The Kona Popper

StriperSniper Lures
www.ntacustom.com
(978) 853-5319
Plum Island/Newburyport, MA 01950

By Ron Powers

   How does an East Coast tuna-slaying plug get its name from the land of the luau? That was the question I posed to Neal Allen of StriperSniper Lures who, among many other hats he wears, is a master plug builder. “Well,” he told me, “I named my plug the Kona Popper because a friend of mine, Nate Tsao, who just happens to live in Hawaii, was tired of having his favorite gamefish, the ulua or giant trevally, smash other offerings to bits. So I designed the Kona Popper for him, and it worked so well, I had a hunch it might be just as effective on the East Coast for tuna.”.

   Hailing from the fishing culture that is so prevalent in the Newburyport/Plum Island area of Massachusetts, it was only natural that Neal Allen gravitated to fishing. While catching bass, blues, shad and flounder on the available equipment was plenty satisfying for most, it wasn’t enough for Neal. Due to an innate urge to tinker, he soon took to fashioning his own gear. He built his first rod when he was only 11 years old (he still catches striped bass with it), and to further his education he became a shop hand at that surf fishing Mecca on the North Shore – Surfland – at 13 years old. Soon Neal Allen began “turning” his own plugs and even formed his own company – NTA Custom. His plugs, which fall under the moniker of StriperSniper Lures, consist of needlefish, pencil poppers, spooks and, of course, the Kona Popper.
   Of all the fishing endeavors that Neal was privy to, the trips aboard his father’s boat in search of tuna left an indelible mark on his soul. Anyone who has heard a roaring drag under assault by a heavy bluefin knows full well that exposure to tuna fishing often leads to a lifelong affliction that has only one cure – pursuing these pelagics for as many hours as humanly possible. According to Neal Allen, the disease infiltrated his life to the point that when his professional aspirations of becoming an architect took him to Virginia, he pleaded with his company to grant him leave without pay for the month of June so he could be back home and on the hunt for bluefin tuna.
   Of all the ways tuna addicts take these brutes, nothing compares to the bedlam of a bluefin exploding on a surface plug. The perennial challenge for anglers seeking such a thrill is finding a plug that can not only handle the ferocity of the hit but survive the war of attrition that a tuna battle often becomes. Neal admits that as he whittled his Kona Popper for his friend and those big Polynesian jacks, in the back of his mind, he was also readying the lure for tuna.
   So the first order of business was to make the lure tough. Nothing less than the finest components were considered. The infrastructure had to be based on heavy gauge stainless steel wire, the split rings are genuine Wolverine brand triple split rings, the swivels are KROK 600-pound test, and lastly, for the business end of the Kona Popper, 3X 4/0 VMC trebles all around. And the body of this topwater lure is honed out of Alaskan yellow cedar.
   Of course, all that sturdy structure might as well be the components of an anchor if the plug doesn’t exude the visual and sensory stimuli that would make a bluewater beast want to kill it. Neal, being of the belief that predators prefer to subdue their prey headfirst, affixes big 3-D eyes on the Kona Popper. Firsthand experience has taught him the tuna’s favorite forage, so he paints his lures to mimic bunker, mackerel, sea herring, whiting, northern halfbeak and squid. Neal prefers discussing personally with potential customers via a phone call or through email where and what time they’ll be fishing so he can customize the lures to the available bait supply and the preference of patrons – hence the name of his company, NTA Custom. In fact, Neal makes a habit of turning and sealing a number of unpainted lures in advance so that he can apply the paint to order. Incidentally, one of the most effective colors in the land of the macadamia nut, black with purple, has turned out to be deadly on Northeast tuna.
   One of the most notable qualities of all of Neal’s lures is the toughness of their finishes. Before I ever fished the Kona Popper, I had years of experience with one of Neal’s other plugs, a StriperSniper pencil. One day as I was talking with Martha Moulton of Surfland about individual favorite lures, I remarked how I had probably taken more bass on one of the StriperSniper pencils over the last two seasons than any other. Almost instantly, Martha quipped, “Let me guess, other than needing a hook change, the lure looks like new?” She was right; I can’t seem to make a dent in the finish, bluefish and the rocky North Shore notwithstanding!
The process of procuring that shell-like finish begins with having the proper turning apparatus. Along with a college chum who was a budding engineer, Neal fastened a one-of-a-kind carousel that is capable of slowly turning up to 20 plug bodies at a time and is equipped with a laser cutter for plug-turning consistency. Krylon sealer is employed and the lures are spun for a duration of 15 to 20 hours before the colors are applied, which is a two-part process of Envirotex resin, each of which is in turn allowed to set for 8 to 10 hours.
   The Kona Popper is a rear-weighted lure that casts like a rocket and hunkers down almost vertically in the water. This design enables the lure to spring to life with minimal coaxing. Combined with a deep concave head, when jolted the lure moves a ton of water and causes a substantial commotion. Nearby predators are quick to notice the Kona Popper in their realm and are attracted to all the noise and vibration.
   For tuna I’ve had my best success with a “four pops and a pause” cadence. But the Kona Popper is hardly a tuna-specific offering; any fish that will seize the opportunity to ambush what it perceives as wounded surface prey will have a hard time resisting this lure, whether it be tuna, bluefish, striped bass, or from the perspective of our Hawaiian friends, giant trevally!
   Along with a myriad of colors, the Kona is available in two sizes, a 7-inch, 2.80-ounce model and a 4-inch, 1.75-ounce version. The latter size was fashioned at the behest of the guys at First Light Anglers in Rowley, Massachusetts, who not only outfit anglers for tuna but guide them to the bluefin as well. The challenge was to find a small topwater lure that mimicked peanut bunker, since the tuna get extremely fussy when they’re gorging on these tiny menhaden, yet the lure somehow had to be able to handle the blistering assault of a tuna. The mission was accomplished as this lure goads tuna into striking and can handle the heat.
   It takes a lot of work to bring the Kona Popper to fruition, but I think that most would agree that there are no shortcuts to besting a bluefin. The industrial grade materials and labor that goes into the Kona Popper go a long way in calming jitters as line peels from your reel. The drama of a tuna might raise your blood pressure, fry your reel or break your rod, but at least you won’t have to worry about the plug at the end of your line.

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