Popper Fishing :
We are fortunate at Groote Eylandt to have so many great sportfish to chase and there is no better way than luring them with poppers. The visual strikes are what excite the anglers who travel from all parts of the world to chase Longtail Tuna, Giant Trevally, Queenfish, Spanish Mackerel, Coral Trout and around the rivers and headlands the mighty Barramundi.
In the saltwater most fishing is done around bait balls, reef ledges and sand spits. Poppers are designed to float on the surface and usually have a cup face with allows for a splashing or “bloop” when the lure is pulled forward. It’s this “bloop” which excites the predators as the wounded baitfish crawls its way across the top of the water. Big predators like the easy chance of a feed and crunch the popper in a visual explosion. This visual strike is what keeps anglers casting these floating chunks of timber with swaying hooks for hours. The technique varies only slightly with a slower bloop exciting fish sometimes more than a constant faster bloop of the popper. Once the technique and casting is down pat, then hooking up to some quality sportfish is a real chance.
These days we like to use our longer more powerful Shimano T-Curve Combos to shoot the poppers out over the feeding zone. We generally use 30lb braid with a 50 to 80lb trace unless some big Giant Trevally are a chance and we then up our tackle to 50lb braid. The lures we use are a mixture of brands with Halco Roosta Poppers a handy all rounder for this type of fishing. We like to run a single Gamakatsu hook at the rear with twin singles in the middle for a better hook up rate and easier removal from the fish.
Barramundi are another ambush predator that can be caught on popper. Often feeding on Mullet and Garfish up on the surface a Barra will lay in ambush to quickly inhale any stray baitfish. Early morning and late afternoon are peak times for this type of fishing. Barra just can’t resist a slowly popped lure, sometimes following the popper out and sitting poised just below before a gentle twitch from the angler sees the popper disappear in an explosion of white water. On clear water days Barra can be seen stalking the lure before striking, while in dirtier water Barra often strike several times before finally hooking up. All exciting fishing.
