The Remarkably Simple Guide On Where and When To Fish Each Size Whopper Plopper

Musky anglers deserve credit for starting the Whopper Plopper craze when they created similar homemade baits with metal tails.

However, companies had trouble mass-producing those metal-tail baits with that distinctive plopping sound until Larry Dahlberg designed the Whopper Plopper for River2Sea as a musky lure. The company introduced the lure with a softer plastic tail in the 190 size of 7 1/2 inches.

If You Build Them Fish Will Come

When the company started receiving several photos of 8-pound smallmouth and heavyweight largemouth being caught by anglers throwing the 190 Whopper Plopper for stripers and musky, a new smaller version of the lure was designed in 2011.

The 5-inch 130 Whopper Plopper started producing lunker bass immediately but River2Sea pro staffers tried to keep the lure a secret to win tournaments on the new lure.

The increasing popularity of the Whopper Plopper prompted the company to create three more downsized models: the 110 (4 3/8 inches), 90 (3 1/2 inches) and 75 (3 inches).

Whopper Plopper Size Breakdown

The Whopper Plopper 130

When I am bass fishing in the fall, I prefer throwing the 130 Whopper Plopper because it matches the size of the gizzard shad bass are eating then on my home waters of Lake of the Ozarks.

The Whopper PLopper 110

When fishing pressure causes bass to ignore the 130 I downscale to the 110 version to tempt the fish into biting again. These two models usually produce hard strikes from quality bass so I throw the lures on 30- to 50-pound braid with a 7 1/2-foot flipping stick. The bass are usually foraging on the gizzard shad along open ledge rock banks during this time, which allows me to use the heavier tackle because I don’t have to make accurate casts to specific targets then.

The Whopper Plopper 90

The 90 Whopper Plopper is my favorite size for throwing to the corners of boat docks for suspended bass during the postspawn and early fall. I need to be more accurate with my casts in this situation so I throw this lure on 14-pound test monofilament and a 6 1/2- or 7-foot medium-action casting rod.

The Whopper Plopper 75

The 75 size is ideal for throwing to bass busting baitfish on the surface during the summer. The 3-inch model best matches the size of the shad bass are feeding on then.