Gulp! ?

[Hawnjigs]

Last two outings I've noticed how tuff Gulp! is, specifically the 3" Minnow in Chartreuse Shad color. Fished with and caught for many hours on the same bait. Last time wipers, smallies, walleye, white bass. Today same but the smallies were bigger and no wipers. Over a dozen each session. Maybe a super glued 6 plastic bead stack collar on the 1/0 light wire hook shank made a difference as the round beads don't seem to tear like metal holding collars. The bead stack collars holds very well but the downside is eventually the super glue bond breaks and one by one the beads loosen and slide on the shank. Towards the end even tho the "plastic" was badly torn around the hook bend exit area only 2 or 3 still attached beads held sufficiently to continue catching.

To clarify, the second day used a new bait.

On the other hand, the 2-1/2 Gulp! Minnow is much more fragile in both the Smelt & Pink Shine colors I tried.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Yep, those minnows are tough! I had my best "hold-ons" recently with Hawnjigs' collared HU jigheads for holding the Gulp 2 1/2 and 3" minnows. At a recent trip to the OBX in NC,the minnows held on very well, stayed straight and stable, on speckled sea trout, until sheer numbers (100s) of trout tugged at them ! Then the bluefish decided they loved these too -often we'd get only half the Gulp minnow back (tho the non active front body of gulp stayed firm on Keith's metal collars!!). Lots of fish came in, but 2 of us went through at least six entire packages of the Gulp minnows and twisters !

 

[slammingjack]

I hate bluefish! Tear up your baits and I hate the taste of them.

 

[AtticaFish]

Hmm... never thought of using a bead stack as a keeper. I know the reverse stacked metal keepers hold plastics better than any other i have used. Maybe you could assemble them using a small dam of thread at the back and a drop of super glue on that thread. it might hold the stack in place a little better? Need to give this a try on some of the blank heads i carry for twister tails and swimbaits.

 

[Hawnjigs]

The main purpose of the plastic bead stack collar coupled with a tin head was lighter weight. Super glue doesn't appear to bond firmly to the smooth metal of a hook shank, plus water and/or Gulp! ingredients might also degrade the bond. Nail polish didn't work either. Tie dam might help, but I've noticed that my ties require a 20 wrap undertie to avoid sliding.

Lightest possible head makes a difference avoiding snags in hard bottom shallow moving water.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Hey JJ2, $40 for 400 fish is only a dime each. But at a dozen fish per $.50 Gulp I got you beat.

Never caught a bluefish, sounds like I don't want to.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Think my Gulp! trials are concluded till next Spring. Want to mention that Gulp! twister tails appear to be noticeably stiffer than conventional plastisol, especially in the 2" Jigging Grub style. Think that my preferred use of Gulp! is as a jerk/twitch bait in the 2-1/2" and 3" Minnow style that appears to be a knock-off of the Lunker City Fin-S-Fish design.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Update: OK, I'm now a spoiled full time Gulp!er. When this year's warm water season kicked in, I retired the trout ties and got stinky. No matter what version or color of Gulp! I use, results have always been satisfactory, if not exceptional. 3" or under stick mins, min twisters, leeches, crawlers(4"). Catfish in particular really like Gulp!, and don't think I'll ever need bait again for eater size channels. Wallys, wipers, smallies, & white bass catches appear as good as any other lure chukker, tho there are days when others bottom sitting live minnows appear to get bit best by wallys. One wrinkle tho is that recent purchases of Gulp! products the "plastic" is much softer and often get terminally torn up MUCH quicker, in fact sometimes get ripped off by a short bite tug.

JiggerJohn has been using Gulp! 1-1/2" hellgramites VERY successfully for oversize multi-species catches. Both of us prefer pinning onto a Boolie style jig, his a mere 1/28 oz #8 hook and mine due to fast current 3/16 2/0. Nonetheless, his catches are consistenly bigger than mine, tho considering my area resource I ain't complaining.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Nuther update: With the warm late Summer weather, best opp has been a moving water outlet canal between reservoirs, with smallies & catfish the most prevalent species. Nothing huge - smallies 10-16" and catfish averaging 2# with a very occasional surprise up to 15#. My bud Jon catches as many smallies on conventional twisters as me with Gulp!, but catfish noticeably prefer Gulp!. One day, I was getting steady catfish action while Jon was getting only smallies, so I suggested he switch to Gulp! for a bit more tug. Sure enuf, switching to a 3" Gulp! stick min he quickly started getting cat bit. Altho other species availability has declined lately, seems the Gulp! got me a few more wallys & white bass than Jon's regualr soft plastics.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Do we actually need another update? Well, this is for a different species - trout. Last two days, finally decided to break my warm water species addiction, almost too late. Yesterday, with the reservoir inlet bite off, decided to go upstream on the supply canal for trouties. Only had my warm water Gulp! Minnow jigs, and surprised that a 16" and a 6#er obliged, the latter a personal best. Unfortunately, the canal is nearly drained dry for 5 year maintenance, and today probably the last possible day to fish, so headed back this morning. After extensive trial & error searching, found a magic holdover pool full of carp, but also a few trout. Ended up with a 3, 5, and two more PBs at 7 & 7-1/2# all on the same 2-1/2" silver pearl Gulp! Minnow. Might have got more, but eventually dealing with snagged carp & a 20# catfish got too exhausting to continue. The magic pool probably only holds fish near terminal drain, so have to wait 5 years for a similar opportunity.

