The Miyawaki Beach Popper

My version of the Miyawaki Popper. A less bulky than the Orvis Variety

After a surprise gift card to Cabelas and a nagging idea to try to make one of the famous Miyawaki Poppers, I have finally thrown a bunch together. Now if you have been to the Orvis store recently you probably will have made two observations.

1) They want $10 EACH for the poppers

2) Said poppers are rarely in stock

A quick online search reveals that at the next place they can be found, they go for $6 a piece. 

After tying several up, here are some observations

1) They are not extraordinarily time consuming

2) They cost nowhere near half of what Orvis charges to make

3) There are endless possibilities for customization of the fly

4) Stinger hooks are not as difficult as they seem

5) YouTube videos on how to tie these are non-existent

Here is the basic materials list that I use for the Miyawaki Beach Popper

Size 4 Streamer Hooks - As cheap as they come, this is the hook you will clip

Size 6 Eagle Claw Hooks - This is for the stinger. I couldn't find the upturned eye hooks but when I do, it will easily be swapped out

Wapsi Perfect Popper #4 Foam Popper Head

Drill Bits - 3/16, 7/64

Power Drill - This will make your life easier
Super Glue/Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails - The help keep the fly together

Craft Fur - I love olive and white for my colors

Flashabou - Pearlescent is the standard

Peacock Hurl - To top it off

GSP Thread - I use white because its what I have. 

Grizzly Hackle - I use both Whiting Grizzly Necks and Red Grizzly Bugger packs 

20lb Backing - I just used some backing I pulled of a reel that came with a starter kit

All of the materials in one place (except the flashabou)

As soon as I have the video made it will be posted to both this page and YouTube seeing as the only one for the Miyawaki Popper makes it difficult to see what is actually going on in the process of making the fly.

Step by Step

1) Using the 3/16th drill bit drill into the foam popper approximately 1/8th of an inch into the center of the popper.

The slit can help align the drill bit so you are centered. Do NOT worry if it is off center, it works out in the end. This fly has a lot of room for ugliness and error that will get covered up in the end.

2) After the larger hole is bored into the foam, take the (smaller bit) and drill through the foam out the nose.

Sometimes you get lucky and no foam comes off around the hole.

3)Take a piece of backing 4-5", fold over an inch of backing and tie a figure 8 knot

Remember it must be big enough to get the hook through

4) Take a piece of stiff mono filament, insert it through the loop created by the figure 8 knot then fold the mono filament and insert it into the eye of the hook, pulling the backing through the eye

5) Push the backing loop over the hook and pull

6) Take your size 4 junk streamer hook and make wraps along the shank of the hook until you reach the point

Note, its not all that much wrapping

6) Tie in your stinger hook setup. Lay the backing flat so that the point of the hook is facing up. Place the knot right behind your wraps. Make several wraps behind the figure 8 knot. Wrap the thread all the way up to the eye of the hook securing the backing. Double over the backing and wrap back towards the figure 8 knot. Once you reach that, snip the excess backing and wrap to 1/4 of an inch behind the eye.

7) Take a piece of grizzly hackle long enough to extend from the eye back about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch past the stinger hook. Tie it in.

8) Take a piece of white craft fur a bit less than the diameter of a pencil and tie it in. This should be roughly the same length as the hackle but it may be shorter

9) Tie in several strands of flashabou. Color is preference but pearl is commonly used. Do NOT make them all even

10) Take slightly less olive craft fur than used in step 8 and tie that in over the flashabou

11) Tie in a few pieces of peacock herl slightly shorter than the hackle used in step 7

12) Using tight wraps, wrap all the materials from the eye back for about 3/8ths of an inch

13) Carefully jam the popper head onto the tied in materials until the eye of the hook sticks out of the hole you drilled. The longer side of the popper will be on the underside of the hook (Popper groove up)

The thread wraps should be covered by the popper head. If they are not, on your next popper shorten the distance you wrap back from the eye.

14) Run the thread up the groove in the popper, whip finish and use super glue, head cement, or Hard as Nails to secure the wraps. I have not tried head cement but Hard as Nails and Superglue do not cause the foam to dissolve.
      Super glue is the best material for filling the groove in the popper. The original Miyawaki popper recipe uses Rainy's Pee Wee Pop heads which have the hole drilled and centered. This is the more expensive way but there are no holes to drill or hook grooves to fill. 

15) Finally, clip the size 4 hook just behind where you ended the wraps. BE VERY CAREFUL!! Eye protection would not be unwise. I keep mine in the vise when I clip to hook to help prevent flying pieces.

Finished Product

Not too hard after all! In the picture above I did not quite clip the first hook yet.

How do I fish this thing?
Traditionally people fish this like a popper. This leaves a nice V wake when pulling it through the water. This is a very popular sea run cutthroat and coho pattern but I certainly plan on trying it on pinks before I'm off to Bozeman in the fall. I have also learned recently that in lakes, you can fish these on a light sink tip or intermediate line. The result of which is a jigging like action.

I certainly cannot wait to put these to the test this coming summer on the lakes for bass, stocker trout, and potentially if I size everything up, pike or muskie. In the meantime, I am still in the pursuit of my first sea run cutthroat.

I hope this sheds a little light on how to tie this pattern,
Tight lines,
Connor