# **** Pops



## b0whunter (Mar 7, 2005)

Coming down in a few weeks for our annual Tarpon (Shark) trip. Haven't seen much talk of Tarpon sightings this year boo hoo. Can anyone tell me where I could buy some **** Pops in the Galveston area? I have heard that they work well in LA. and I'd like to try something different. Any other Tarpon info would be great! Thanks.


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## cabolew (Aug 12, 2005)

FTU should have some.


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## sportsman (May 18, 2006)

F.T.U. has them, 45 south ,exit fuqua on the right side of the gulf freeway 
just ask a salesman , i got some of them a few days ago


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## Scott (May 24, 2004)

Make your own. Get some jigs - 2-3 oz jig heads. Cut the skirt off and cut the hooks off about 2/3 the way down. Bend the hook up so it will hold a bait tail. Get some electrical ties. Attach to the hook and then add an electrical tie to the hook behind where you put the jig electrical wrap and put superglue on the electrical tie that is going on the hook. Works great for me. That's how I make them. I don't like the FTU ones for a couple reasons. First, they have flat heads - they suck for trolling. Two, the whole skirt action is just wierd to me. Lot of extra water resistance you just don't need. Especially for trolling.


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## b0whunter (Mar 7, 2005)

Thanks guys. Scott have you had any success in Texas with those home made pops?


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## Scott (May 24, 2004)

tons and tons with the ones described above -- or are you talking about the recent photos I posted. Those haven't gotten wet yet.


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## Wading Mark (Apr 21, 2005)

How castable are the new ones you made? How does the action compare to the standard **** pop?


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## hmp2037 (Sep 6, 2006)

guys,
A buddy of mine has been making them this summer for the guides on the upper gc. they look really well and he has a bunch of different colors. the ones from FTU dont hold a candle up to these. If you are interested, pm me for his number. I think he is selling them for 5.50. Great price for the quality of the product.


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## garyatcb (Aug 15, 2007)

Scott, Could you post a pic of the finished rig?


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

I've been making them with a 1/2, 1 or 2 oz egg sinker. Run a 1ft piece of #14 stripped copper wire thru an egg sinker, with needle nose plyers make a cork screw on one end of the egg sinker (with the copper wire)for the grum tail to screw onto, and wrap the other end of the copper wire tightly around a #16 circle hook. Make sure the sinker is tightly secured between the hook and grub tail. I started making them like this last year and was very impressed with the results. Even for casting I use a circle hook. I'm anti treble hook for these extra large tarpon. Between my boat and another I personally witnessed 6 fish lost on trebles in a one hour time period. I switched to a circle hook for casting and have had awesome results. When casting make sure to lay the rod tip to the water and let the fish set the hook. Also with the different size egg sinkers you can fish different water depths when trolling.


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## Scott (May 24, 2004)

My home made ones are a bust.

Here is my take why. The plastic used to make them, while being heavy on land, is not very dense - i.e. it tends to have some buoyancy. They lay on their sides when trolled. - not ideal. The hook is more dense and balances it out.

I have not made any fishable ones with weights in them. I made one original prototype but it came out at 5+ ounces and then started making them without any weight whatsoever. I am going to go back and try and add some lighter weight to them and see what happens. If I can, I'll make a couple this week and test them maybe soon. I'll keep you posted.


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## haparks (Apr 12, 2006)

while i was down fer the week in galveston i went to marburgers-academy --islanders--ftu--and one other i cant even remember i dropped some bucks at all the stores--but the only place that had **** pops was FTU


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## Scott (May 24, 2004)

FTU **** pops aren't the right kind - I don't like them -- hooks too small etc. Make your own.


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