I liked the little popper so much I began making the foam bodies and tying them myself.  The bodies were made of individual foam disks cut out of a piece of sheet foam with a hole punch and were then super glued together to form a foam cylinder.  After making a few I began to wonder if there wasn't a better way to make the bodies.  A short time later I ran across an article on Elmer Meiler's Warm Water Flyfisher website that gave me just the inspiration I was looking for and after a bit of various adhesives to bond layers of foam together and methods of cutting the bodies I came up with something that worked well for me.  IN case you're wondering where the name 'DP Poppers' came from, its from the piece of equipment I use to cut out the bodies - a Drill Press - thus the name DP Poppers.

Throughout 2003 I made quite a few of the foam poppers, some of which I fished with and some I gave to friends.  The poppers produced quite well and were found to be very durable - especially because there was no paint to chip as there is on traditional cork, balsa  or hard foam bodied poppers. 

DP Poppers, as a company, got its start almost by accident in February 2004 when I was tying poppers as a demo tyer at the Atlanta Flyfishing Festival.  As I tied, quite a few of the people that visited my table asked me if I sold the poppers.  I'd tell them that I would sell what I had on hand at the show and I sold quite a few.  Folks also asked me if I'd be willing to sell some of the bodies so that they could try tying the poppers themselves....no problem!  I was beginning to get an inkling that they mught be a pretty good seller when Grant Summerlin of Feather and Fly Sporting Traditions in Chattanooga, Tennessee came up to my table and asked if I'd be willing to tie some for his shop.  I said "Sure!" and gave him my e-mail address.  Several e-mails later I found myself tying my first batch of DP Poppers to be sold to a flyshop. 

There's been just a little little bit of water under the bridge since that first order.  DP Poppers is still a one-man operation.  Even so, DP Poppers are now stocked in numerous flyshops throughout the southeast and are also available online through this website.  I hope you enjoy fishin' with them as much as I do.

About me, Steve Davenport, owner of DP Poppers.

I've been fishing nearly as long as I've been walking.  Having a pond in our back yard in Tucker, Georgia and growing up with a pair of grandfathers who were avid fishermen probably had more than a little influence on me in my younger days and into adulthood.  I picked up flyfishing when I was 14 or 15 and began tying flies shortly thereafter.  Bream and bass have always been my favorite targets although I did spend quite a bit of time chasing trout while in school at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia and Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina and in the years after.

However, after moving to Palmetto then to Newnan, Georgia, my days wading trout streams became less and less frequent as my favorite trout waters up in the mountains of northeast Georgia and western North Carolina were at least a couple of hours away.  Having a desperate need to feel a fish tug on a line I began to find and fish some of the rivers, ponds and lakes near home and in doing so, re-ignited my passion for warm water fishing.

As much as I love to flyfish, I can't claim to flyfish exclusively.  I'm perfectly happy to use a spinning rod and can't think of anything more fun than spending a summer evening at the edge of a pond with one or both of my daughters, their fishing rods and a cage full of crickets.

Thanks Y'all!!

Steve D.

P.S. - I'd like to say a special Thank You to Gary and the guys at The Fish Hawk for all their advise, assistance and support as I got this adventure off the ground.  Thanks Y'all!!!

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