“Popper Tails” describes methods for tying tails of hackle, hair, and marabou. It explains how to tie hackle skirts and extended bodies.

1. Popper Tails 1
POPPER TAILS
Although it is the body style that determines a popper’s action
and noise capacity, the tail gives the popper shape, color, and
subtle motion. The tail material may undulate when the popper is
stripped through the water or quiver enticingly in the surface film
when the popper is at rest. It may present a long, dark silhouette
against a dusky sky or glimmer in the bright sunlight.
The most common patterns have tails made of simple arrange-
ments of hackle feathers, animal hair, or marabou. Flytiers have
developed many effective streamer patterns that imitate forage fish,
and many can easily be adapted to serve as popper tails. Patterns
like the marabou leech, matuka, zonker, wooley bugger, Clouser
deep minnow, Lefty’s deceiver, and fur-strip streamer, when modi-
fied and attached to a body, make fine poppers.
There are several common mistakes one should keep in mind
when making poppers. It is quite easy to make a popper so large
and heavy that it is difficult to cast. Certain tail materials, like
rabbit fur strips, chamois, and marabou, become quite heavy when
wet and should be tied sparsely. Weight is not the only problem
that should concern you. Poor aerodynamics can also affect a pop-
per’s performance. Casting a large, fluffy popper, especially on a
breezy day, can be like casting a parachute. When developing new

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patterns, make only one prototype and test it under different condi-
tions before you tie it in numbers. There is always a chance it may
not perform as expected.
Long-shank and Short-shank Styles
When tying long-shank styles, tie the tail materials to the hook
directly behind the portion of the shank that was keyed or wrapped
to receive the popper body. Position tail materials so they will not
be covered by the popper body but so any finishing thread wraps
will be hidden inside the body when it is placed on the hook shank.
Use the popper body as a guide to size and locate tail materials.
In short-shank styles, tails are tied on short posts that are subse-
quently glued into the rear of the popper body. I have tried many
different types of posts and prefer to make them from simple paper
clips. Use standard size clips, since you get no extra benefit from
the large ones made with heavier wire. They only increase the
weight of the tail. Use the nonskid clips, because they have tiny
indentations in the wire shaft that grip the thread and glue. When
completed, trim the paper clip so that there will be no more than
1/4 inch of post extending from the front of the tail.
It is no more difficult to tie materials to a post than to a hook. In
one respect it may be easier, because the materials can be placed
and tied from left to right, as when tying to a regular hook, or from
right to left with the tail pointing away from the vise instead of
towards it. When tying tails directly to a hook, the material must be
placed symmetrically on the shank, but with a post there is no up,
down, or sideways until the post is glued into the popper body. If
the tail materials are cocked to one side of the post, it is not a prob-
lem, because the tail will be oriented properly when it is attached
to the body. After the glue has cured, any portion of the post that is
visible may simply be trimmed away.
Hackle Tails
Hackle tails are simple arrangements of feathers tied to the hook
in a splayed fashion so that half the group flares outward from the

3. Popper Tails 3
Shown here are hackle feathers being attached to a prepared
hook shank to form a flared tail. The stem butts are placed right
against the key that was tied to the hook shank in previous steps.
Note that the reflective material was attached before the hackle
left side of the hook and the other half flares outward from the
right. The opposing feathers close together when the fly is pulled
through the water and kick out as it pauses. They function best
when made from wide, webby feathers, like those from lower
grade grizzly rooster capes, but even narrow, flimsy hackle will
suffice if you use plenty of feathers to increase the bulk. Reflective
material should be tied on before the hackle is attached.
Select 6 to 10 feathers from a hackle cape. If the cape has wide,
webby, full-bodied feathers, you may need only 3 hackles on each
side of the tail. However, if the feathers are frail and narrow and
have fine, thin barbs, you may need 4 or 5 feathers on each side.
Hackle tails tend to become thinner with usage, so it is not a good
idea to skimp on the number of feathers. Select feathers of approx-

