Poppers/Piper
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Popper and Topwater Fishing
Forum Description: If you're into a bit of action on top, this is the forum for you
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=51376
Printed Date: 05 Jun 2026 at 6:53am
Topic: Poppers/Piper
Posted By: Photofisha
Subject: Poppers/Piper
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 3:47pm
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How much drag should i have set on a spinning reel when throwing poppers and skipping piper for kingfish? And is it the same from boat/rocks?
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Replies:
Posted By: cal25
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 3:55pm
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I usually go 6-8KG |
Posted By: Bricky
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 3:55pm
| That's a good question...I was wondering what drag settings everyone else had in these situations. |
Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 4:42pm
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[QUOTE=cal25] I usually go 6-8KG What made you choose that setting cal25? |
Posted By: xsspeed
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 4:48pm
| to add to PF's question , at what line strength? and would you/could you use the same on an OH reel? |
Posted By: cal25
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 4:49pm
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PF - Basically 1/3 of my 24KG braid im spooled with.
I say 6-8 KG because if often mucked around with during my trip.....seemed to work OK with a few kings hooked up etc.....not a major one yet tho.
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Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 7:04pm
If am using poppers i go for a lighter drag...seen heaps of people put too much drag on and pull the hooks.....When the kingi hits you can hook it anywhere,that hook could be in its face and will pull easily with too much drag...With a piper i would go for it as they inhale those..Just my two cents worth.....Plus i want my popper back,so i try not to piss the fish off 2 much ....If in deeper water,you have more room to play with. I hooked a king at the barrier once on a popper(rocks) and he didnt even do a run....Just wound him in(not big though)....Laidback king!
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Posted By: Bungel_
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 9:33pm
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I would set around 5kg. Just gotta know your reel and how much to turn the drag to set it to the nominal setting. 8kg if fishing 24kg line. 5kg would be enough to set the hook, and you can always hold the spool for a quick few sharp strikes to set that hook solid before cranking the drag up. 8kg of drag might catch you a bit off guard on a sudden strike. ------------- here fishy, fishy fishy..... |
Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 9:58pm
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Thanks some good advise there..also on the subject of poppers do you guys get rid of the trebles and go with a single hook i believe the trebles can do alot of damage to the fish which isnt good if you want to release them. Whats the best style of hook to use as a replacement? |
Posted By: Kenshin
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 11:00pm
5/0 - 7/0 livebait hooks is what I use. ------------- Be patient and calm – for no one can catch fish in anger. –Herbert Hoover |
Photofisha wrote:Posted By: BeachedAsBro
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2010 at 11:21pm
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I also use livebait hooks. Usually 8/0 Owners which are very strong and with short shanks. You've gotta make sure that the hooks can't get caught around each other during the cast and landing which can happen with hooks with longer shanks. I usually also attach a ball bearing swivel to the front of the popper if I have replaced the hooks as I'm never 100% if the strength of the split rings has been undermined in the change over process (the gauge is pretty thick on those Owners).
(Edit shafts to shanks  My bad - WTF?!)------------- Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish caught will we realise we can't eat money. |
Posted By: Cheeko
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2010 at 12:46am
I had a good kingi a couple years back straighten the trebles on a Rapala Popper - the drag wasnt cranked that much, though it was towing me and the 12 footer around a little bit
 I replaced the trebs with some long shank 6/0 Gamakatsus - forget the exact model though and they have worked well on a few kings. As beached as mentioned ensure that they are not going to tangle with each other during casting!!
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Posted By: Bungel_
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2010 at 4:04am
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Not a fan of trebles at all. just too much carnage for the fish that gets hooked up. Have read up a bit on the use of freehanging assist hooks being used too. Same as you would on a jig. I expect they would work pretty damn well also. Decent sized livebait style hooks would be the go. Though a strong gammy works well in piper skip baits. ------------- here fishy, fishy fishy..... |
Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2010 at 9:21am
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Ok shows how much i know...NOT.. i thought you replaced the trebles with 1 single hook. So is it 2 or 3 singles that you use?
