Four Horsemen vs. Dr. Popper Experiment [Day 1 Popping Cork Test]
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: *Tackle & Gear, Fishing Tips, Weekly Newsletter: 9-8-24
This fishing report shows the start of a new popping cork experiment that I’m doing in which I’m putting the popular Four Horsemen cork against the new Dr. Popper.
Today’s trip was a great testament to how effective popping corks can be because I caught a good amount of fish in spite of the following setbacks:
- I only had just over 1 hour to fish
- My trolling motor wasn’t working
- The current flow was weak
- Otis was on board
This report shows how these corks performed in their first head-to-head contest.
Four Horsemen vs Dr. Popper: Round 1
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Trip Details
- Weather – Cloudy skies
- Wind – 5-8 MPH from the SW
- Tides – Slack
- Time – Fished from 7:50 am to 8:55 am
- Water Clarity – Murky
- Water Depth – 2 to 5 ft
Equipment Used
- Popping Cork 1: Dr. Popper Popping Cork
- Popping Cork 2: Four Horseman Popping Cork
- Reel 1: Otis 2500
- Reel 2: BG-MQ 2500-XH
- Line: 10 lb J-Braid 8 Grand
- Leader: 20 lb Ande Monofilament
- Lure: The 2.0 – Slam Shady rigged on Hoss Round Eye Jighead 2/0, 1/4oz
- Rod: Slot Machine 7’6″ Medium Fast
Keys to Success
- Smart Fishing Spots helps you form a pre-trip plan by identifying areas likely to hold fish plus seeing weather and tide predictions.
- In murky water conditions, Smart Fishing Spots can help you get right on the spot you want to fish with clear satellite imagery and 1-foot depth contours.
- Look for trout around the deeper edges of grass flats around passes and inlets.
- A popping cork rigged with a 1/4-ounce jighead and a 2.0 paddletail is an easy setup that’s highly effective.
Feedback Needed
Please let me know if you’d like me to change how I’m testing these corks. My setup for these corks was to make them as close as possible to one another by putting the exact same lure under it at the same depth setting.
And I switched rods every 3 casts so that I could ensure to give each cork equal time in the water.
I’ll be filming Round 2 soon, so use the Comments section below for any suggestions that you feel would make these experiments better.
Tight Lines!
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I like both corks. However, the 4 Horseman seems to get in an upright position a bit quicker. I don’t think the fish noticed!
The Dr. Popper’s mono seems to be very rough after one use, hindering the movement of the weights. I have rigged old damaged corks with mono, but used 100#. With the smaller diameter line, it didn’t rub against the metal beads as much but still has plenty of strength for larger fish. I also added a plastic bead between the metal ones and the crimps to protect the connection.
Thanks for sharing your findings and helpful details Alejandro!
Thanks Luke, hopefully next time, I’ll remember to use the popping cork when not getting strikes
Have had good luck with Dr. Popper!
My buddy and I both fished corks one day on the flats. We both used the same bait and the same corks. Only difference was the color of the cork. The chartreuse cork outperformed the orange cork 2:1. Maybe to make it a statistically relevant test it might be a good idea to use the same color cork on both samples.
Wow!!! Thanks for sharing the helpful intel Charles.
Dr. Popper produces!
I still use the BETA Tester Dr. Popper. I caught my first inshore slam with it. I also have the 4 Horseman poppers. I use the DR. Popper for the cupped popping and the Oval/Egg 4 Horseman with quieter popping, depending on the conditions.
Have there been any changes to the Dr. Popper since the original Beta version?
My only issue with mine is that the brass beads keep oxidizing, causing them to start binding up on the heavy mono. I do wash them out thoroughly after each session, but now, after they have dried, I spray a little silicon spray on the beads and work them up & down & all is good.
How cool that you caught your first inshore slam while using the Dr Popper!
The newer ones have slightly heavier beads to help them cast a big farther and to add enough weight to make sure they move up and down even if there is some oxidation.
Nice!
Thanks Thomas!
Glad to see you’re getting back to normal after your bout with Covid.
Thanks Keith!
I fell ya, dealing with Otis. My Belgian goes with me and I deal with the same energy from him. He goes crazy with almost every cast and try to chase the lure. His bark can chase the fish away. I have had to just give up and go home. But he does like the boat ride.
Yes, it can be extremely tough to try to catch fish with an energetic dog on board. I most often take Otis out for a run beforehand to lessen the odds that he breaks anythng on the boat.
Yes but isnt it still totally worth it having your buddy on board? Maggie doesn’t go with me every trip but she goes most of the time and pouts when she doesn’t get to!
Yes. Otis definitely pouts as well whenever he realizes that I’m not taking him with me out on the boat.
great trip
It was a fun way to start off a day… total fishing time was barely over an hour. I’ll make sure to stay out longer next time to have some more catch data for a more accurate comparison of the poppers.
I like the color of the DR. Popper better. Do you think color had any affect on catching fish.
That’s certainly a potential factor. It seems like I should do a test between these 2 poppers after painting them the same color to make sure to have a more precise comparison.