Quetico Mikes post about different lures reminded me a few years ago most likely prompted by Mike :) I bought a few Whopper Ploppers but I either got duds or I am not using them wrong?

When I cast mine out it sinks? Is this normal? To get it to stay on top I have to reel it immediately when it hits the water, then keep a pretty fast pace to keep it on top.

I do primarily use braid. I have 2 of these and both behave similarly so I feel like this is a me problem?

Any ideas?

T

I have used the River2Sea, Berkley and Academy brands without issue. I have tied directly to braid or with a steel leader and they all float. You need to reel briskly to get them to plain on top. I will pop them, stall them and vary the retrieve speed.
I've never had them sink. I use the 90's.

The only time I've had one sink is when it cracked from a slightly-too-long cast onto the rocks. Water got into it through the crack and it would sink.

Mine have never sunk. And I've only ever used them with braid. Yours have to be defective. It does happen - I bought a batch of Panther Martin trout spinners a few years ago that wouldn't spin properly.

My experience is with some brands when you cast it and let it set the tail section sinks and just the head of the bait is at the surface. Once you begin the retrieve the bait will surface. If that’s not the case you may have a faulty lure.

Try using a lightweight snap swivel as it really helps the Whopper Plopper not accumulate twists in your line. Works better than normal.

They shouldn't sink. If you use sinking line like fluorocarbon, or a wire leader, or a swivel, it can pull the nose down. Snaps are fine. Keep your tip up when working the bait, especially on long casts where the line is going to sit on the surface for most of the time.

Assuming you figure out your issue, I like to pop them, not just straight retrieve. Retrieve them at the speed that gives the loudest plops if you're going to just reel them in, which is usually somewhat slow. I will often pause and pop/burst them near cover just like you'd do with a popper. Doing this with straight braid can be tough because there's no stretch in the line, but it's possible. I always run braid to mono leader, or straight mono on a baitcaster, when fishing topwater, to ensure the line floats and to give it some stretch.

Whopper Ploppers are a top water lure. Braid, mono or fluorocarbon line they should float. They will catch smallmouth bass like no other lure because of the commotion they make. Even the Musky guys have designed the same profile only bigger for the musky topwater bite in late summer. You possibly got a bad one or you cracked it and it’s full of water.

Appreciate the suggestions. I think I need to head to a pond or pool and experiment a little. You have inspired me to figure it out.

T

It sounds like you're using a buzz bait. Those will operate exactly as you described.

Otherwise, if you're actually using a plopper style bait and this is your experience, I'd get my money back. A whopper plopper is very easy to fish, and should float out of the box without any special effort. Personally I'd stick with the brand name RiverToSea or the Berkley Choppo. There are also some descent knock offs at places like Bass Pro.

I'd avoid buying the weird brands off Amazon.

I just did some ploppin and mine floats nose up only then starts plopping at the surface right away when you reel in. You can reel any speed it’s gonna plop. Think iceberg, at rest 98% of the lure is underwater. Maybe you didn’t see it but you shoulda heard it - plop plop. Sucker’s got sharp hooks and the spinner tail spins just looking at it. Good luck.

I read a description of the lure on a tackle supplier’s site and it said it was originally a musky lure designed by Larry Dahlberg. I think someone mentioned that.