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Posted By: Bricky
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2010 at 10:43am
| You do replace the trebles with a single hook. 1 single hook for each treble (so 2 singles). |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2010 at 11:06am
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I prefer to run 2 up front and 1 down the back. Has worked for me pretty well.  Also use smaller livebait hooks. My hooks do just touch thought and can hookup on casting - happens maybe 1 in 20 or 30 casts though so not too annoying really as long as ya dont miss a hookup which hasnt happened yet but always could.
I dont like to run heaps of drag when just casting and retrieving. Have it set only couple kg so they hit , turn and run a tiny bit and then crank it up and get in to em. Beauty of some reels is that they are pretty sensitive to relatively small turn of the drag knob. As long as ya know about how far to go it can work really well. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2010 at 12:09pm
Do you tie those two hooks together with a cable tie jk?or free moving..you tie straight to the split ring is it? no solid ring? I find the biggest problem with the trebles is if the fish gets the popper right down its gob! bloody hard work getting it out from there,especially if hooked in the roof of the mouth |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2010 at 12:18pm
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Yep cable tied to split ring. Use good ones though and replace after fish if need be. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2010 at 12:20pm
| Thanks for the tips there. |
Posted By: EditB
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 7:34am
I had John @ Yeehaa rig some poppers and stickbaits for me yesterday and change the trebles out similar to JK's, only difference being he rigged the tail hook like a short jig assist hook and we added a ball swivel in the nose. With luck they'll do some damage to the local GT population in Aitutaki in a couple of weeks  ------------- I do not lie about fishing, I willingly participate in a campaign of misinformation. |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 7:59am
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They look good Brenton - assist hook vs swivel on the rear doesnt seem to make much difference IMHO. But would makes a shorter connection so would eliminate the problem of the rear hook catching the others. I see you've got both there so be good to get your view after using each.
I also usually run a ball bearing swivel up front - none shown in my pic but just tied that up in the garage a while back to show how the hooks were done.
Good luck at Aitutaki mate! ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: EditB
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 9:00am
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I think John was of the opinion that the assist style helped give the popper a 'rudder', not sure if you can see from the photo but the kevlar goes thru both sides of the hookeye, keeping it aligned with the popper. It also reduces two extra pieces of tackle (swivel and splitring) and as you point out makes it shorter, rigged this way the hooks can't catch each other. The top popper came prerigged with the swivel. I'll be better informed as to their performance in a couple weeks (only slightly excited now!  )------------- I do not lie about fishing, I willingly participate in a campaign of misinformation. |
Posted By: one leg
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:11am
why do you guys fish with 3 hooks wheres the fun there i would be to worryed i would catch a good fish and it would mean nothing  ------------- woman who say they are equal to men ,show lack of Ambition . |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:15am
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we also are fishing with braid bas.... ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: one leg
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:23am
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Braid is ok JK but why 3 hooks ------------- woman who say they are equal to men ,show lack of Ambition . |
Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:28am
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Are you using braid when throwing poppers/pipers from the rocks JK and if so what sort of length leader do you use? I thought it would be far too risky using braid near the rocks!
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Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:32am
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Not ok for the nationals and NZBGFC records mate (as far as I know) and unless its IGFA tested its most likely gonna over test anyway.
Unsure how the fun factor changes too Bas?? I go fishing to catch fish not weigh in records. The fun bit for me is the targetting and catching of the fish not the paper work or certificate on my wall.
2 hooks seem to works best up front with 1 on the rear - well proven by many of those who have been doing this type of fishing for a long time now. Seems to make sense for alot of us relative newbies to this style of fishing to copy from what they are doing so successfully. Sheepish I know but it seems to work well.
I guess we could go and buy a proper double and run that up front but the way we are fishing them works just as well and I'm not out targetting records with this gear. Just having some fun and catching a feed which btw still tastes exactly the same  ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:36am
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Sure am photofisha. Using xzoga PE5 braid which is awesome.
Leader is long enough that I get about 1m from the tip of the rod down to the lure and still have a couple of wraps of it around the reel. So would depend on rod length as to what length would suit.
I also fish softbaits off the rocks with braid without too much issue.
