Like other topwater lures, poppers and chuggers generally produce best during summer's low-light hours or overcast conditions. But following this generalization too closely can cause you to miss a good topwater bite.

THE PROPER POPPER
Poppers built for bass range in size from Rebel's 1/8-ounce P50 Pop-R and Lucky Craft's 3/16-ounce Bevy Popper that barely stretch two inches, to Storm's 4 1/2-inch 7/8-ounce Big Bug and the 1-ounce Yo-Zuri Mag Popper. Size matters but in ways you may not have considered.

Size: If you've spent much time pitching poppers, you've surely caught numbers of largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth bass whose length barely exceeds that of the bait. Bluegills, too, will nip a popper, as if it were an overgrown grasshopper. Poppers get the attention of fish in shallow water and those holding near the surface over greater depths.

Their spitting and blooping, and quivering at rest mimic the most vulnerable prey a bass can find. The helpless looking bait, pinned against the surface, begs to be eaten with each pop or blip. And in the tiny brain of our finny adversary, a big splash sometimes is more attractive than a little one, particularly if big active bass are in the vicinity. As a rule, the bigger the popper, the larger the average size of bass caught on it. But not always. Midsize poppers, from about 1/4 to 3/8 ounce cover most situations.

Mouth Shape: The key to a popper, of course, is its concave mouth that catches water and causes surface commotion. The depth of cupping, angle of the cup, and sharpness of the edge determine to a large extent whether the bait makes a bloop or boil, a quiet spit, or some other combination of commotions. These actions, of course, depend as well on the retrieve. The shape of the lure's mouth also affects to what extent the bait will walk back and forth in a walk-the-dog pattern during a steady snapping retrieve.

POPPER PRESENTATIONS
Slow Retrieves (Bloopin'): Original instructions in the Hula Popper box recommend casting the bait, then letting it sit till the ripples subside, then giving it a pop and repeating the procedure until the bait moves past a high-percentage area. That's the way anglers started fishing the first Pop-R, and this retrieve can be deadly for all species of black bass.

Where bass hold in thick weedbeds or under wood cover, the splash down and sharp bloops let them know something's there. The surface commotion suggests a small fish in its death throes, or maybe a frog hopping off a lily pad. Splashes, too, can stimulate bass to feed, as they think another fish has snatched a prey from the surface.

These cues may cause bass to approach cautiously or sometimes to zoom in on a lure for a closer look. A subtle twitch may be the final trigger for a strike. Or the skirted tail quivering in current can motivate an aggressive attack.

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