How to Tie Bass Deer Popper Lures

Few things are more exciting or satisfying than catching a fish on a fly you have tied yourself. When fishing for bass with your own deer hair flies, the excitement level is even higher because these flies frequently elicit some ferocious strikes right on the surface of the water. Hard-bodied popping flies are another effective topwater option for the bass fly fisher, but deer-hair bugs are more versatile in that they can be fished in a number of different ways and can even be trimmed or shaved on the spot to modify their fishing characteristics.

Things You'll Need

  • Vise
  • Hook
  • Thread
  • Bobbin
  • Deer hair
  • Scissors
  • Hackle feathers
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Instructions

    • 1

      Attach the hook to the vise in such a manner that the hook shaft and the hook point are both exposed.

    • 2

      Wrap a layer of thread around the back half of the hook. Affix two hackle feathers to the hook by wrapping the thread over the base of the hackle feathers back to the point where the hook shaft meets the hook bend. The tips of the hackle feathers should extend well beyond the bend of the hook to form a "tail" of sorts.

    • 3

      Place a small quantity of deer hair fibers along the top of the hook shaft and loop the thread over the middle of the deer hair fibers. Wrap the thread over the middle of the deer hair fibers a second time while exerting some pressure on the thread. This pressure will cause the deer hair fibers to flare outward and form a bristling deer hair ball.

    • 4

      Use your thumb and forefinger to pull the bristling tips of the deer hair backward to compact the deer hair. Wrap the thread over the shaft of the hook directly in front of the compressed deer hair to keep the deer hair compacted.

    • 5

      Continue adding more deer hair to the fly by repeating steps three and four. Eventually the entire hook shaft will be covered with compacted deer hair. At this point tie off the thread and trim away the tag end of the thread.

    • 6

      Use your scissors to shape the compacted deer hair into whatever form you desire. Later, if a particular deer hair bug is not working, you can actually change the shape of that bug while further trimming the deer hair while on the stream..