Who would have thought that Poe Lure’s 8” Awaker would inspire a Bass bait half its size? Who would have thought that the bass bait would cost almost as much? Since Dahlberg’s Whopper Plopper is firmly established as a fish getter, I was glad to see a lower cost plopper appear in Barlow’s lure lineup. If you are handy at basic lure building and painting, you can get in the plopper game without taking a second mortgage to cover the $15 cost of the Dahlberg model.
It comes in 3.5”, 4” and 5” sizes for $7.00, $7.50, and $8.00 respectively. You do have to finish the body and add hooks. Since clear baits have become popular, you might consider just painting on eyes and gills.
For the one I built, I decided to try out the new Jig Skin system-a sleeve that slips over the lure body and shrinks tight over the body when dipped in boiling water. I used their Perch pattern. Here’s what I started with.
PartsA by Michael Gerharz, on Flickr
Here is the lure ready to go into the boiling water.
Readytoshrink by Michael Gerharz, on Flickr
The results.
FinishedplopperB by Michael Gerharz, on Flickr