How to Make Poppers With Cork Bodies

Trim the cork to size depending on the length of the hook's shaft and the shape you want the popper fly. Secure the cork in a vise first, ideally, and trim it with a razor blade. Release it and fix it in the vise again as necessary.

Cut one-quarter of the way through the body of the cork using a single-edge razor blade or a hacksaw blade.

Wind polyester sewing thread in the color of your choice from underneath the eye of the fishing hook down the shaft of the hook and back to beneath the eye. Wrap the thread around the hook several times at the start and end of the process so that it overlaps, securing it in place. Wind the thread tightly and so that each layer lies against the next. Trim the thread off closely at the end using the razor blade. This is 'whipping' the hook.

Fill the slit in the cork with waterproof glue and push the whipped hook in flush to the bottom of the slit. The hook eye should jut out from the wide end of the cork body. Leave the glue to dry.

Wrap polyester thread several times around the cork body from back to front at intervals along its length. Tie the thread off and trim it each time. This will give the cork body a segmented appearance.