Making a Pop-R question

[whibley]

I am going to make a Popper from balsa. Do I need to put any lead in it? IF I do where should I put it? Thanks guys.

[pikeman]

It depends if u use the wire thru method, but I think that u should put some lead towards the end (the second half) of the bait ... a small quantity , also recomended for big poppers. I usually put the lead right in the middle of the pop-r , it also helps at casting

[BobP]

I think a balsa topwater will definitely need ballast. Where and the amount depends on the size of the bait, what kind of balsa and trebles you use, and how much of the tail you want submerged. All that boils down to experimenting to get it right. JMHO, I'd first try ballasting toward the tail, about 2/3 of the way back from the nose. On a thru-wire popper, after you waterproof the bait and it's ready for finishing, attach the trebles and drive a sewing pin into the belly where you want to test ballast. Wrap lead solder around the pin until you get the float attitude you want, then drill the ballast hole and epoxy in the solder. You're looking for a position and an amount of ballast that will sink the tail to where you want it while still having the front lip submerged for spitting. All other things equal (are they ever?) The more toward the tail the ballast is, the less ballast you will need and the better the popper will cast. The finish and clearcoat will add only about .03 oz, so you can more or less ignore that weight.