Duo Realis is a JDM brand that I’ve been getting into lately. They make some good crankbaits and jerkbaits, but they also make a small popper called the Popper 64 that has become my favorite one to throw when I’m at a pond. Poppers can be effective in the summer, winter and fall and while I like to use larger ones when I’m on a large lake, I prefer to use smaller ones when I’m at a pond or smaller body of water. For a while my lure of choice was the Megabass Pop X, however I noticed Duo makes this one and have been impressed with some of their other lures so I figured I’d pick one up and give it a shot. I pretty much knew it was a keeper after using it for the first time and so today I decided to take a few minutes and review it.
To begin, let’s get into the colors and overall appearance. Duo does not offer a ton of color options with this lure, but each color that they do offer looks awesome and I’m pretty sure they would all work. Having said that in my case I’m usually going with bluegill colors if I’m at a pond or maybe some shad imitating colors if I’m somewhere where they might be chasing shad and so I usually stick to the colors I’ve suggested below. The lure itself also looks exceptional. It does come with treble hooks and the one on the back includes a nice feather on it. The treble hooks are also good quality, but I usually swap out my trebles for single hooks which is why you aren’t seeing that in the one pictured above.
In terms of performance, this thing does great. I’ve been using it on a spinning rod and it’s been easy to cast. The design of the mouth is also very good as I’ve found it’s been very easy to get that classic popper ‘bloop’ sound. Duo also says the design makes it easy to walk, but between you and me I don’t really walk popping baits and if I want to walk a bait I’ll throw a topwater walker. It also catches fish by the way. You don’t see that mentioned in the manufacturer descriptions as much these days but I figured I’d throw that in there since it’s still sort of important to me. There are also a few rattles in the lure that give it a nice sound that is noticeable without being overwhelming.
The only drawback to this lure is it is expensive as most JDM lures are. Having said that this one goes on sale more often as Duo typically isn’t one of the brands that are excluded when tackle stores are having a sale, so if you can wait until your store of choice is having one then you can typically pick one up at a price that is going to come out to about 25% less than what you would pay for something like the Megabass Pop X. I mention that one because it’s honestly the only other one that I’ve found that really compares to the Duo Popper 64, but if I’m looking at $15 or $20 for a popper and everything else is about equal, I’m personally going to go with the less expensive option. Having said that I realize $15 is still not cheap for a popper and if you want something less expensive there are other options out there.
In summary I’d highly recommend this lure. Try a bluegill color if they are chasing bluegill or go with one of the shad colors if they are chasing shad and go with a translucent one if the visibility is higher or go with the other option if the visibility is lower. Either way this thing has been working for me from early spring to late fall, and if you want to throw a smaller topwater popper this one should definitely produce results that I think you are going to find acceptable.
Tackle Summary
Product: Duo Realis Popper 64
Category: Popper
Length: 2.5″
Weight: 1/3 oz
Suggested Colors: Ghost Gill, Prism Gill, Ghost Minnow, Prism Smelt
