MirrOlure Lure Review - Popa Dog walking popper striper redfish fishing

Lure Review

MirrOlure's Popa Dog uniquely walks and barks at the surface to attract aggressive game fish

Date:	2/03/05
Tackle type:	Lures
Manufacturer:	MirrOlure
Reviewer:	JIP

Total Score: 8.75

Introduction: Anglers seeking an effective topwater lure for their favorite saltwater or freshwater game fish will find the Popa Dog a excellent alternative to their current lures. This MirrOlure has an unique design that produces different types of flashes and noises as it is being walked across the surface of the water.

MirrOlure Popa Dog (87MR) Specifications
Class	Floating (Top water)
Colors/Patterns	10 available
Size	4"
Weight	1/2 oz
Hooks	2
Price	$4.99

Introducing the new Popa Dog by MirrOlure

About MirrOlure: A L&S Bait company, MirrOlure was founded decades ago by Harold LeMaster who used mirrors in his lure designs to enhance performance. Thanks to his unique innovations, the L&S Bait team continues to produce high quality lures under 3 popular brands - L&S Lures, iLand Lures, and MirrOlure. These 3 series of lures cover everything from freshwater to saltwater, and even big game fishing, with each one sporting effectual designs and durable components for the toughest conditions.

Designed with an unique lip and head, one can walk the dog while the lure spits. Also notice the flashy mirror pattern that's inside the plastic molded body

Impressions: The Popa Dog is a well thought-out lure with a quality design. You can say the body of this lure resembles other types of topwater walk the dog lures such as the Spook and others, but what makes the MirrOlure unique is in the head and mirror design. It features an innovative concave lip design and head shape that's like no other. The 3-D eyes are bright and large, easily seen by fish that are lurking about. Out of the 10 colors, most of the Popa Dogs showcase the MirrOlure's famous reflective mirror facade. And what we like about how these lures are made is that the mirror pattern is encapsulated inside the lure's outer shell. Additional patterns are painted on the outside and when reflected give the lure a vibrant overall look.

Complete Rig for fishing the Popa Dog
Rod	AiRRUS Spectra (SPC701MH-AFT)
Reel	Quantum Cabo PT baitcast
Line	20 lb. Sufix Tritanium Plus

Field Tests: MirrOlure manufactures 31 different models that are used to target specific species of fish. L&S Bait recommends the Popa Dog when hunting for snook, redfish, tarpon, bluefish, stripers, and seatrout. We put the Popa Dog up against West Coast stripers and we thought this lure would also be effective at luring lunker bass to strike.

The profile of the lure is shaped to easily walk to the dog

Casting: Anglers will like the casting ability of this lure. At half of an ounce the MirrOlure Popa Dog shoots through the air like a bullet. You can fling this lure far out into the open water or controllably cast it into close quarters thanks to the shape and weight of the Popa Dog. The weight used in the sound chamber also assist in casting as it helps project the lure to its destination.

Notice the large 3-D eye on the Popa Dog. Aside from walking it, you can retrieve the lure like a popper

Retrieving: This is where the Popa Dog excels. The MirrOlure topwater lure is effective at luring fish to come up and strike! The Popa Dog can be retrieved in various ways. Cast it out and pop it back like you would a popper with occasional pauses in between or none at all. The unique concave lip design pops like no other. The sound of the pop and the shape of the water it displaces as it is retrieved gives this lure its particular effective action to attract fish. A second retrieve one can apply is the popular walk the dog technique with this topwater lure. While you walk the dog with this lure you'll also create plenty of water disturbance as it pops as well. Throughout our tests we were afraid that the lip might affect the walking action but surprisingly it didn't at all. We found this lure very effective at both of these fishing techniques as it was able to win the attention of the fish from a distance through the motion, water disturbance, and sound it created as it was being retrieved on the surface of the water.

The Dog sits still with head up and bottom down. The eyes are designed to be at the waterline level

Durability: This lure was designed to be fished in a saltwater environment and thus uses all quality grade components that won't corrode easily. The hooks, split rings, and other metal components will easily stand up to saltwater and its environment. The mirrored pattern is encapsulated inside the lure's plastic outer mold that's durable and impact resistant. You won't ever lose any of that shine because the fish and other abrasive materials won't be able to get inside the lure to damage the reflective "mirror." And in some patterns the color is molded into the shell while others are painted on the outside. Either way, this lure is durable enough to withstand multiple species of freshwater and saltwater fish.

Aside from stripers and largemouth bass, the MirrOlure Popa Dog are great for other saltwater and freshwater species

Application: Though we only tested the MirrOlure Popa Dog against stripers and largemouth bass, this topwater lure will also be effective against other species the manufacturer recommended and more. Anglers in different regions of the world can apply this lure up versus their local game such as pike, peacock bass, barramundi, and much more. With plenty of topwater commotion, this lure can be applied against any species that will come up and attack prey near the surface of the water, fresh or salt.

Ratings:

MirrOlure Popa Dog Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	This lure is solid and well constructed. The plastic mold is thick and impact resistant, mirror pattern cannot be damaged, and quality terminal tackle are used	9
Performance	Walk it or pop it, this topwater lure performs above expectations and is an effective lure in targeting your favorite game fish	9
Price	A great price for a durable lure like this	8.5
Features	The surface walker features an unique lip and head, mirror pattern, and a loud clacking sound chamber that's combined to attract fish to strike	8.5
Design (Ergonomics)	A nice design that allows the lure to walk the dog and pop, without affecting each other. Also the mirror pattern is flashy and well protected that ensures its performance to last	9
Application	A very effective topwater lure that walks and pops. Great for saltwater and freshwater game fish	8.5
Total Score		8.75

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus Minus
J Flashy mirror pattern	L Paint job can be improved on the black and yellow patterned lure
J Extremely durable construction
J Walks and pops
J Easy to cast
J Innovative lip design

Conclusion: MirrOlure, famous for their flashy mirror patterns, continues to produce these fantastic lures by bringing other innovative designs into the formula. The MirrOlure Popa Dog is one such lure that anglers will surely welcome into their tackle box once they have seen and used it. The Popa Dog features a unique lip and head design that allows anglers to walk the dog while producing spitting and popping sounds, or can be slowly retrieved with twitches to create topwater commotion like a popper would. The overall performance of the lure is exceptional and can be used effectively against many types of saltwater and freshwater game fish. The icing on the cake is the great durability of this product, enabling the lure to stand up to plenty of abuse. Anglers who enjoy tempting fish to strike at topwater lures should definitely take a look at the MirrOlure Popa Dog because it walks and barks like no other.