fur.