what rod are u using for whopper plopper

[tH3_Guy]

Just curious for those of u who throw the whopper plopped, what rod do u use?

I threw it on my dobyns champ 706CB but still feels a tad light for that heavy lure.

[Bronzeye]

I threw a 130 Whopper Plopper yesterday for about 45 minutes on a 6'6" MH Verdict only rated up to 1 oz. (The 130 weighs 1 1/4 oz.) No problems, though I possibly was throwing it farther than I could have set the hooks in gristle with the 20 lb. Supernatural mono I was using; the fish didn't give me a chance to find out. Had to go subsurface to get them.

[tH3_Guy]

what line did you use?

Im gonna test throwing on thicker line....

I only had 12lbs mono on as it for another lure prior to getting my whopper plopped.

debating 20 or 25 lbs

[Bronzeye]

the 20 lb. Supernatural mono I was using

It's made by Sunline.

[John Puckett]

I've thrown it on 3 different rods, a Cabela's Pro Guide 7' H with 50# braid, a Clarus 7' MH with 50# braid, and a Cumara A umbrella rig rod with 25# CXX. I've only caught fish while using the two rods with braid so I can't comment on how it feels with the copoly. I can however tell you that it just feels "wrong" even fishing this bait on line other than braid. It feels best on the Cumara, that rod will absolutely launch that lure. If I had braid spooled on my 301E that's on that rod the distance would truly be something. The Cabela's Pro Guide isn't bad either, especially for the price (it's an older model). The Clarus is a little under powered for a bait this heavy but it will work in a pinch.

I'm looking forward to trying the new smaller size that they just showed at ICAST.

This is sort of off topic but this is a great bait and it gets some mind blowing strikes. I love throwing mine, I have my primary lure a two backups in the same color. Caught this little girl on my birthday last year at a pond not a mile from my house, only took one rod with me and no tackle box.

[tH3_Guy]

Thanks ya

and nice catch by the way

[TommyG]

Been using the Kistler Helium3 7-3 Heavy Fast with 30lb. suffix and my new T3. Can throw it a mile and plenty of backbone for a long cast hookset.

[Basspastor]

Thrown mine on 7'3" Lamiglas Excel 735 w/ 40lb Power Pro on Team Daiwa S-103. Don't think I've had a bite yet. I think maybe a pike slapped at it once.

[mark poulson]

You can use any swimbait rod that's rated for the same weight. Both lures have trebles, so your swimbait setup, which can get a treble hook into a fish, will work with the Whopper Plopper.
They cast like a bullet, so you can get bit a long way from the boat. Depending on the line you use, you may not get the barb all the way into the fish's jaw at that distance, so be sure to set hard, once you feel the fish pull it down, and then keep reeling to keep tension all the way to the boat. You don't want a jumper at the end of a long cast. The lure is heavy enough to be easily thrown on a jump.
Because they do cast so well, and are a crank it back to the boat lure, with no additional action needed, you can throw them on a heavier rod, like a frog rod, and still get a good, long cast. The heavier rod will help with hook sets.

[John Puckett]

so be sure to set hard, once you feel the fish pull it down, and then keep reeling to keep tension all the way to the boat. You don't want a jumper at the end of a long cast. The lure is heavy enough to be easily thrown on a jump.

Mark brings up a very good point here, I've lost a handful of fish that "jumped off" while using the plopper with a MH 7' rod even though I was using 50# braid. Granted I also landed some using the same set up I never "jumped" any while using a H powered stick. I don't think the MH lacked the power to set the hooks past the barb it did however lack the power needed to properly control the fish and keep it down. As he suggests in his post using your normal heavier powered swimbait gear would be the smart thing to do in my opinion as well. I know most guys throw their swimbaits on copoly or fluoro and in my opinion you really should use braid for the plopper I'm sure you could catch fish just fine with the heavier pound tests usually associated with swimbaiting.

Also I strongly suggest changing the stock hardware, the split rings may seem strong enough but trust me they aren't. I had a 4# fish almost straighten one, if I can find the pics I'll come back and post'em. I also got tired of the rear treble getting fouled in the tail every other cast so I fish my baist without it, I just up sized the front hook two sizes. I saw a video (or it very well may have been an episode of Hunt for Big Fish) where Larry suggested doing this very thing so I did. When I saw the new single replacement hooks Owner has coming at ICAST the first thing I thought of was using them on the rear of a Whopper Plopper, just have to wait and see I guess.