FISH & BOAT, April 2019- P51 Popping Plastic Perfection By Dan Kaggelis action and noise as possible. One of the things I really like about When it comes to surface fish-ing with poppers, hard bodylures dominate the market.this softy is its weight, and both the miniand standard sizes have excellent cast-ing weight. You can throw both a mile The reason for this is simple. Your tradi- on heavy gear without having to worry tional soft plastic lures are generally too about the plastic sinking. This is ideal as flexible to achieve the rigidness needed many other soft plastic poppers in the to push water. However, don’t despair past have been very light and required soft plastic fans, as the gurus at Berkley light gear which is not ideal when you have put their heads together and devel- are fishing close to timber or for large oped a unique little soft plastic popper fish like barramundi. The other awe- which will blow your mind. The plastic some point is that it’s such a simple de- in question is the Power Pop Frog from sign that it lands right every time, the the Berkley Power Bait stables of soft legs don’t get caught up, and you can get plastics. If you fish soft plastics, you will popping right from where it lands. know that Berkley is no ‘David’ in the The hook design is also awesome, and world of soft plastic fishing and is one each lure comes with a super strong sin- of the true ‘Goliaths’ not only here in gle worm hook which is easily threaded Australia but also worldwide. They have through the body of the soft plastic. been at the forefront of many soft plastic This makes the lure super weedless and designs, and profiles and the PowerPop can be worked over lillies and through Frog is no different. timber without any worry of hooking To start with, they have developed a up or snagging. When fished this way, soft plastic body which is strong enough it is really an all-terrain popper. In fact, to provide the rigidity needed to throw when you pop it over lillies, it really has water but still soft enough to achieve a realistic hopping motion and with its that soft plastic flexibility and feel. dangling tails really does resemble a frog They will often swipe at the lure and When you put it between your fingers hopping over the surface lillies. get a taste of it bringing them back for and squash down on the body, it almost However, if you want to enhance your more. They also come in a range of eight feels like a piece of sponge. Don’t let this chances of a hook up this plastic lends colours; however the darker colours and feel fool you though as it is super tough itself ideally to the use of stinger hooks. more natural colours seem to work the and almost impossible to rip or tear and You will notice in the pictures, that I best on our native fish. I have found them will last a very long time over many fish. have attached a stinger to the underbelly to be super deadly on barramundi, espe- The first time I spied the Berkleyof the plastic via a very simple method.cially when fished at night. The Berkley PowerPop Frog was several years ago in Just pick yourself up some Mustad PowerPop retails at an affordable $8.95 a tackle shop in Tokyo. I grabbed one Fastach Clips, and using a set of split which is a bargain considering most ef- and brought it home for a fish, and it ring pliers, thread a split ring onto the fective poppers can easily push over the was quickly devoured by all manner ofeye of the clip. Next, thread a treble (I$20 mark. If you love your surface fish- hungry mangrove jacks until it was lost like to use tournament grade Gamakat-ing and want to mix it up, I would highly to a freight train of a fish which I just su Number 6 hyper shields) onto thisrecommend the Berkley PowerPop Frog couldn’t stop. Thankfully, this plastic split ring which will now see your clip in both sizes. If you want to check it out has finally made its way to Australian attached to the treble. Now, it’s simply in a little more detail, have a glimpse at shores and not only is it available in just a matter of clipping the Fastach Clip the short video (mentioned above) which the 70mm but also the smaller 50mmonto the underbelly of the worm hook,will give you a taste of its potential. size which is known as the Mini Power- and your stinger is ready to go. When Pop Frog. The Mini is perfect for those you don’t want to use a stinger anymore, sweet water species such as sooties, jun- you can just simply unclip it and put it gle perch and bass which love to smash away for another day. This stinger set up frogs off the top of the water. can be used on many soft plastics, but it This plastic at face value looks very works a treat on this popper. If you want much like your traditional popper with to see how this works just check out a cup faced mouth which tapers downthe video (on Fish and Boat Tube and to the end of the plastic. Trailing behind the Facebook page for Fish and Boat) the plastic is a mass of spaghetti-like which goes with this month’s edition. plastic tails which resemble the legs of I like to have a range of clip and treble a frog. When sitting still in the water, sizes already built in my tackle tray so I this plastic will float leaving the tail like can adjust the set up to suit the area I legs to waft in the current creating an am fishing. If it is snaggy with the oc- awesome fish attraction. However, start casional lily, I’ll opt for a shorter smaller working the plastic like a traditional clip with a smaller treble which you can lure, and it throws plenty of water and even pin to the body of the popper. You’d creates plenty of sound and bubbles as be surprised how weedless this plastic is well. Work it with short pumps, and it with this setup. If I am fishing out in bloops loudly with minimal plash which the open, I’ll opt for a longer clip with a is perfect for working tight in snags for larger treble to give me every chance of jacks or barra. Throw your shoulder into a solid hook up. it, and work the softy hard and fast and The Berkley PowerPop like all Berkley it throws plenty of water which is more PowerBait range has a built-in flavour suited for those open areas where you and scent which is awesome in getting are trying to draw fish in with as much that fish to come back for a second bite. 7.3 Metre Cat This custom-built power cat has twin 140hp Suzuki outboards with long range fuel tanks in place, providing 540 litres in total. It is built with all non-rot materials with a solid glass in the layup. The top is made from glassed over structural 80kg foam. It has a toilet and shower with a main double bed and storage bins. Lights in the cabin and a kitchen sink with cold water tap. Navigation with Ray- marine 10” plotter sounder and radar, marine radio and AM FM radio with down light in the The Tri hull 4.5 is resin infused with vinyl ester resin and all console. Rear deck light and large storage kill bins, one with insulation all round. Electric glassed over and overall weight is a very light 193kg. Thisanchor winch with s/steel anchor. All safety gear on board. Trailer is a full breakaway sea place. Max people is four and max HP is 60hp. It is a verylink type and will need a vehicle with three-ton towing capacity. A Noah Thompson design well. The engine and boat can be towed on a unbrakedand custom built by Sandy Straits Marine. trailer making it an all-round cheaperboating option. Built to last with all non-rot materials.