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Best Popper Rod

Omnia collects thousands of detailed fishing reports from anglers across the country to power our local recommendations. Here are the top Rods recommendations for using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique mentioned in fishing reports from anglers near you.

St. Croix Victory Casting Rods

$200.00 – $275.00

Reported by
KC

Lake Ann (MN)

KC reported catching Largemouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and St. Croix Victory Casting Rods on Lake Ann. Additional comments from this report: "Had a great early morning bite. Was able to hook up 2 times but sadly was only able to land one 18.5 inch bass on the hula popper and lost one after he wrapped me up in some Lilly pads and spit the hook. You can’t win them all but it sure is fun trying!!! Over all a pretty good 4 hours of fishing "

Reported by
Kail’s Fishing Reports

Kabetogama Lake (MN)

Kail’s Fishing Reports reported catching Smallmouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and St. Croix Victory Casting Rods on Kabetogama Lake. Additional comments from this report: "Love the Top Water! Use your electronics or a lake map to find a shallow humps. Start casting the deeper edge and then work your way up that way you won't spook the fish as much. I like to use a braid mainline but you could use mono for a mainline as well, if you use braid tie a mono leader direct to the mainline about 6' to 8'. When the Smally hits wait 5 seconds for it to be able to get the bait into is mouth, don't set the hook immediately. Use a moderate action if you have one. You can use a snap or tie direct to the bait, most of the time I tie direct. The bigger the rocks the better! Good Luck"

Reported by
Chad Lehr

Lake Rooty (VA)

Chad Lehr reported catching Largemouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and St. Croix Victory Casting Rods on Lake Rooty. Additional comments from this report: "Spent a couple of hours at Lake Rooty this morning throwing a Storm Arashi Cover Pop in Bluegill color. Caught a total of 2 LMB between 1 and 2 pounds. Both were shallow and along the edge of the weedline. "

St. Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rods - EOL

$150.00

Reported by
Mark Ripp

Black Hawk Lake (WI)

Mark Ripp reported catching Largemouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and St. Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rods - EOL on Black Hawk Lake. Additional comments from this report: "Water temps have cooled down to the low 70’s and stained clarity. Switched between a Jackhammer and a Spro E pop 80. Most of my fish came walking the popper at a brisk pace. "

Reported by
Nonstop Panic Outdoors

Lake Erie

Nonstop Panic Outdoors reported catching Largemouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and St. Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rods - EOL on Lake Erie. Additional comments from this report: "This day was an absolute hammer fest with the Megabass Popper! Started off the day targeting shallow smallmouth on a rip-rap bank, then went on to target some green fish down the river. Both fish came up and absolutely smoked this thing about 5 docks apart from each other. Both of these fish were over 4.25lbs, a true giant for the Upper Niagara River!"

Reported by
Chad Lehr

Lake Rooty (VA)

Chad Lehr reported catching Largemouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and St. Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rods - EOL on Lake Rooty. Additional comments from this report: "Overcast today and cooler temps after 3 hot days in a row. Walked the popper and then would pause for a few seconds. Ended up catching 4 today and each bass hit on the pause."

Shimano Expride B Casting Rods

$279.99 – $309.99

Reported by
Dupree

Lake Michigan (IL, IN, MI, WI)

Dupree reported catching Smallmouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and Shimano Expride B Casting Rods on Lake Michigan. Additional comments from this report: "It was a great day to be a patriot! This 4th of July in Chicago the lake was glass calm in the morning, allowing me to fish some topwater. Caught two smallies on this popmax that was perfect for the occasion, and then a couple more on the crankbait listed. GREAT ‘Murica Day! "

Reported by
Phelptwan

Hutchens Lake (MI)

Phelptwan reported catching Largemouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and Shimano Expride B Casting Rods on Hutchens Lake. Additional comments from this report: "Dead calm and an AMAZING amount of fog when we first got out. Water clarity was nuts as well, could easily see 15'+. Immediately got onto a top water bite and we probably caught 20-25 fish on poppers during the morning. We caught another 15 on assorted jerkbait, stickbait, and one decent one (see pic) on a chatterbait. The technique was a slow pop and sit with the top water, after 2 seconds or so they were just getting sucked down beneath the surface, barely a splash. We were targeting the deep patches of submerged vegetation for bigger fish. Casting up near the docks would get us fish as well, but they were much smaller. Lake has a no wake before 11, after 7:30 rule and at 11 it went nuts. We were getting swamped by the rec boaters and it started getting dangerous, so we got off the water."

Reported by
Jackie Au

Honeoye Lake (NY)

Jackie Au reported catching Largemouth Bass using the Hard Topwater (Popping) technique and Shimano Expride B Casting Rods on Honeoye Lake. Additional comments from this report: "Saw a few blowups late morning so I tied on a popper and got a few of them to bite."

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Omnia Fishing helps anglers find the right gear from our massive inventory of 18,000+ items. We provide personalized tackle recommendations based on the relationships between species, style, lake characteristics, season, community fishing reports, patterns, and products. We make sure you only see the products that make sense for you, on the lakes you fish, at the right time of year.

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