Don't Throw a Whopper Plopper Unless You Fix These Things

The Whopper Plopper ain't as simple as it seems, folks. Don't agree? Tell me how wrong I am in the comments.
Favorite Ploppin' Setup:
7' MHF Daiwa Tatula XT - www.tackleware...
8.5:1 Curado DC Reel:
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Gear I Use:
Motor:
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My favorite fishing sun shirts:
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Favorite spinning reels:
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Favorite casting reels:
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Power Pole Micro:
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Anchor Wizard:
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#whopperplopper #riversmallmouth #bassfishing #fishingtips

[@btmbass8558]

The pop and pause retrieve gives you less line twist too

[@shawnwhalen8314]

The only mod I use is quality barrel swivel on the front. I use 90 and 110 size. 20lb braid, Diawa BG spinning reel, and usually my St.Croix Legend glass rod. This is my favorite way to fish, topwater river Smallies. I usually do a straight constant retrieve, sometimes fast or really slow, sometimes pausing....but the river Smallies are aggressive here in Michigan. I catch. A lot of fish and big fish. I will run my Plopper 90% of the time river smallmouth fishing. I use Perch dirty water and Pac Man clear water. It's literally a blast....Late summer and fall are my favorite times when the Bass are feeding for the winter school and attacking bait.

[@hunTN615]

This video was a Whopper Plopper game changer for me. Completely changed the way I view the bait. Thanks for the info! P.S. Daiwa owes you commission off me after I went a bought a tatula rod & reel to make sure I was throwing it on the right setup lol!

[@RivermanTV-]

Awesome to hear! Hope it works out well for you.

[@richardpatch6710]

I add a small swivel to front to keep from getting line twist. Gonna switch over to braid I like your thinking on that. Plus possibly a faster gear ratio. Nice video.

[@RivermanTV-]

I've done that in the past but I can be absent-minded at times and didn't like slamming the swivel into my rod tip when I reeled too far. I know others do the swivel thing when using fluoro or mono. I don't notice any line twist while using braid.

[@billhobson6637]

Great info! I like your color analysis and going light or dark instead of trying every color in the palette.

[@RivermanTV-]

It usually boils down to using light on a light day and dark in overcast conditions. I'll sometimes also switch sides if the fish are just straight up missing the bait over and over.

[@robs9349]

Totally agree, thank you for saying it. For top water baits, the lure is mostly silhouetted against a sky. How much difference can subtle color differences make? 👍

[@luke_8_17]

I retrieved it likes it’s alive. A bait that small would never in real life, have Arnold Schwarzenegger swimming strength. Never real it in fast.

[@RivermanTV-]

I will say that sometimes when fishing open water they will come after it with a really fast retrieve. It's surprising how fast bait fish are when they spook and even more impressive how fast smallmouth are. They can definitely get triggered by really fast movements but I'm definitely more of a pop and pause guy.

[@georgiahomegrownadventures]

I hardly ever do a steady retrieve like I've seen most videos tell you to do. In certain conditions, it's the way to go, but in most cases, the pop and pause method kills it. I love how you can fish this lure super slow while still making a decent amount of noise. I am having some major issues, though, with line twists. At first, the lures work fantastic, but after a few hookups, they don't work as well, and I'm getting serious twisting that's making the lures unusable. I'm thinking about trying a ring with a barrel swivel. Just curious how you've made out.

[@RivermanTV-]

Yeah, I get so many more bites on pauses. I know some guys say that a swivel helps with the line twist but I honestly don't notice it when I throw braid. I can see it happening from time to time but it doesn't affect anything enough bother me.

[@johnstafford4382]

What's funny is yesterday I went fishing on Lake Nottely and literally every spotted bass I caught was on an extremely fast retrieve. I figured it out when I was just reeling my bait in fast so I could get another cast off and wham-o. Maybe I need to switch to braid. Love the bait, but man, the line twists are a pain in the butt.

[@linendinetv]

Great tips! I have a Curado 6.2 to 1 for my current topwater setup and I've definitely lost fish because I can't get the line in fast enough.

[@RivermanTV-]

I did this a lot early days. Then during the late summer on a certain grassy river, I had to switch from trebles to a weedless bait (horny toad) and it was then that I realized there was no way I was ever going to be able to keep up with the fish/set the hook once they grabbed it. The treble hooks can be forgiving on a slower reel but that single hook just ain't. Lesson learned.

