Understanding Poppers

I've always been intrigued by how lures work. It was a pretty radical idea that predatory fishes such as the Toman or Queenfish would readily gobble down a plastic fish. That was my admittedly dim view of lures.

There aren't a large number of lure fishermen in Singapore as compared to other countries such as the US or Australia. Having started off from casting baits such as dead prawns and sotong myself, and progressively moving on to live bait such as prawns, tambans and milkfishes, I do understand that most Singaporean anglers are content with casting their bait into the water and then kicking back to relax with a nice cold drink and a magazine while waiting for a bite. In the context of our fast-paced rat race, we usually dedicate our short weekends to "relaxation fishing" and that is probably the reason why we don't lure that much over here.

If you have not tried luring before because, previously like me, you have absolutely no idea what are the retrieval techniques to be used, and would like to try one that would be easy to use but yet highly effective towards predatory fishes, you're looking at the right page now.

Enter the Popper.

Described as "A floating fishing lure or fly with a cupped or flat, forward-facing indentation that splashes or "pops" the surface of the water when tugged.", the popper is a versatile lure that can be used in both freshwater or saltwater fishing. Most models also have rattles built-in to add sound that, well, helps to attract fish even more when the popper is retrieved. Popular models of poppers have been designed by big names such as Rapala and Storm. Some of the more popular models include the Rapala Skitter Pop, the Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug and the River2Sea Pop 88.

I'm sure that many will agree that nothing beats the thrill and excitement of striking a fish while retrieving a lure using different techniques. Poppers draw fish up from the depths, perhaps having been deceived by the sounds into thinking that baitfish are splashing around on the surface.

Rapala Skitter Pop

Now, how does the Popper make your angling trip much more interesting? Poppers are a fun way of catching predatory fish as these fishes often rise from the depths, attracted by the popping sound and thrashing water, to come to the top and smash a surface popper to oblivion. It's heart stopping and it gets your adrenaline pumping. A few examples of surface feeding fishes in our local waters that will readily accept poppers will be Todak, Giant Trevally and the much sought after Barramundi.

Even Barracudas can't resist a well placed and well retrieved popper.

Some poppers are built to sink slightly while some others float on the surface irregardless of whether the line is being retrieved or not. There are also certain models that will swim on the surface when retrieved slowly between pops and splashes. It all depends on choosing the right popper and technique to determine how many fish you will land.

A good general rule of thumb when it comes to deciding on how large a popper to use is that the deeper, darker, and rougher the water is, the larger the popper should be used to draw fish up from a greater depth.

Poppers that sink are normally heavier than others of the same size and shape and thus cast a lot further . These sinking poppers are suitable for beach casting where achieving a long distance cast is important to get to the bigger fishes.

Sinking poppers will require a rod that is a bit stiffer and longer to get it up on the surface and keep it there so it works properly when the line is being retrieved. Otherwise, it's movement will be erratic and the fishes will not bite.

Floating poppers, which are my personal preference, are good in a variety of situations and conditions. In areas where there are lots of rocks and little water depth, such as Tanjong Rhu or Lower Pierce Reservior, floating poppers will skim the surface with ease with a significantly much lesser chance of hanging up, or sangkut-ing, in local terms.

In instances where the popper is used for freshwater fishing, when the water surface is relatively calm, floating poppers can bring some explosive strikes. Fishing in these conditions early in the morning before the sun comes up or late in the evening as it goes down will reap the best results as freshwater predators like to feed during these times. Being able to keep the lure on the surface and in front of the fish's face helps immensely while trying to lure him to the surface.

While most sites write that attaching a swivel to a popper is sufficient, it is highly recommended that using a split ring attached to the front eye will help in making it work better, giving it more natural movement in the water. Split rings also don't open up accidentally during fights, unlike swivels. Poppers do cost quite a bit so taking this extra step is pretty crucial! Loop knots are also good to use when fishing poppers, commonly used by Fly fishermen. Being easy to tie, loop knots have very good holding strength on almost any mono leader when tied properly.

