If you like watching them eat it on top instead of just feeling a thump down deep, a good topwater popper fishing lure is non-negotiable. This one keeps it simple: 7cm long, 12g in weight, classic cup face and tuned to sit on the surface so you can spit, bloop and pause your way along banks, grass lines and riprap without any drama.
The product details tell you what you need to know: a compact hardbait with a cup mouth, 3D eyes, colourful body and a “top water” running depth. The main version is the 7cm, 12g option, backed up by an 8.3cm / 9g size. Both carry high-carbon steel treble hooks and come in a range of colours (green, black, red, silver, yellow, gold and more) so you can match bright sun, low light or dingy water without thinking too hard.
In other words: it is a small baitfish profile with enough weight to cast a country mile, plus a face that pops, spits and calls anything looking up.
Why This Lure Works
Poppers have been catching bass so long that they keep turning up in “best of” lists year after year. In Outdoor Life’s best topwater lures for bass, the Rebel Pop-R gets singled out as a benchmark popper because that chug-and-pause profile just flat-out works. The shape on this little troublemaker is cut from the same cloth: short body, big mouth, nose-up attitude on the pause.
Topwater specialists on Wired2Fish talk about how a topwater popper fishing lure shines when you can make it “bloop” once or twice and then sit dead still. That hollow bloomp sounds like a wounded baitfish or something small sucking at the surface. Bass, carp and other predators are hard-wired to investigate that kind of commotion, especially around shallow cover where they already expect food.
This popper hits that sweet spot:
- Size: 7cm is small enough for plenty of fish to eat, but big enough to stand out around bait.
- Weight: 12g lets you sling it from the bank, over points or across big pockets without feeling like you are lobbing a marshmallow.
- Action: the cup face grabs water and spits, while the body rocks and flashes. On slack line you can even get a bit of side-to-side “mini walk.”
- Hardware: high-carbon trebles so when they do smash it, you actually land them.
How To Fish It
You do not need fancy rod gymnastics to make this topwater popper fishing lure work – just a decent cadence and a bit of patience. Pros in Wired2Fish’s popper tips pieces and Bassmaster’s “Foolproof popper patterns” all hammer the same idea: mix the pops and pauses until you find what they want.
1. Classic pop–pause retrieve
This is the money move:
- Cast tight to something “fishy” – grass edges, laydowns, docks, riprap, isolated stumps.
- Let the rings fade so the lure is just sitting there being suspicious.
- Give the rod tip a short, crisp twitch so the cup face spits and bloops.
- Pause for 2–5 seconds. Stare at your line. Repeat.
Articles and videos from popper nuts like those on Wired2Fish’s Mark Menendez popper breakdown show exactly this kind of rhythm – gentle pops, then long, painful pauses that give a following fish time to line it up and inhale it.
2. Tight-to-cover finesse
When the fish are in a mood but the water is slick calm, you can tone everything down. Cast the topwater popper fishing lure right up to the edge of a bush, grass clump or bed area, then just barely twitch it in place. Bassmaster’s finesse topwater pieces with Zell Rowland talk about how a little popper barely moving in place can out-fish louder baits when the fish are spooky. Think “sip” rather than “smash.”
3. Faster search mode
On overcast days or when you see bait flicking all over the surface, speed up. Cast long, point the rod tip down and go “pop-pop-pop-pause… pop-pop-pop-pause” to cover water. You are basically using the topwater popper fishing lure like a small search bait. When one finally blows up on it, remember to wait that half-second until you feel weight before swinging, otherwise you will just snatch it out of their mouth.
4. Bank tricks
If you are stuck on the bank, use that 12g weight to work long stretches properly. Cast parallel along the shoreline rather than straight out so the lure stays in the strike zone for longer. Major League Fishing’s write-ups and videos on topwater poppers show guys deliberately fan-casting banks and shade lines like this, just picking apart every little rock, stick and dark patch.
When To Use It
You can technically throw a topwater popper fishing lure any time you see bait near the surface, but a few windows are pure gold:
- Post-spawn into summer: Wired2Fish and Bassmaster both point out that poppers really shine once bass finish spawning and start guarding fry or cruising for easy meals – they are looking up and happy to murder something noisy.
- Dawn, dusk and overcast: Outdoor Life’s topwater tests note how much better surface lures play with lower light and a bit of ripple. Poppers are perfect here – noisy enough to call them up, but not as over-the-top as some prop baits.
