Which fly to use?
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Uni Products Fly Tiers Corner
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WARMWATER
May 2026
By Craig Riendeau
The month of May is pretty much topwater season across the entire country. You have bass and panfish either on the bed or just coming off the spawn and going on a post spawn feed in shallow water. Those are the two ingredients that make up the elements for an effective topwater fishing trip.
So, if I were going to get to my tying bench and whip up some top waters for this weekend’s trip, what should I tie? Basically, there are three types of surface flies, cork, foam and hair. But which should I use? Man, what a loaded question!
Here’s your options! Photo by Craig Riendeau.
To many, hair is the only way to go. The only option that is true to traditional fly tying. Hair bug tying is a true art form to itself. Hair can be trimmed in many shapes to make popping, diving or slider flies. Saddle hackle feathers, flash and rubber legs can all be added to make it resemble many types of things a fish might eat. Or the fly can be shaped to create a certain action or type of sound to attract fish. The downside is they are very labor intensive to make, and the material costs can add up making it a fly you’d hate to risk losing in heavy cover or to a toothy critter. Hair bugs also tend to get waterlogged and eventually sink. This means you need several of the same pattern to rotate between to dry out the wet one. Still, the way they sit in the water (right before they get too wet to float) gives them the most natural look and the popping sound created by a hair bug is distinctly different from any hard body popper.
Cork-bodied poppers were the first topwater flies having been created in the very early 1900s. Simplicity was what made these popular, along with the fact they caught fish like crazy. Cut a slit in the cork, insert a hook, add a tail and you were done. Of course, now we paint, sometime elaborately paint the cork then add a clear topcoat of some kind to make it durable. Ironically all this painting is for you and me as the fish rarely see more than the bottom of the fly. Pulling rubber legs through the cork added to the proportion and action of the pattern. These legs give the popper living motion to the fly even when at rest making it great for fishing slowly over a fish’s head to entice it. These are easier and cheaper to make than a hair bug, but they do have a downside. Cork is relatively fragile. Bounce it off a rock or dock and you make chip a chunk out of it if not bust the entire cork off the shank.
Cork-bodied flies were the earliest developed topwater flies for warm water. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
Then there’s foam top water flies. Yes, there’s hard foam and soft foam. Hard foam is similar to cork, just a little easier to attach to the hook and much easier to color. But now I’m talking about soft foam flies. You can buy sheets of it and cut out and shape your own bodies or you can buy premade heads. You can buy popper heads, diving heads or slider heads in many sizes and colors. No painting needed. Or you can take sheet foam and cut it into shapes that can be glued to a hook shank to create patterns like a Stealth Bomber or a Crease Fly. There are commercially available cutters that with you can quickly cut out perfect foam bodies every time. Check out River Road Creations for these. Rubber legs are easily added to a foam popper head with a pulling tool. Weed guards can be easily added to or removed from a foam fly. Superglue is almost more useful than thread with foam flies. These are by far the easiest to make, cheapest in materials and the ones you’re probably not going to cry over if you lose it.
Which is best? The one that the fish bite that day of course. Hair bugs are great if you have time and talent. Can’t say enough about their effectiveness. Cork poppers float better, are easier to make but are more fragile. The exception to this for me is the Boogle Bug. They’re not cheap but hold up much better than any other cork popper I’ve purchased. Foam bugs are the most versatile in shape, easiest to make and cost the least. That alone makes them perfect guide flies or anyone who has limited time to tie flies.
In the end what it really comes down to is where and how you fish it, that makes it effective and that’s a story for another day. It’s a tool and they all work. Fish the one you have confidence in and find enjoyable to tie. Best of both worlds.