Seems 1/0 & 2/0 hook Gulp! jig heads might be a bit large for trout, as more than usual hits & misses than my usual #4 tied Boolies.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Recap: Online reviewers mostly like or even rave about Gulp! but there are a few who claim it didn't work at all for them. Last Tuesday at a further from home moving water canal system that still had water Jon's chrome Kastmaster was outfishing my Gulp! 2-1/2" stick min at least 5-1 on white bass, altho we were even with 2 wipers each. Returning on Saturday, I started with a double spin Booger jig trying to match his shiny metal action, but he was shortly up 6-0 on the white bass. So, switched to my usual go-to Gulp! stick min jig and it didn't take long for a come from behind pull ahead 11-7 when I stopped counting.

Point being, it appears Gulp! can have on & off days, and the efficacy of Gulp! or perhaps any lure should not be judged by the (poor) results from inadequate testing.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Trouting has been poor this winter close to home and been getting only a pathetic few dink stockers on last years effective Boolies. Wasn't till I switched to seemingly oversize for trout Gulp! 2-1/2" Minnows on #2 hook 1/15 oz. jig heads that I started getting a few larger ones.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Just when I thought I had the ticket for trout wired,  Jon outfished my Gulp! 9-1 with our original Nebraska trout Boolie - 1/8 unpainted round head, simple white zonker top over pearl Flashabou undertie tail. So, next time I switched to the same style Boo tie dark fur over gold Flashabou on a 1/14 Hooksup head and got a personal best big girl. Re-posting a pic of the trout Boolies that I tied many years ago when first targeting trout in Colorado, as they are the same as being used now.


Think both Gulp! and ties have their place in different spots & times, and nice to be able to switch if one seems slow.

 

[Hawnjigs]

OK, last flip flop post on trout Gulp!ing. A few days after being Boolied into submission by Jon, returned to our moving water trouting area yesterday (alone) and started off OK with a decent # of fun size trouties on the above pictured Boolies mostly in the 12-16" size range wandering about a mile of stream bank. At the last spot turnaround for the day, decided to switch to a 2-1/2" Gulp! Minnow on a 1/15 oz head after a hit & miss on a Boolie, and was rewarded with an exceptional 6-7# fattie. So, stuck with the Gulp on the walk back casting to already Boolied holds and eventually another big girl about the same size obliged. This is public water, and a session like this is extraordinarily right place right time lucky. Precious few trout left, so I release em all.

Sooo, maybe I can conclude that if one has moving water opportunity, Winter is an excellent time to target trout, and Gulp! may be worth considering as a tool.

 

[AtticaFish]

I have only had limited success with the Gulp stuff but have mostly tried it on micro sized stuff through the ice. Really do need to try the larger stuff and give it an honest chance.

Had a bag that ripped open and the juice soaked the inside of one of my small soft sided bait coolers.... it was actually an insulated lunch bag. I ended up throwing it away and getting a new lunch bag because the smell would NOT go away!

 

[Hawnjigs]

Indeed, the Gulp! smell is pervasive. I recently noticed that even well used Gulp! Minnows stored in a bag still attached to a jighead still have a noticeable smell when re-used for the next session. One would think that water soluble Gulp! juice would wash away, not so.

Altho the Mac Dam combat nite walleye Spring spawn is full blast, my usual outlet canal has been a more relaxing choice for fun in the sun. Gulp! Minnows have been productive for warm water species as well as trout, all I use nowadays. Last canal session on Sunday I got at least 15 and Jon at least 10 wallys, mostly 14-16" with an occasional few bigger up to 20". The canal needs a few years after the recent drain to produce bigger fish, if any survive the bucket brigade harvest. Jon & I are likely the only guys around who release 15"+ keeper size wallys.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I've never had luck with Gulp but fish other Berkley scented baits including power worms and chigger craws with good results. Actually have thrown gulp baits without hooks in the water and watch fish suck them in and then spit them out. Also know some people that use nothing but Gulp. I've got some soft plastics in the basement that have been marinating in gulp juice since 2009. Just haven't gotten around to trying it again. Walleye are fun to catch and great eating. As long as I have a bag of fillets in the freezer the rest are going back. To me a 15 inch walleye doesn't have enough meat for me to kill it. 18 inchers are just about the right size.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Soft plastics don't seem to absorb Gulp! juice, tried, failed. And yup, 18" is my minimum to harvest, tho on the rare occasion I keep one, 20" is preferable.

Gulp! continues to be my jig of choice, even with massive harvest pressure at my favored spot, still getting a few 20"s, and today got my PB this year at least 22" and chunky. Also got my biggest flathead ever around 20#.

Ordered some 2-1/2" Gulp! Minnows on Walmart.com at a good price. Picked up today, they now come in a white plastic bag, and quality is deplorable. Examining thru the clear window without opening, every bait was permanently bent or kinked, pretty much useless. Returning tomorrow. I read some online complaints about them being made in China, now I understand why

Yes, I did contact Berkley-fishing.com explaining the problem, we'll see.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I think just about everything from China is a volume item, certainly don't care about quality. I only order roller swivels and 3-d eyes from China. I'll pay extra for quality products over cheap products. Maybe after 8 years of soaking in gulp juice will be enough for my plastics to absorb some of the juice. Going to take a bait out and see what it looks like after it dries out some. Maybe I'll put some juice in a small spray bottle and spray it on some jigs to test on the fish.

 

[duffy]

Not gulp but I had some powerbait small minnow's it assorted colors that would trigger a bite when even nitghtcrawlers wouldn't. Don't recall the exact name right now but they would swim very good. Don't know if it was the juice or the color/shape that did the trick but you had to be quick as the fish seemed to hit and spit fairly fast. 
I also had a problem with some Berkley baits and they replaced them no problem.