[@EngineeringHooksets]

2:00 tbh I don't think I've ever had an issue with line fraying while throwing a plopper. If you throw your line over a piece of cover that's a guaranteed snag while using a bait with treble hooks IMO. Also, when a bass looks at a lure on the surface of the water it'll always be looking up. I.E. whatever line you're using will be silhouetted against the sky. Mono is clear so the bass won't be able to see it as well. That being said, I can't imagine the line makes more than a 5% difference on getting bites in a river where the water is moving and the fish have less time to think. Not trying to hate 😅, you asked for this in the description. Nice video

[@RivermanTV-]

I tend to risk it for the biscuit in little 2x2ft openings in pileups which makes some line contact inevitable, and that's not even taking into account the miscalculated casts when throwing tight into laydowns. Sometimes the cost of a risky cast is a snag. I'm at peace with that price. Point taken on the silhouette. I generally try to keep my line 95% off the water with my rod position so I can control the bait's path better in current. I really doubt the fish are seeing any sort of line silhouette with branches above them as they come to wreck the top. But I do agree with you: even if they are seeing, the nature of reaction baits makes it more of a non-issue. The number of 20" class smallies I've caught on top with braid in clear water is too high for me to worry. Now a bottom bait that they can stare at, I absolutely worry about them getting line shy. No hate taken! Disagreement is good discussion.

[@fjkaiser]

I fish the plopper on a googan top water rod lews high speed real with 30# braid. I do the plop plop but I also rip it for a few feet then repeat. I almost always throw a 75 but sometimes go to the 90. Great info love the videos!! I almost exclusively fish the Wisconsin River.

[@RivermanTV-]

Solid setup for those strong Wisconsin River brutes! 💪

[@dougmiles6489]

I used a spinning reel with a medium heavy rod with 12 lbs text big game line. I don't have a problem catching smallmouth in my river. I live Pennsylvania

[@RivermanTV-]

Keep smashing em 👊

[@AddictedAngler]

in general when fishing river you should be using high speed reel ,

[@RivermanTV-]

Totally agree. Learned that the hard way back in the day.

[@AverageDadFishing]

Great stuff… so are you throwing straight braid?

[@RivermanTV-]

Yessir. The only reason I may not throw braid is because I need that setup for another lure later in the day that will be mid-column or on the bottom in clear water. That's typically not the case though.

[@seydoggy.fishing]

So I've had braid/fluoro vs pike fight on KZbin or Reddit so many times. I hook up with hundreds upon hundreds of pike per season, and braid is the line that almost never gets cut. But if I say that out loud I get piled on by the fluoro guys who tell me I'm wrong. They won't hear it any other way, except I doubt they've ever caught more than one pike in their life.

[@RivermanTV-]

Uh oh, I'm preparing for the fluoro brigade to stop by soon... Same with me. The number of break offs using braid is so low I can typically remember all of them and count them on one hand. I've had lots of heartbreak using fluorocarbon, however, even when it wasn't due to my own stupidity.

[@seydoggy.fishing]

@@RivermanTV- EXACTLY! I can remember damn near every braid break-off, they're so few.

[@ryanlundy2519]

I missed what brand and weight of braid you use?

[@RivermanTV-]

My two favorites are Daiwa Samurai Braid and Powerpro Super Slick v2. I mostly run 20-30lb unless it is on a heavy setup for frogging.

[@christopherlacoste2130]

You're saying one thing and contradicting yourself in another. The reason you don't use braid and stiff rods with topwater and crank baits is the same reason you say for not reaction slam setting the hook on a bite. Let them get the bait in their mouth and sharp hooks do the rest. And then lean into them? Kid, you have a lot to learn.

[@RivermanTV-]

Disagree. I'll take braid and a medium heavy fast every day for ploppers. Crankbaits are a different story entirely as braids floats/limits running depth. Training yourself to wait with braid is perhaps a little more important than other setups, but advocating for a pause certainly isn't contradictory if you understand the limitations of your own setups. What do 99% of people throw topwater frogs on? Don't they want to pause before a hookset? Why is that? They want power, don't want stretch, and understand the properties of braid as it relates to hooksets. Same concept applies here. I win a lot more battles in and around heavy cover by abandoning the "let the hooks do the work" strategy. Big river smallies are experts at throwing hooks and getting into the nasty stuff. I've done a lot of learning with the actual fish instead of conventional wisdom. Drive the hooks deep, worry a little less when they go airborne, and enjoy quality river bronze 🤙

[@borg712]

Say whopper plopper one more time 😍

[@RivermanTV-]

WhApPer DaPpeR

[@Sirperry86]

He’s my teacher

[@mitchellstapley3060]

😊

[@richardsousa2625]

Your quintessential plopper mistakes are essentially my plopper playbook 🥲🥲 I def make most of these mistakes

[@RivermanTV-]

And I'm sure you still catch fish. But hopefully next year a few small changes will get you even more fish/restore your Plopper privileges 😉