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imately the same length and width. Sometimes hackle along the
side of a cape are curved. When these feathers are used it is import-
ant to select half that curve to the right and half that curve to the
left. When they are placed on the hook, they will all flare outward
and downward. If all the hackle were taken from the same side of
the cape, they would curve in opposite directions when tied to the
hook. One side would flare outward and downward, and the other
side would flare outward and upward, making a very funny popper.
Stack the feathers in two equal groups according to their curvature.
The tips of the feathers in each group should be even.
Place the prepared hook in the vise, and secure the tying thread
on the shank against the keyed or wrapped portion. Pick up the
groups of feathers and hold them with their shiny sides together
and their tips even. Trim the butts of the feathers so the length of
the bunch is about 2 hook shank lengths or 2 1/2 body lengths if
tying to a post. Close is good enough. Brush out any loose barbs
from the end of the clipped stems, but do not strip fibers from the
butts. Place the hackle bunch on top of the shank or post and tie
the butts down. As you wrap back along the stems, gently pull up
on the hackle. This will keep them properly oriented on top of the
hook. Then wrap forward to the end of the stems. Secure the wraps
with a couple of half-hitches. Now examine the tail. Pull and twist
the hackle to arrange them symmetrically, and align any unruly
feathers. If you are tying directly to a hook, make sure the tail is
not cocked to one side or the other. When you are satisfied with
their position and arrangement, make a few more wraps to secure
them and apply a drop of cement.
Hackle Skirts
Hackle skirts are made by wrapping hackle around the hook
shank so the individual barbs radiate out from the shank like the
spokes of a wheel. Hackle is critical to the buoyancy and attitude
of trout dry flies, but for poppers they add bulk, color, and moving
elements to the pattern, simulating pectoral fins of bait fish. Hackle
skirts are placed immediately behind the popper body.

5. Popper Tails 5
These pictures show how to determine the portion of a feather
suitable for a hackle skirt. When the tip of the hackle is pulled
down, the loop widens and tilts to the right where the stem be-
comes too thick and stiff to wrap around the hook shank properly.
Depending on the length of the individual feathers, hackle skirts
are usually made using 1 to 3 feathers. Choose feathers with barb
lengths at least 1 1/2 times the body diameter. If multiple feathers
are used, they may be different colors, but should be of similar
size. The bottom 1/3 of most hackle is not suitable for skirts be-
cause the stem is too large and stiff to wrap around the hook shank
neatly. Also, the webbing near the base of a feather is usually too
heavy to allow the barbs to separate from each other. Test the
feather by grasping the butt between the thumb and forefinger of
one hand and the tip in the other. Bend it over sideways, making
a narrow loop at the top of the feather. Slowly pull the tip towards
the butt along side the bottom half of the feather. At some point the
loop will suddenly widen and tilt to the right. This indicates the
point where the stem stiffens. This stiff portion should be discarded
because it will not form tight, neat wraps around the hook shank. It
may seem as if you are wasting a lot of the hackle, but your skirts
will be much more dense and attractive if you use only the most
flexible portion of the feather. If you are tying the skirt using two
or more hackle feathers, it is not necessary to test all the feathers.

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Two hackles are wrapped simultaneously around the shank of a
long-shank hook. Reflective accent fibers were tied on before the
splayed hackles were added.
Simply trim them to the same length as the tested feather.
Trim the barbs from the stems 1/4 inch from the butts of the
hackles. Do not strip the fibers off as this will weaken the stems.
Stack the hackle and place the trimmed butts along side the wraps
that secure the tail material. The dull side of the hackle should
face outward, and the tips should point in the same direction as
the tail. Secure the hackle stems by tightly wrapping backward
and forward over the trimmed butts. You have the option of wrap-
ping the hackle simultaneously or individually. Try it both ways
until you determine a preference. To wrap them at the same time,
simply hold their stems tightly together while you grasp their tips
with hackle pliers. Gently stroke down the stems from the tips to
the butts to open up and separate the barbs. Now wind the hackle
forward around the hook shank making tight, closely packed coils.

