The popularity of the original Whopper Plopper is something that hasn’t been seen in the fishing industry for quite a while. To this day, anglers are catching giant bass with it all over the world. I can remember sitting in a hotel room, filling up my Tackle Warehouse cart when they were first available for purchase. I don’t do that often.
The River2Sea Double Plopper Buzzbait is an interesting spin on the Whopper Plopper and I’ve been testing it a lot over the past few months. Essentially, instead of a single buzzbait blade, it’s designed with two counter-rotating plopper blades on either side. It also floats on the pause, which is a unique feature for this type of topwater lure.
Here’s what I discovered while testing it.
Much quieter than I expected
This is actually a good thing in my book. I was hoping this wasn’t going to be some obnoxiously loud buzzbait that sounded like an outboard propeller coming through the water. I fish a lot of pressured water and in my area, loud lures tend to do more harm than good.
The River2Sea Double Plopper Buzzbait is fairly quiet, which was probably my biggest surprise throughout the testing process. When I made a long cast, I couldn’t really hear it from my boat. It’s not nearly as loud as the Whopper Plopper; I need to make that very clear.
It’s a very muted version of the familiar “plop, plop” sound you’ve heard from the Whopper Plopper. In my opinion, it sounds like water trickling out of one of those fountains at a shopping mall. That sounds weird, but I think you’ll agree once you try it.
Retrieve speed
The Double Plopper Buzzbait should be fished with a slow retrieve. I tested it on a medium-heavy rod and a 7.5:1 gear ratio reel and found that simply crawling it along the surface was definitely the best option. It leaves an excellent bubble trail and draws strikes quite well. The fish haven’t really blown up on it—they just suck it under.
I have not been able to burn this bait across the surface. On the aforementioned high-speed reel, anything over a medium retrieve will turn the lure on its side, bringing one blade out of the water and causing the lure to track to the side or turn upside-down. If you’re shooting for a quick retrieve, I’d probably recommend the original Whopper Plopper instead.
Regardless, I believe this lure is tailor-made for a slower, more deliberate approach because of its ability to float on the pause.
Floats on the pause
Anytime throughout your retrieve, you can pause the Double Plopper Buzzbait and it will float. I’ve found this to be an interesting feature, especially when targeting isolated cover in high-percentage situations.
That’s how I tend to fish: I don’t aimlessly run down the bank most of the time. I like focusing on individual targets to maximize my efficiency. I can do that with this lure.
When I’m fishing stumps or small points in grass lines, I’m able to briefly stop the Double Plopper Buzzbait in key areas where I think a fish may be holding. If a fish misses this lure on a steady retrieve, I can quickly pause it in hopes of evoking a follow-up strike.
The hook is impressive
I was pretty happy to see how strong this hook is. You won’t have to worry about a fish bending or flexing it when you get a bite. I can barely move it with a pair of pliers.
It’s also plenty sharp, which is great for long-range hooksets. When I’ve had a bite on this lure, I have been able to get 100 percent of them in the boat.
Sturdy skirt
The skirt looks to be hand-tied, which is much better than a rubber collar in my opinion. It doesn’t slide down after a fish catch and it keeps each strand securely in place no matter the conditions.
The skirt colors are also pretty attractive. Some buzzbait manufacturers seem to skimp on the skirt quality, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with the Douple Plopper Buzzbait. They flow and pulsate nicely throughout the retrieve and imitate a wide array of natural bass forage.
Final impressions
I don’t know if I’d call this lure a for sure limit-getter, but it’s definitely fun to fish with. I’ve had some big bites with it throughout my testing, so I’d imagine other anglers will enjoy some success with it as well.
The Double Plopper Buzzbait is available at TackleWarehouse.com.