- Shade lines and tight cover: even at midday, a popper worked in the skinny shade under trees, bridges or boat docks can make fish that look “done” suddenly lose their temper.
Whenever you see bait dimpling the top or hear little “slurps” and pops, that is the nudge to reach for the popper box.
Does It Actually Catch Fish?
Short answer: yes – if you give it the right conditions. Poppers keep showing up in lists of the best bass lures and best topwater baits because they consistently put fish in the net from late spring through autumn. They also crop up in loads of “topwater confidence bait” videos on YouTube and in Major League Fishing content where pros talk about which surface bait they reach for first.
This particular topwater popper fishing lure does everything you want it to:
- Compact and snack-sized for numbers days.
- Heavy enough to reach fish from the bank.
- Loud enough to pull bites when they are already looking up.
- Fitted with proper trebles so you do not just watch them fly off at the first headshake.
Gear Pairing
You do not need a dedicated “topwater only” combo, but copying the basics from the popper setups in Wired2Fish’s popper gear articles and Bassmaster’s topwater gear tips will make things feel a lot smoother:
- Rod: 6’6″–7′ medium or medium-light with a softer tip. Shorter rods help with accurate casting around overhangs and help you work that pop-and-pause without yanking trebles out.
- Reel: 6.3:1–7.1:1 baitcaster or a 2500–3000 size spinning reel. Nothing crazy – just something that picks up slack easily.
- Line: 10–15 lb mono or copoly is perfect. Mono’s buoyancy keeps your topwater popper fishing lure riding right and gives a bit of stretch so you do not rip hooks free on the strike. If you love braid, run a short mono leader for the same effect.
For more general rod and line help, the Best Bass Fishing Setup guide on BassFishingTips.US lays out sensible starting points. And if you are still figuring out where a popper fits next to frogs, walkers and buzzbaits, the Best Bass Fishing Lures for Beginners article gives a nice big-picture view.
Inside your own box, this lure sits nicely with a couple of other options from the shop:
- Use this popper for tight, controlled surface work around cover.
- Reach for a whopper-plopper style bait when you want a straight-retrieve “wind and grin” surface lure.
- Drop to a metal mini spoon or small crankbait when they stop looking up but are still feeding shallow.
Specs
- Type: topwater popper / wobbler crankbait
- Style: Popper
- Length options: 7cm and 8.3cm
- Weight options: 12g and 9g
- Running depth: Top water
- Body: hard artificial bait with colourful finish
- Eyes: 3D eyes
- Hooks: high-carbon steel triple hooks (size 6)
- Colours: Green, Black, Red, Silver, Yellow, Gold (plus variations shown on the product page)
- Position: sea and freshwater
- Brand: NoEnName_Null
- Model number: Poper Fishing Isca Artificials Lure Baits
- Quantity: 1 piece
- Category: LURE
FAQ
Is this topwater popper fishing lure only for bass?
Nope. Bass love it, but any predator that eats small baitfish near the surface will have a go – carp that slurp on top, perch, and even saltwater species in calmer inshore areas. If it hunts up, it can eat a popper.
When is the best time of day to throw it?
Dawn and dusk are prime, but overcast middays and strong shade are well worth a chuck. Pros in topwater articles on Bassmaster and Major League Fishing keep saying the same thing: if you see bait on top or good shade, it is worth running a popper through.
How fast should I work it?
Start slower than you think. Pop–pause–pop and let the rings fade. If you see lots of bait activity or missed strikes, then speed up the cadence. Let the fish tell you whether they want a lazy snack or something that is trying to get away.
Will 12g be too heavy for my normal bass rod?
Most medium or medium-heavy bass rods rated up to about 17–20g of lure weight will be absolutely fine. If your rod is properly light and rated for tiny lures, you might be near the top of its comfort zone, but standard bass gear handles this popper no problem.
Final Verdict
If you want more surface chaos in your life, this 7cm, 12g topwater popper fishing lure is an easy win. It casts well, pops cleanly, pauses beautifully and carries the right hooks to finish the job. It is not some over-engineered gadget – it is a classic little baitfish profile with a noisy mouth and a bad attitude.
Next time the lake is calm, the light is low and you can hear bait dimpling near the bank, tie this on, pop it past the good stuff and just wait for that violent swirl to turn into solid weight on the end of your line.
Fish hit this like they’re late for breakfast – pop it, pause it and be ready to lean into something angry.
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