Poppers may be fished in many ways, keeping in mind that lots of frenetic motion and commotion generated by the popper will ensure it's success. One such technique is called skitting, where a steady retrieval of line while pumping the rod tip creates the commotion of a fleeing baitfish.

Another technique would be popping the lure, The popper is given a sharp jerk and rested intermittently. The slack line from the jerk is then reeled in between jerks. This makes the popper spit water quite a distance and creates quite a ruckus.

Other anglers simply use a steady retrieval of the line in freshwater and this works as well. At the end of the day, it all boils down to experimenting and finding out which technique works best for you.

The key point is to cast slightly further then where the fishes are and retrieve the line in an attempt to lure the fish to take a bite. Polarised glasses help a great deal when spotting for fishes. This was evident when Raymond spotted several Peacock Basses with his pair of polarised sunglasses while all I managed to see was the darkened reflection of the sun on the water with my normal shades.

Alright, back to the popping. When I tried out popping with Raymond's Pop 65, I did a simple twitch and crank retrieval. I guess taking into consideration the various methods available, you're bound to come across one that would suit you best.

Do give popping a try. I'm sure it'll enhance your fishing experience and give you a good arm workout at the same time. Tight Lines!

Solid Gold

Our visit to Bedok Jetty on a rainy National Day morning paid it's dividends when Dave managed to get a monster haul of nine Golden Trevallies during a fierce feeding frenzy. We wouldn't mind getting ourselves wet and cold for such a wonderful catch!

Meanwhile, we managed to witness Shoreangler land a gigantic Queenfish right in front of our eyes as we were nearby. He is undoubtedly the champion of all surfcasters in Singapore and setting new standards for big catches regularly. Congrats to him for such a gigantic catch!

South China Sea CR - 27 to 29 July, 2007

This post is a chronology of events that happened during our offshore trip to the South China Sea from 27th to 29th July, 2007, as seen through the eyes of The Peranakan Angler. It is quite a lengthy read so sit back, relax, and enjoy the pictures!

Day 1 - 27/07/07 (Friday)

0800 hrs - The anglers meet up at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal for a light breakfast at the Killiney Kopitiam prior to our departure at 0930. Seems like a lot of anglers were making their way to Tanjung Pinang judging by the numerous rod bags and ice boxes around the terminal.

0930 hrs - Time to board our ferry, the Wavemaster 88. The weather looks good. All the boys were psyched up about the trip.

1120 hrs - Arrival at Tanjung Pinang Ferry Terminal. Oh no, it was raining cats and dogs. We weren't going to let the lousy weather dampen our spirits though.

1125 hrs - We met up with our helpful and friendly driver cum concierge, Hussien before moving off to purchase some snacks and most importantly, drinks, before we moved to the jetty where our fishing boat was waiting for us.

1245 hrs - We arrived at the small seaside kampung where our charter boat was berthed. It was still drizzling. While our stuff was being loaded up to the boat, we took the chance to get some hot drinks and delicious otak-otak at the makan place beside the picturesque jetty.

1310 hrs - All aboard! The fishing boat started to depart the jetty. The eager anglers started to set up their rods and reels, and to chope their preferred "parking" spots around the boat.

1335 hrs - The hardworking deckhands started to break up the large blocks of ice to chill the drinks as well as to fill up the "Catch Of The Day" icebox.

1440 hrs - With the rods in place and rigs ready for action, the anglers managed to squeeze in some time for a photo session. The light drizzle didn't faze us one bit.

1425 hrs - The boat stopped by a jetty along the way to fill up the water tank with fresh water via a long flexible pipe. The chef served us piping hot fried turmeric chicken wings that everyone snapped up with glee. Some of the senior anglers went into the cabin to rest while the young ones stayed on deck to enjoy the wonderful view and sea breeze.

