GEAR
PRODUCT REVIEW
BERKLEY CHOPPO 120
B
erkley recently intro-
duced a dozen new
topwater baits to fill
a number of categories,
and I was anxious to see
how their chunk-and-wind
version of a plopping-style
bait called the Choppo
stacked up against the
competition.
What I found was a
large-profile bait built
around a proven concept
with a few twists and
tweaks meant to amplify
the sound, shower more
spray and optimize the bal-
ance. All this in a big-fish
lure of good quality that’s
sold for a reasonable price.
first Impression
46
The two-piece Choppo
resembles a large minnow
of some sort. Its main body
has a mostly flat back and
sides with a tapered nose,
big 3-D eyes, and a barrel-
shaped midsection that
accommodates a series of
belly weights enclosed by
two small chambers.
By Matt Williams
PHOTOs BY MATT PACE
Its cone-shaped tail is
equipped with a massive
propeller made of super-
rigid plastic material.
Berkley claims the hard-
plastic prop won’t warp or
lose its shape should your
topwater box get left out in
the hot sun by mistake, but
I didn’t go so far as to test
its durability by casting in
into riprap or a dock post.
Bump the prop with a
forefinger and the entire tail
section spins free and easy
on a stainless shaft. Berkley
equipped the Choppo 120
with No. 2 Fusion19 1X
black-nickel trebles. One or two cranks with the
reel handle had the big
propeller churning the sur-
face with a signature plop-
plop-plop that I could hear
from 50 yards away and a
distinctive thump that
could be felt all the way to
the rod tip.
Berkley didn’t reinvent
the wheel with the Choppo,
but it did make a few
tweaks to a topwater style
that already has a very rich
history of success. In addi-
tion to great castability
afforded by the bait’s size –
1 ounce – the first thing I
noticed was how easily the
bait got up and running. While the Choppo’s
acoustics weren’t signifi-
cantly different than other
similar chunk-and-wind
models, the tune was
noticeably deeper, louder
and more pronounced
than what the fish have
been dancing to over the
last few years. It’s also bal-
anced for many speeds.
In action
final thoughts
sometimes just a subtle
difference in sound or
action between lure brands
can make a significant dif-
ference in the number of
strikes you’ll get from one
day to the next. To wit: The
Z-Man/Evergreen
ChatterBait Jack Hammer
thumps a little harder than
a stock ChatterBait. The
XCalibur One Knocker
makes a different sound
than a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.
The Choppo, in my opin-
ion, produced a deeper
plopping sound, created a
little more spray and ran
truer at high speeds than a
River2sea Whopper
Plopper. The verdict: If
you’re a fan of boisterous
surface plugs known to call
fish from a distance, the
all-new Choppo 120 is well
worth a look. It doesn’t
need to replace your
Whopper Ploppers entire-
ly, but you could call it
another valuable tool in
the toolbox.
fLWfIshIng.com I sprIng 2019