So what is so great about these things? Looks pretty generic to me.

 

Favorite color?

 

Ty

I read somewhere on the InterWeb® that a Pop X on spinning gear is much better... 

Seriously, The Lobina Rico, (Lobina is spanish for bass, and Rico is Spanish for Clunn) was one of the first poppers to incorporate the mods that were being made by the pros of the day. The "great" part is they spit or splish well, sit at the right angle, and have the right feathers right out of the box. There are (were) several other very similar "premium" poppers. 

Nearly identical to Iovino Splash-It. Rico has Gamakatsu hooks and crystal flash rear treble, Splash-It has Owner hooks with chicken hackle feathers. Both lures came out in '91 in the 1/4 oz size. Splash-It is $14, Rico is $20.

The 1st popper of this design from Japan was the Micheal about 2 years before Rico or Splash-It. Rebel Pop-R was the original and modified by Zell Roland, all the others followed Zells streamline faster action design.

Tom

The Ricos (as well as the Yellow Magics) have had some subtle (and some not so subtle) changes through the years. I find the Iovino to be the most consistent of the bunch. And while I almost always mod Pop Rs, I am not above modding any of the other poppers. Except my Michaels, I only have a few, and they are difficult (like impossible) to find. The first generation Pop Rs (from the 70s) are the ones I really like to mod. After they reintroduced them, they seemed to change them frequently.