7. Popper Tails 7
Do not overwrap previous coils. Begin the skirt so the thread wraps
that secure the tail material will be completely hidden. Be care-
ful not to twist the hackle as you wrap. Use a bodkin to brush the
radiating barbs to the rear, keeping them out from under the new
wraps. Wrap forward until the skirt is 1/8- to 3/16-inch wide. Do
not extend the skirt over any part of the shank that will be covered
by the popper body when it is attached. To tie down the hackle tips,
you must hold the hackle pliers in your right hand and make three
or four thread wraps with your left hand. Release the hackle tips
from the pliers, trim them off, and make several more tight wraps.
Secure the thread with a couple of half-hitches. Use your bodkin to
pick out any barbs that were wrapped over and pinned down. Pack
the hackle skirt by pushing against the wrapped hackle with a fin-
gernail and add a drop of glue. If the skirt is properly located, the
barbs will be clear of the popper body, but the thread wraps will be
covered when the body is glued on to the hook.
Wrapping the feathers individually is virtually the same, except
that you must weave the later hackles through the barbs of the
previous hackle without pinning them down and crushing them.
A trick that helps accomplish this is to wiggle the second hackle
using a zigzag motion as you wrap it down between the barbs of
the first hackle. Pick free any barbs that get pinned down.
Hair Tails
Hair tails are most commonly made from deer tails and fox tails,
but calf tails, squirrel tails can also be used for short tails. Each
of these furs have different characteristics. Deer tails, or bucktails
as they are called, are economical and very popular. Bucktail is a
solid hair quite unlike the hollow deer body hair used for spinning
hair bugs. It can be used to make long tails that are very light.
Large, fluffy bucktail poppers can be quite wind resistant, however,
so use no more hair than is necessary to produce a good silhouette
in the water. Hair tails are stiff and have little natural animation. I
recommend that you add a hackle skirt and rubber legs to improve
the action of the popper.

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This hair tail is made of bucktail tied on a long-shank hook. The
hook was fitted with a key to secure the popper head. Tinsel was
tied to the top of the hook shank before the bucktail was tied on. It
is now ready for a hackle skirt
Hair tails are easy to tie. Secure the tying thread to the hook
directly behind the keyed or wrapped portion. If you are tying to
a post, secure the thread about 1/4 inch from the end of the post.
Wrap backward 3/16 of an inch. Separate a clump of hair 1/8- to
3/16-inch in diameter, and trim it off close to the hide. Grasp the
hair near the tip, and trim it to about 2 hook shank lengths or 2 1/2
body lengths if you are tying to a post. Brush out any underfur or
short hairs that remain. Grasp the bundle of hair near the butts and
place it on top of the hook with the butts right against the keyed or
wrapped portion of the shank. If tying to a post, press down and
wiggle the bundle until it surrounds the post. To prevent bucktail
from flaring out, as hollow hair from near the base of a deer tail
tends to do, the first 2 or 3 wraps should be loose. Then wrap tight-

9. Popper Tails 9
.ly down to the butts. If it does flare, simply wrap backward up onto
the hair with loose wraps, and pull the hair down. Do not tighten
the thread or the bucktail will flare out again. If the hair tail is not
thick enough or symmetrical, you may add additional small bun-
dles until you achieve the desired look. You may also add a bundle
of hair of a different color to produce a two-toned tail. Work a drop
of cement into the butts, and tie them down. Do not pull tightly
or the thread will invariably slip down off the butts and pile up in
loose coils around the hook shank. Secure the thread with a couple
of half-hitches and saturate with glue.
If you want to incorporate strands of flashy material, such as
Flashabou®
or Krystal Flash, it must be lightly tied on top of the
hook shank before the hair is added. If you are tying a short-shank
style, the flashy material must be added after the hair is secured.
Marabou Tails
Marabou tails have far more action than stiff hair tails. They
pulse enticingly when twitched through the water. When at rest,
even the slightest disturbance causes the barbs to undulate in the
surface film. Whether given short twitches or long strips, marabou
tails make poppers appear as if they are alive.
Procedures for tying marabou tails are similar to those for tying
hair tails. If you use long marabou plumes, the procedure that best
utilizes the entire feather is to strip off small bundles of barbs and
tie them on individually. However, if you use short marabou blood
feathers, it is easier just to tie on the tip portion of 1 or 2 feathers.
Begin by securing the thread behind the keyed or wrapped por-
tion of the hook shank. If you are tying to a post, secure the thread
1/4 inch behind the tip. Wrap a base of thread back an additional
3/16 inch. If you are going to tie in several bundles of barbs, strip
the barbs from a one-inch section of the plume. Crumple and roll
the butts together to form a bundle of marabou barbs. Clip off any
portion of the stem that strips off with the barbs. Grasp the bundle
near the butts and lay it on top of the hook shank so that a length
of barbs twice the length of the hook shank or 2 1/2 body lengths

