This foam pencil popper is a great lure to get bass up out of the weed beds.
Hook: Mustad 79580 (4xl) 2-8
Tail: Marabou tufts
Body: Foam rubber
Eye:Stick on tensil
Thread: Monocord
For bass hanging in the weedlines, this is a great surface floater to shake up some action.
These foam bodies are available in catalogs, but they can also easily be formed with scissors from a block. Appearance is not as important as action. Feel free to experiment with cups, slants, etc at the nose. If there is no slit in the body, place one to lengthwise to the axis.
Lay down a foundation and cement heavily, allowing to dry before proceeding. A strong foundation is need to hold the body securely when they hit the water. Tie in the tail securely and cement again. Tie in the rear tab of the body. Wrap the thread forward to the eye. Lay down the foam body and tie off the nose tab securely. Finish with a wrap knot. Apply the eyes with cement and overcoat. The eyes won't last through too many strikes, but they are not really needed. They add some attraction, but the action is more important. It's more a case of every little bit helps.
Action is the key word, both on moving and still water. This is a fly that begs to be yanked, twitched, tugged, played with, and generally kept moving. The more erratic, the better, attempting to imitate slightly wounded forage. This is a great fly for impatient angles who can't stand letting a fly just sit there. Fish it around creases in weed beds, around stick up, anywhere that might draw predators to lay ambush. Also fish the cruise lanes when the fish are up top cruising actively. Do be careful not to disturb them with too much activity on the cast. Cast it far with a bug taper and play it long.