1515 hrs - The boat left the long channel it was in and began to venture into the open sea. This is the first time I have seen the South China Sea up close and it was simply beautiful. The blue of the sea was so stunning, it was hard to believe that sea water can be so bluish, like blue food dye! A sumptuous lunch of chicken wings, stir-fried vegetables and onion omelette was served.

1845 hrs - The sun was setting over the South China Sea as we approached our first spot. Seems like the skipper decided to bring us straight out into the far reaches of the open sea instead of stopping along the way. Some of us who had dozed off began to wake up to wash our faces and stretch our bodies.

1915 hrs - The skipper dropped the anchor for the first time and everyone dropped their lines into the deep blue sea like clockwork. The undercurrent was pretty strong. Within a few minutes, the first fish, a nice table-sized Kaci (Painted Sweetlips), was landed by Ho. This started a feeding frenzy where several Kaci, Leng Jiam (Pink Ear Emperor), Ang Kuey (Crimson Snapper) and Amoy (Coral Snapper) were landed on both apollo rigs and long snood bottom feeders. I personally landed 2 Kacis and 1 Amoy. Not too bad for a first-timer out at sea, I guess.

1930 hrs - I was talking to Ishak, who had just landed a Kaci, when my rod bent down in a sharp and sudden movement. "Kena fish already!" shouted Raymond and Ishak in unison as I raced over to my bent and wildly shaking Ugly Stik. Picking up the rod, I felt real resistance for the first time as I pumped and reeled in my rod furiously.

1935 hrs - "I think it's a stingray, man." exclaimed Ah Beng. "Quite good fight, huh" Whatever fish it was, it wasn't going to throw in the towel easily. Several times, I felt it cutting the water and running back out despite my constant pumping and reeling. "Sekali it's a big Bata* giving you a fight!" shouted Ho cheekily.

*The Remora, also locally known as a Bata after the local chain of shoe stores due to it's shoe-like shape when viewed from the top, is considered a pest as they often attach themselves under the hull of an anchored boat and chase after baits that are dropped from the sides of the boat. They live near sharks and other big fishes and feed off the scraps of these big fishes. Although edible, they are not known to be tasty and thus this could be the reason why they are not kept by anglers who hook them up.

1940 hrs - By now, the gang had crowded over the port side of the boat, urging me on. I was the noob of the team, after all, and their encouragement spurred me on while I tried my level best to pump this fish up from the depths of the sea.

1942 hrs - The fish was finally up. A good-sized deep sea Ang Kuey that was about 1.5 kg. "Haha, good fight huh? Snappers are all pretty strong fighters irregardless of their size." said Raymond.

2030 hrs - The sea was getting choppier by the minute and making everyone seasick. Rangit and Ah Beng were having very bad nausea and followed the senior anglers into the cabin to rest, leaving only Raymond, Ishak, Ho and myself on deck. We were determined to camp here despite the rough sea.

2115 hrs - Our resilience was repaid when Raymond's rod bent down hard and his reel drag started screaming like crazy. "Zzzzzzzzzz...." His line seemed to go out forever. Being a little seasick, it took him a while to realise it before he ran over to his rod. At the right moment, he raised his rod up and Bam! It was a strike! Fish on!

2125 hrs - 10 minutes of solid action and the fish was still fighting like mad. Raymond was equal to it and pumped hard on his rod with each action. "It's very heavy!" shouted Raymond.

2140 hrs - The fish was coming in. The deckie had a gaff ready while we waited eagerly to see what fish it was. Judging by the fight and the bend of Raymond's rod, it had to be a big one.

2143 hrs - The fish was about to break surface. Although we initially thought it was a shark, it turned out to be a humongous Ah Seng (Marine Catfish)! The deckies quickly gaffed it up and broke off it's three venomous spines before lugging it into the largest icebox. The monster tipped the scale at well over 5 kilograms. "Wah, good fight!" said a tired Raymond.

