Poppers on Moving Water

[txbevo]

How do you fish poppers on moving water? Do you cast across stream and strip back? Do you let it swing or dead drift in the current at all? Any help is appreciated.

 

[boone]

I usually cast up stream at an angle and as it drifts back do the short pops. Sometimes it works pretty well to let it get all the way to the end of its drift and pop it a little bit.

 

[Dotsonnt]

I try to never let my fly pop up-stream. This is very unnatural to the fish especially in fast moving water. Imagine your popper is a frog trying to swim across the fast water, he would not be powerful enough to swim upstream and he would float downstream as he swam. Try to keep the fly as natural looking as possible and the fish will notice. Good luck man and let me know how it goes!
Are you after smallies?

 

[dshort]

I'm usually in a kayak and I'll cast across stream and slowly pop the fly back to me. I'll let the fly dead drift for long periods in between pops. This is easier from a boat because you are drifting along at about the same speed as the fly. I get a lot of strikes on the dead drift.

 

[HuronRiverDan]

I fish them basically two ways; one is a down and across cast with light pops through the entire drift. The other way I fish them is slightly upstream along a grass bank or emergent reeds. Let the fly drift and give it small pops as it drifts along the grass. Once the fly has moves out from the grass I re-cast, it seems like I do the best when the popper is almost touching the grass.

Dan