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Before tying in a marabou blood feather, the tip must be removed
or the barbs will not lay properly. For a large feather, pull the low-
er barbs out of the way and tie in the upper portion. Then strip the
barbs from the bottom of the stem and tie them in.
projects beyond the tie in point. Hold the bundle securely in place
and make a couple of loose wraps. Then tighten them down and
make 4 or 5 tight wraps. Trim the butts close to the thread. Re-
peat this procedure several times, placing bundles of marabou all
around the hook shank or post. I find it helpful to wet my finger
tips, grasp the bundle and stroke the barbs away from the tie in
point. This keeps them from flying about and getting in the way. It
also makes it easier to gage the proper length of the next bundle.
You must be very careful to place successive bundles so their tips
line up with the preceding bundle. If you tie in a bundle that is not
the same length as the rest, it will be very noticeable. You must
also be careful not to mix bundles of long, thin barbs with bundles
of wide, fuzzy barbs. Once you have all the bundles symmetrically

11. Popper Tails 11
This picture shows a marabou tail tied on a post for a short-
shank popper. Flashabou®
was tied on top to provide flash. When
the post is embedded in the popper body, the Flashabou®
will be
turned to the bottom. Most of the thread wraps will be covered by
a hackle skirt and the rest will be covered by the popper body.
placed, wrap over the entire group of butts. Secure the thread with
a couple of half-hitches and apply glue.
If you use short marabou blood feathers, select 2 or 3 feathers
of similar length and barb type. Take each feather and strip off any
partially encased or damaged barbs near the bottom of the stem.
Find the point near the tip of the feather where the individual barbs
are about 3/4 as long as the proposed tail. Clip the stem at this
point and remove the tip. This will allow the barbs to form a nar-
row profile in the water. If you do not remove the tip, the feather
will have a spread-finger appearance. Stack the clipped feathers,
and stroke the barbs into a single bunch. Grasp the bunch near the
butts. You may want to moisten the barbs at this point to keep them
from becoming unruly. If tying a long-shank style popper, tie on

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any reflective dressing such as Flashabou®
to the top of the shank
before tying on the marabou plumes. Lay the bundle of plumes on
top of the shank and allow 2 shank lengths to extend beyond the
tie-in point. Hold the feathers firmly in place and make a couple of
loose wraps around the bundle. Then pull the thread tight. If tying
a short-shank style popper, distribute the plumes evenly around the
post. Allow a length of plumes about 2 1/2 body lengths to extend
beyond the tie-in point. Make several more wraps to secure the
bundle. Trim the butts close to the thread and wrap them down.
Finish off with a couple of half-hitches and coat with glue. If tying
a short-shank style popper, add reflective dressing after all the
plumes have been tied on. Place the dressing on the top side of the
post. When the tail is attached to the popper body, the dressing will
be turned to the bottom side.
Extended Bodies
An extended body is a long, tapered body with a short tail. It has
a slender, minnow-like silhouette. It is tied on a post like any other
short-shank tail and glued into the rear of a short-shank popper
head. The tapered body is formed with yarn or dubbing. The ex-
tended body has a short tail of splayed hackle tips or a small bit of
marabou or bucktail.
Tie the extended body on a standard-size, nonskid paper clip.
Straighten a 2-inch section of wire. Use pliers to remove any kinks.
Secure the outstanding leg of the paper clip in a tying vise. Lay a
base of thread over the wire 1 to 1 1/2 times the length of the pop-
per head. Select 6 hackle tips and arrange them in a splayed fash-
ion, 3 to each side. Trim the tips to a manageable length of about 2
inches. Tie the hackle tips on the post at the end secured in the vise
just as if you were making a full-size hackle tail. The splayed tips
should project beyond the tie in point about the length of the pop-
per head. Tie them down and finish with several half hitches and a
drop of glue. Cover the thread wraps with a hackle skirt. Instead of
hackle tips this small tail can be made of marabou fibers or buck-
tail. These tails can get quite heavy.

