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The Hula Popper: Excitement in a Skirt

Posted on August 6, 2008

Besides the beetle spin, one of my other favorite lures is the Hula Popper. I would say this is probably one of my most productive top water lures. The Hula Popper is a fun and exciting lure to use. The strikes on a Hula Popper can be startling. When used properly it creates a loud popping noise due to the concave design at the mouth of the lure. The Hula skirt on the tail adds a visually enticing add on to the noise the popper creates.

One must patient to use this bait. The Hula Popper should be fished very slowly and can be jerked to create a loud popping noise creating lots of vibration in the water or it can be twitched lightly and allow the tail to do the work. I use both methods depending on the water condition and what the bass are keying on. When starting out, I will run the popper close to the bank and other cover. If the water is clear I will twitch it lightly to allow the flash of the skirt and movement of the lure to do all the work. If the water is darker I give it the harder jerk to illicit the loud popping noise and create more vibration so fish can home in on the bait in the darker water.

The Hula popper is made by the Fred Arbogast Company. They come in a handful of shapes and sizes. The price range typically runs between $5 and $7 dollars depending on the size and your particular market. For me the frog pattern 2 inches long and 3/8 ounce is always the best producer. However I am not all that big on the color as most Hula Poppers I have seen have the same color underbelly, which is what the fish see. When it comes to color I typically look at the color of the skirt.

Typical sizes of the Hula Popper are below:

1 1/4″ long – 3/16 ounce weight
1 3/4″ long – 1/4 ounce weight
2″ long – 3/8 ounce weight
2 1/4″ long – 5/8 ounce weight

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