Just not a big fan of livebaiting with braid - mainly as I dont like to fish braid on big overhead reels. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: Photofisha
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:40am
| So i take it you use fluoro JK?...what sort line weight is good for the leader? |
Posted By: Bungel_
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 5:04pm
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What would you be running on a popper Baz, just a single hook on the rear? Most of my small-med poppers are rigged with just the single or double hook on the back, split ring with no swivel. Heavy Ball Bearing swivel on the top. But if the popper is getting up in size i would add a second Single hook to the mid section, or a Double hook on the back .. as you would with fishing a bigger dead bait.  A couple here i still need to change the hooks on, Too bad as they are good strong hooks. Just very necessary to have on.  Fluro is the way to go, you can get away with a thinner line because of the extra abrasion resistance. But you will also notice that its not very supple, so may loose a few metres with casting. If you go for a more supple line, you will need to up the breaking strain. 80-150lb i would expect - same as livebaiting. 80lb fluro or say 100-120lb mono ( again depending on how supple it is) Black Magic mono trace tends to be quite stiff so 100lb may be the goer for that. ------------- here fishy, fishy fishy..... |
Posted By: Work_Smart_Not_Hard
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 5:52pm
| Just a quick question and forgive my ignorance, if the Treb's look like the job do you guys ever just cut one of the hooks off the shank? |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 6:18pm
Depends where I am fishing mate but from 80-120lb is usually me and I quite happily will use mono in most situations as it sits on the spool alot better than springy old fluoro does. ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: one leg
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 6:49pm
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two hooks only ,George one mid one rear .as JK was saying WSNT if you caught the best fish of your life and wanted it noted 3 hooks is out side the rules of (club)combat, cutting one of the hooks off is ok usally all i do if only running on rear but find middle hook seems to hold better ..if your not worryed about it use the trebles but make's a hell of a mess of the fish if under size and have to return . ------------- woman who say they are equal to men ,show lack of Ambition . |
Posted By: one leg
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 6:51pm
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JK able to be used but as you say must test to weight and most dont .. ------------- woman who say they are equal to men ,show lack of Ambition . |
Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 7:34pm
Agree big time here Jk...i find black magic 80 or 100 pound supple stays on the reel nicely.Easy to tie knots and has some flex in it. cheaper than flouro too. |
Posted By: Michael Jenkins
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 9:59pm
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^gotta really haul on those tag ends before you cut them, BM supple is slippery stuff Has anyone had another king grab the poper as it's hanging from the 1st king's mouth? I've certainly seen KY grab what's left of a pillie hanging from another fishes mouth, have caught 2 snapper on the same bait before and even seen 2 gurnard come in on the same 1/2 pillie, given the way kings like to hang with their hooked up friends I can imagine it happening. |
Posted By: EditB
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:30pm
 I don't like trebles and am currently not chasing records. I don't intend on keeping any of the GTs I catch and would like to release with as little stress on the fish as possible (well, as much as getting a hook in ya gob and being skull dragged back to a boat doesn't stress a fish ). I currently have a sneaky feeling that I'm going to be more sore than fish at the end of day ------------- I do not lie about fishing, I willingly participate in a campaign of misinformation. |
Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:32pm
I always give my knots, all ive got mate before they hit the water....even my joining knots...Only then can you have faith in your knot...had a few fail in my time but usually due to old line playing up... Looks like one of those poppers is crimped to the swivel is it Bungel? I used to use cotton cordells years ago and just tied straight on the front...often with an open uni knot.......found it was no problem If you use braid,you wont get line twist anyway....As for the guy who doesnt favour braid off the rocks.....Ever seen that japanese guy fishing for GT'S in tonga (i think it was)off the rocks.....He caught a monster on 80 pound braid/stella......So if its good enough for GTs......Although we tend to have a lot of fowl around the place.....Either way, mono or braid wont get on well with rocks etc. |
Posted By: EditB
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:41pm
------------- I do not lie about fishing, I willingly participate in a campaign of misinformation. |
Posted By: BeachedAsBro
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2010 at 10:54pm
I replace both trebles with a single each and haven't found it to be a problem yet. ------------- Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish caught will we realise we can't eat money. |
Posted By: laidbackdood
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2010 at 8:38pm
Thats interesting |