13. Popper Tails 13
Dubbing is applied to a tapered yarn base to form an extended
body. The dubbing material is rolled around waxed tying thread
to form a thin, tight thread. When the dubbing is completed, palm-
er the tying thread to the rear and then forward to the head end to
reinforce the dubbed body and preserve its shape.
Once the tail and skirt are secured, tie on the body material. The
body is most easily made of yarn. Tie the yarn on ahead of the tail
material 1 to 1 1/2 times the length of the popper head. Lay the
yarn on top of the wire and wrap with thread back to the tail ma-
terial. Be sure the yarn covers the thread wraps that secure the tail
material. Wrap the thread forward to the tie on point of the yarn.
Now wrap the yarn forward to the bobbin and then backwards a
number of times to form a thin tapered body. At the head end,
the body should be about 3/16 inches in diameter. Tie off the yarn
with a couple of half hitches and apply glue. Now wrap the tying
thread backwards spacing the wraps about 1/8 to 3/16 inch apart
in a palmered fashion. Then palmer the wraps forward to the head

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This photograph shows a extended-body tail post being mount-
ed in a completed short-shank popper. Once the glue has set,
remove the remainder of the paper clip projecting from the tail.
and finish with a couple of half hitches and a drop of glue. The
palmered wraps will help maintain the shape of the tapered body.
To complete the extended body, simply add a few strands of flash,
if desired, and a second hackle skirt. Trim the post about 1/4 inch
ahead of the skirt.
I like to form the tapered body with yarn and then cover the
body with synthetic dubbing. Dubbing makes the body more
uniform and some are quite flashy. When applying dubbing, I
prefer to use thread that will blend with the dubbing material. To
apply dubbing, pull about 3 inches of thread off the bobbin and
apply a light coating of dubbing wax. Pinch off a very small tuft
of dubbing material. Gently tease the tuft into a long, loose, sparse
ribbon. Lay the ribbon along the waxed thread. Starting at the top
of the thread, roll the dubbing and thread between your thumb and

15. Popper Tails 15
forefinger. Twist and compress the dubbing on to the thread. Even
out the dubbing material as you roll down the thread. The result
should be a fine, hairy thread. A common mistake is to apply too
much dubbing to the thread. This results in a fluffy, lumpy body.
Now wrap the dubbing thread back and forth along the body until
you obtain the desired shape. Tug on the bottom end of the dubbing
material to keep it tight on the thread as you wrap. You may need
to roll portions again to keep the material tight. Dub more thread
as required to finish the body. After applying the dubbing, palmer
the thread to the tail and back to the front. Wrap over any loose or
lumpy portions. This will help maintain the shape of the dubbing.
Tie off the thread and apply glue.
Mounting Tail Posts
Tail posts are used on all short-shank style poppers. The hook
must be secured in the popper body prior to attaching the tail post.
It is also easier to do any painting and to add eyes, rubber legs, and
a weed guard before the tail post is attached, making attachment of
the tail post the last step in completing the popper.
Trim the projecting post so that about 1/4 inch extends forward
of the tail material. If the popper body is foam, use a nail or coat
hanger wire to enlarge the mandrel hole in the rear of the popper to
receive the tail post. If it is a balsa body, use a cone-shaped cutter,
Dremel®
No. 118, to make a recess in the rear of the popper body.
A rotary tool is too difficult to control in this restricted area, so just
spin the cutter between your thumb and forefinger. The recess must
be straight and should only be deep enough to cover the exposed
thread wraps on the tail post. If the recess is too deep, the popper
body will push back over the hackle skirt and force the barbs down
against the other tail materials. Use the tail post as a guide, seating
it in the hole once or twice during the drilling process to monitor
the depth. When the recess has been drilled to the proper depth, use
a bodkin to coat its sides with cement. Do not fill the recess with
glue, because it will squeeze out and mar the hackle skirt. Apply a

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thin coat of cement to the thread wraps and post as well. Insert the
tail post into the recess, and orient it so any reflective dressing fac-
es down. Seat it firmly. No thread wraps should be visible. Check
that the tail is straight and oriented properly. Make any adjustments
quickly before the glue sets. Once the glue has thoroughly cured,
pull the tail material back out of the way and clip the projecting
post so it will not be visible.
If you have previously painted the body, attached the rubber
legs, eyes, and weed guard, as recommended, then the addition of
the tail post should complete the popper. This is one of the ad-
vantages of short-shank poppers. You construct the tail and body
separately. This is certainly an advantage when applying paint and
the finishing clear coat to balsa popper bodies.
.