2218 hrs - Ho's rod started to bend like Raymond's. Within 10 minutes, he hauled in another Duri which was slightly smaller than Raymond's in terms of size, but equal in terms of the fight. The Duri started to shake around the deck wildly, prompting us to jump up onto the bench to avoid it's venomous spines.

2230 hrs - Deckie hauled in yet another Duri! Darn, there's a whole school of them here! Meanwhile, the co-pilot managed to get a Kaci double hook-up on an apollo rig from almost the same spot.

2245 hrs - Ho was one lucky guy. After he parked his rod for a short while, it bent downwards again. This time, he managed to get a Nurse Shark. Now that's a peculiar catch!

2305 hrs - Ho's rod started to bend once again. This time, he brought in a beautiful Red Emperor that weighed about 2 kilos plus.

2335 hrs - I fell asleep when I was awakened by the excited shouts of Ishak and Ho. It seemed that a giant school of bonitos was attracted to the light emitted from our boat. It was a beautiful sight to see a whole orchestra of bonitos swimming behind the boat in the middle of nowhere. Too bad the light wasn't strong enough for me to get any decent photos of the school.

2345 hrs - Ishak manages to land a couple of bonitos on handline. He was joking about how the bonitos convulsed like a handphone vibrator when they were hooked up. Pulling them on deck, the bonitos shook wildly and quickly. Ishak was right. They were convulsing as fast as, if not faster, than a vibrator! That earned them the term coined by us, the "Vibrator Fish".

Day 2 - 28/07/07 (Saturday)

0535 hrs - The sun was already beginning to rise when we got up from our deep slumber on the deck. It was good to see the sun once again after a whole day of rain. The sea was still a little bit rough, though. After dropping our lines into the water, Ishak, Raymond and myself took this chance to pose with our catches the night before.

Photos: Raymond with his Crimson Snappers (top), Ishak with a brace of Bonitos caught on handline (middle) and me with my Painted Sweetlips (bottom).

0700 hrs - The sky was turning dark once again and the skipper decided to raise the anchor and move away from the rainy area. While on the move, I captured this photo. It was sunny on one side of the open sea while raining heavily on the other.

0715hrs - Skipper decided to drop anchor at a new spot. The rain had caught up on us despite our efforts to get away from it. Well, no choice but to put on our waterproof jackets and fish in the rain.

0720 hrs - The chef served us a breakfast of bread with kaya and margarine, as well as hard boiled eggs. His hot kopi and tea was a real lifesaver in the adverse weather condition.

0730 hrs - Felt a tug on my line and reeled in the first fish of the day which was, horrors, a pesky Remora that was released back into the sea.

1030 hrs - Chef began preparing one of the Ang Kueys caught during the previous night's frenzy for lunch.

1218 hrs - Lunch was served. The Ang Kuey, which was fried with a delicious turmeric batter, was snapped up quickly by the hungry anglers. The flesh of the fresh catch was sweet and tender. Nothing like fishes freshly caught and eaten on the spot, huh?

1310 hrs - Time for a good shower while the boat was in transit to another spot. Ah... soap and water never felt so good.

1435 hrs - Skipper brought us to a spot nearby where another boat was already anchored. Hmm, could this be the spot where we can get some good fishes?

1508 hrs - Bam! Rangit's rod bends down and his reel starts screaming. A fight ensues.

1512 hrs - The fish broke surface and was netted by the deckhand. A nice 1.5 kilo plus Ebek! Great work!

1532 hrs - Rangit's rod bends again. He picks up the rod for another thrilling fight while Raymond's reel starts screaming at about the same time. The pair of anglers pumped and reeled hard while the rest crowded around them ,eager to see what fishes they had hooked up. This is turning out to be a really good spot!

1539 hrs - Rangit lands yet another similiar sized Ebekn and strikes a quick pose for a photo with his twin Ebeks. Raymond is still fighting hard.

