Clear skies. Low 61F. Winds light and variable..

Clear skies. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.

That title right there just divided half the fishing world! Oh, what power!!! What absolute fear and awe this little thing can wield. Speckled trout and red fish, triple tail, tarpon, white bass, stripers, and even largemouth bass all fall to this rig. So, let me ask you something?

Why aren’t you throwing it?

Seriously? Answer me. Almost none of us throw this anymore except for in saltwater. I’m changing my ways. I will lead the revolt and the return to popping cork traditions of old!

A couple of weeks ago my good buddy, Jimmy Holmes of FishOn! Guide Service, called me and asked if I wanted to fish the next morning. Well, I had just dropped my boat off at the service department for an overdue 100-hour service and I had no other plans other than my real job and several unfinished columns sitting on my desk. So, like any responsible fisherman would do, I went fishing! 

Jimmy, a friend of his from his working days, and I all met up over at Long Shoals boat ramp and never got on plane. We just putted out to the flagpole and the hump right there where, for a while now, the whites and hybrids have been busting nearly every morning. You can tell when and where this is happening because there are no secrets on Oconee and every guide and every fisherman who had skipped work that morning was there. Sure, enough there was some action but not what we had all been seeing for a while. Here’s the deal and how to rig this set up. 

Popping corks can be divided into two categories in my opinion. The first one is the white and red striped one with swivels on each end and a weight in the middle. This allows for a lot of noise when popped and the ability to cast it a long way when you learn how. There are a couple of different sizes and weights. But honestly, I just buy the ones that are in front of me when I need them. The second is the cork on a piece of wire or a wire line run through the middle with beads on each side. The cork slides up and down the wire leader and makes a ton of noise. It most closely resembles a shrimp or bait fish scattering and being chased. 

The bait. Now here’s the important part of all this. In saltwater I am most often attaching a small jig head and running a plastic shrimp body or bait fish body on it. In freshwater there’s two things I like to run behind them — Betts Pop’N Stripe is the first choice for guys like Jimmy. Next, I have started running small 1/16 or even 1/32 oz jig heads and small bait fish patterns about 18-inch to 24-inch behind the cork. First, the cork allows you to cast such small baits a long ways and next, it looks like a small eruption going on every time you pop it. 

The gear. Now I personally like to use a medium power, fast action, 7-foot spinning rod from St. Croix in the Avid series. With a 30 series reel loaded with 10-pound braid, I can cast these rigs a long way and that means the ability to hit busting fish from farther out. In saltwater it means I cover more water per cast. The further away from the boat you are the better. I’ve caught some serious trout at the very end of a long cast. Which means you must have the ability to set the hook at the end of that cast. This is the set up I use whether it is for whites on Oconee or trout in the Gulf. 

That morning the fish just weren’t cooperating, but I still got a lot of strikes on this rig. On a recent three-day trip to Shell Island Fish Camp, and friend and I caught more than 60 trout using a popping cork rig. Bottom line is they work! It’s a great technique for early mornings or late evenings on the lake and all day on the flats. 

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