Jimbo’s Green Bream Machine (GBM) featuring Gnarly Headz Poppers
Because every popper worth its salt should sound like it’s up to no good.
Hook Platform
Every good fly needs a solid hook platform and I use either of the following hooks - Fulling Mill Streamer Stripper FM6040, or a Grip 30012, size #1/0. Both are properly sharp, with a long enough shank to mount the Gnarly Headz popper head, and a wide enough gape to give you good hookup ratios.
Tail Build
Next up, prepare a healthy pinch of black marabou for the tail. Marabou is not the most durable material but its got amazing movement on the pauses to get you fish!
Optional extra, tie in a few strands of flat mylar style flash of your choosing – it can sometimes be just what the bass are looking for, other times it can be a bit much (it’s easy enough to remove later). I like flat mylar style flash as it fouls with the marabou a lot less than crinkle flash or similar.
Our popper tail needs a little more bulk and length, so in this step we’re selecting a pair of hackle feathers and then tying in one on each side of the hook shank.
Top tip when tying in hackle is to leave the shaft of the feather a little longer than needed, loosely tie your feathers in and check your positioning. Once you’re happy with their position, run your thread further up the feather shaft and then double it back. A few wraps and some super glue over this doubled up section of feather shaft will make sure your hackle stay put!
The tail of your popper should be really starting to take shape by now. To round it off, we’re going to add a marabou collar.
Marabou Collar
This is the trickiest step in the whole process but it makes a big difference to the end product. To do this we preen out a marabou feather and grab one half of it in a clip before trimming away the feather shaft. You can use binder clips, DIY foam clips or purpose-made clips from Stonfo or Petijean – they’re pricey but have some nifty features and benefits over the DIY versions. Dad, these will be on my Christmas wishlist... Now that you’ve got half your feather secured and ready in a clip, prepare your thread loop. You can double your thread over or split your thread with a bodkin or pin. I went with a double thread loop for a bit more durability. Add a little wax to your thread loop if you like to make the marabou stay put, insert the marabou from the clip, gently releasing the marabou strands into the loop. Give the loop a good spin to secure your marabou collar followed by a gentle brush to loosen up any trapped fibres – this ensures you’ll get the most benefit from what is the trickiest step in this SBS. Wrap your marabou collar forward in touching turns and you’re set.
We’re moving from the tying steps to the “building” steps, placing the Gnarly Headz popper head on the hook. To do this you’ll need to make a hole in the popper head, and there are a few tips to make this simpler than it sounds. The Gnarly Headz come with marker holes on the front and the back which make aligning the hole and hook far simpler. Line your bodkin or large sewing needle up with the hole in the front of the popper head and slowly push it through the popper until it exits at the rear marker hole. This can take a few tries so use a thinner bodkin or needle than your hook shank. Once the bodkin is through and you’re happy with the alignment, heat the end of the bodkin up with a lighter until cherry red. Now steadily pull the bodkin back through and it’ll melt a perfectly aligned hole in your popper head.
PRO tip, open a window if you don’t want Mom thinking you’ve lit a sneaky entjie… Lot’s of superglue on the hook and slide the Gnarly Headz popper into place.
Rubber Legs
To get some extra movement in your popper, we’re going to add some rubber legs to the popper head. To do this, we’re going to repeat the bodkin and lighter technique, except through the side of the popper head this time. Pass a thick mono loop through the hole you made and pull a pair of rubber legs through. Adding a drop of super glue to the legs just before you pull the last bit into the popper head will make sure the legs stay in place.
Eyes
Any predator fly worth it’s salt needs eyes to be able to see the bites coming, and there’s just something about having eyes on a popper that really rounds it off well. Gnarly Headz come with some awesome pre-moulded holes for eyes which make gluing your preferred eyes in place an absolute breeze compared to alternative popper heads. Having the eyes recessed slightly also increases their durability, something you’ll really appreciate after multiple bass smash your popper.
Weed Guards
For many still waters your popper should now be ready to hit the water, but if you want to chase the really big green bream, you’re going to need to fish where they live. Like the trolls in nursery rhymes and Hobbit books, big bass are very much like trolls, they live in the thick stuff, in swamps and under bridges. To give you the confidence that you’ll actually stand a chance of getting your popper back after throwing it into what no doubt looks like a bad place to cast, you’ll need a weed guard. The only thing better than a weed guard, is two weed guards, so that’s what we’re going to do. Poke a pair of holes into the underside of your popper, one each side of the hook eye, and super glue a short length of 50lb mono into each hole. I use Maxima Ultragreen, the spool memory actually makes for perfect weed guards if you angle the curve of the line back towards the hook point.
Final Thoughts
Jimbo’s GBM is built to hurt feelings and tempt green bream from the shadows. Violent name, violent eats. Fish it hard, fish it dirty — and send pics and tag me @james_boulton14 when it gets smashed.
SBS by James Boulton
MATERIALS SHOPPING LIST:
Mill Streamer Stripper FM6040, or Grip 30012, - size #1/0.