1547 hrs - After a long and hard fight, Raymond lands his first Golden Trevally! He was extremely satisfied as the GT was one of his fishes on his wishlist for this trip. Nice work, bro.

1612 hrs - Raymond lands a nice Cobia.

2015 hrs - It was a moonless night and Ho managed to catch a sotong which swam alongside the boat's spotlight with a net. He aims the squirting sotong at the gang for fun and got everyone inked pretty badly. Deckie catches 2 more sotongs. The sotongs were then cut up and used as bait.

2100 hrs - Mama and Ah Beng both caught a Big Eye Jack each with sotong as bait. The rain started pouring relentlessly again.

2110 hrs - Deckie gaffs a nice Cobia landed by the skipper.

2118 hrs - My rod bends hard and I quickly tugged at it to set the hook. I could feel a large fish resisting me and I pumped away. It was pretty heavy and I knew this was going to be a big one.

2120 hrs - In the midst of my fight, Ishak's rod bent down hard too. He did the same and started fighting his fish.

2125 hrs - My fish was landed as the deckie scooped it in with his net. It was a 2.5 kg Bulat (Big Eye Jack)! It gave a pretty nice fight and although the size of this fish much to shout about, it's my personal best so far. My arms were extremely tired by now but I ran over to Ishak, who was still fighting away.

2140 hrs - Finally, after a long fight, Ishak's fish breaks the surface. It was a huge Bulat! After getting it on deck, Ishak quickly picks up his 3 plus kg catch for a photo.

2235 hrs - Fatigue had overcome me and I bid the rest of the hardcore anglers a good night as I went under the deck for the first time to get some beauty rest. The bed was hard and the mattress was thin,but it sure beat sleeping on the wooden bench and getting drenched half the time.

Day 3 - 28/07/07 (Saturday)

0430 hrs - I woke up a little groggy, which was probably due to the rocking motion of the boat. Almost three quarters of the other anglers were up on deck enjoying a hot coffee and bread when I went up. Boat was in transit so I sat down on the icebox for a quick cuppa and prepared an apollo rig.

0600 hrs - The boat was anchored and all lines were dropped. It was the last few hours of our trip so we wanted to make the most of it. In the horizon, I could make out the silhouette of an island. We were close to land once again.

0630 hrs - The skipper had positioned us close to a nice coral reef and Kacis, Amoys and Leng Jiams were coming up at a nice rate. I took a quick picture at the rear end of the boat at the break of dawn.

0715 hrs - Rangit takes up his bent rod once again for a good fight.

0725 hrs - Fish was landed and netted. A nice Nurse Shark that Rangit said would be good for Indian-styled Shark Curry!

0930 hrs - Lines up! Skipper decides that we should return to land as it would take a 3 hour ride.

0945 hrs - En route to the jetty, the deckies start to gut and clean the fishes.

0955 hrs - We took the opportunity to take some photos with our own catches the previous night while the deckies gutted away.

1100 hrs - The gutting and cleaning was completed. The anglers began to distribute the fishes among ourselves.

1300 hrs - Arrival at jetty. We survived the 3 days "Survivor at Sea" angling trip! Well done boys!

Fishes Caught:

The Big Ones
5 x Big Eye Jack (Bulat)
3 x Marine Catfish (Duri / Ah Seng)
3 x Cobia (Hai Luui)
2 x Ebek
2 x Nurse Shark
1 x Golden Trevally (Boon Nang)

Medium and Small Sized Ones
8 x Crimson Snapper (Ang Kuey)
15 x Pink Ear Emperor (Leng Jiam)
18 x Painted Sweetlips (Kaci)
3 x Coral Trout (Ang Kao)
2 x Orange Spotted Grouper (Kerapu)
1 x Tuskfish (Parrot)
1 x Red Emperor
1 x Fingermark Snapper (Ang Cho Ki)
1 x Blackspot Snapper (Dory Snapper)
1 x Stingray
3 x Bonito
37 x Coral Snapper (Amoy)