Giant Trevally caught on a Heru Cubera 125 in Aitutaki
Heru Cubera Popper Review
The Heru Cubera is my favorite heavy popper. It is made of solid wood and is very durable. I have never seen one come apart even under extreme pressure from big Giant Trevally and other tough ocean species. It casts well, makes a big splash when popped, and appeals to a wide variety of fish. Unlike some poppers, it stays in the water well when popped and you don't have to worry about it skittering around if you pop it too hard. For this type of lure it is pretty inexpensive, especially compared to most of the other specialty poppers used for Giant Trevally. I like to rig it with an Owner Jobu hook in the back and a stout but shorter shanked hook in the front with an assist cord attached to the eye of the lure. This less conventional setup allows the hook to swing free, gives great leverage, and makes it very, very tough to throw the lure once you get a good hookset. Some people like to rig it conventionally with two heavy duty treble hooks and reinforced split rings. That works fine too but I feel like the trebles twist out more than the single and often make releases more difficult. See below for my preferred rigging. I don't know how much color matters for big poppers like this but I have had good success in a number of locations with the red head/green body combo pictured above. The only downside of the wood is that if a fish like a Trevally grabs it hard their teeth will sink in a little more than with a plastic lure and that could cause you to not get a good hookset. When something bites this, I like to set the hook as hard as possible repeatedly to ensure the hook actually penetrates. Otherwise the fish may just open its mouth and spit the lure.
The Heru Cubera is my favorite heavy popper. It is made of solid wood and is very durable. I have never seen one come apart even under extreme pressure from big Giant Trevally and other tough ocean species. It casts well, makes a big splash when popped, and appeals to a wide variety of fish. Unlike some poppers, it stays in the water well when popped and you don't have to worry about it skittering around if you pop it too hard. For this type of lure it is pretty inexpensive, especially compared to most of the other specialty poppers used for Giant Trevally. I like to rig it with an Owner Jobu hook in the back and a stout but shorter shanked hook in the front with an assist cord attached to the eye of the lure. This less conventional setup allows the hook to swing free, gives great leverage, and makes it very, very tough to throw the lure once you get a good hookset. Some people like to rig it conventionally with two heavy duty treble hooks and reinforced split rings. That works fine too but I feel like the trebles twist out more than the single and often make releases more difficult. See below for my preferred rigging. I don't know how much color matters for big poppers like this but I have had good success in a number of locations with the red head/green body combo pictured above. The only downside of the wood is that if a fish like a Trevally grabs it hard their teeth will sink in a little more than with a plastic lure and that could cause you to not get a good hookset. When something bites this, I like to set the hook as hard as possible repeatedly to ensure the hook actually penetrates. Otherwise the fish may just open its mouth and spit the lure.
My preferred rigging of the Heru Cubera
Here is another fine way to rig the Cubera - two single hooks twist-tied together on a heavy duty split ring
This Cubera Snapper in Panama took a liking to its namesake lure
60lb Giant Trevally caught on a Heru Cubera in New Caledonia
This Red Bass couldn't resist the big pops generated by the Cubera