Berkley Gulp!

[Dark Cloud]

Although gulp and gulp alive had been around a bit, I havn't had a chance to play around with it. This past week I was on an annual fishing trip and used it exclusivly with great results.

On this trip we mostly fish for eyes casting bucktail jigs to drop-offs and humps in 16-24 ft of water. Usually we tip the jigs with a half crawler.

My dad and I fished together most of the time and he used the norm while I fished the 3 and 2.5 inch alive minnows and the 3 inch fry's. Over the years of this trip we are very even on numbers of fish boated so trying new baits gives us a good barometer. My favorite bait was the 2.5 inch minnow in the "new penny" color. The 3 inch baits I prefered on a plain jighead.

I was impressed with the baits durability. At times the smallmouths and gills can be pesky, stripping the crawler from jigs. They had a real hard time plucking the gulp off the hook.

I also liked the feature of "recharging" you bait in the tub while spot hopping. Not sure if it matters but it adds confidence, a key ingredient in success.

Before going on the trip I had read complaints on the tubs leaking. I didnt experience any but was carefull to keep them upright. And I put a few wraps of plumbers tape on the threads before hand.

Another benifit was not haveing to purchase, capture, or keep bait alive.

We didnt keep a tally for the week but things were real close.

While there are no magic baits, they certailnly work well. I look forward to using them this fall when our local rivers set up with the classic jig n minnow bite.

On a 1 to 5 scale i'd give them a solid 4.5. I'll have to fish them a bit more to make it a five.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I have been using gulp alive for the last couple of years. 2.5" and 3" smelt minnows are a sure bet on the St. Croix. The white micro twister tails made my 7 year old boys a believer the last time we went pan fishing.

I'll be honest I bought my first bucket of Gulp Alive Minnows to prove to myself that they didn't work. To my surprise they worked just as well as anybody's live bait rigs.

Then there is convenience. I don't have to worry about keeping bait alive or cool. There always in the boat and ready to go when I am. You can also catch several fish with one bait instead of reaching in the live minnow bucket every time you get one in the boat or miss one!

How about cost. $20 for a bucket seems steep until you put it into perspective. Every time I go out with a scoop of live minnows I'm looking at 4 to 5 dollars. Four trips out I spent $20 and I dumped a bunch of bait I didn't use. The bucket of Gulp Alive Minnows will last until its gone. In the case of my 2.5" minnows a year and a half later and at least 10 to 15 walleye/sauger outings I still have several left.

I would also give these a solid 4.5!

If you see me on the St. Croix this fall I'll let you borrow one to see for yourself.

[Dark Cloud]

I just picked up another tub - our local big box store that starts with a G has them on sale for 14.99.

Another thing I like is that I could buy the little re-sealable packages of gulp and add em to a tub to make my own assortments. I was able to add 3 more packages to the tub-o juice.

[Borch]

I love to use gulp on jigs and spinner rigs. They hold up to panfish attacks and fish love this stuff whether I'm using the small stuff for sunfish and crappies or fishing for eyes, bass, lake trout or pike.

Pros:

These baits are durable and I usually catch several fish on each bait. After using it for awhile I put it back in the sauce and recharge the bait with scent. At times these catch fish much better than live bait. No need to worry about the bait dieing or going bad. I keep this stuff stashed in my boat and in a few tackle boxes so I have it on hand. Costwise this saves you money in the long run.

Cons:

The stuff is very smelly and the tubs do leak if you pull the foil seal all the way off. I buy the Plano containers to keep mine in so they don't leak.

Would you recommend to your friends?

I do it all the time and now they all have it in their tackle boxes. The stuff flat out works!

I'd give 4.5 out of 5 stars, (due to leaky containers).

[ozzie]

to avoid the leaky container go to Target or Wal-Mart and buy water tight or no leak plastic storage container for about a buck a piece and keep the Gulp Alive in those

[pulleye16]

Would not waste money on that just because of the containers...but they offer to sell you ones that don't leak! SCAM!!!!!

[ozzie]

like I said it is very easy to get a no leak container to put them in and they are very effective

[half-dutch]

I find true plastics every bit as effective as GULP, in most cases more, at least for crappies and sunnies. The right GULP is generally better than live bait, though. It is far messier than the true plastics and smellier, too, and some tolerate the smell better than others.

It is definitely worth the effort to try. Definitely a step up from live bait, and although I do not fish walleyes all that much, I would say that GULP crawlers on a bottom bouncer spinner would be my choice over live crawlers every time, and in that case over true plastics, too.

For myself I have returned to true plastics for the most part, in part because I fish generally short outings and generally target crappies, and the mess that GULP (especially GULP ALIVE) can be is more hassle to me than it is worth. The true plastics stand up to panfish nibbles better than GULP does, too, although GULP wears better than live bait for sure. The plastics are a whole lot cheaper than GULP is; so you can carry a bigger variety both for less money and more conveniently.

If you can set up for the possible mess and can take the aroma, GULP is very good. For the way I fish, true plastics are better. Both outfish live bait in nearly every case, once you get your techniques down.

[pulleye16]

like I said it is very easy to get a no leak container to put them in and they are very effective

So why dosen't GULP do that?

[tgruenke]

I have onlt tried the 4inch. I'm pretty sure I should have just bought a 3 inchers. I think 4inches is just over kill in many situations.

[ozzie]

Don't know and don't care as long as they keep making them I will keep buying them cause they are very effective, save me money, and they catch fish. I could care less that I had to buy a better container for $.99 to store them in though.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I have onlt tried the 4inch. I'm pretty sure I should have just bought a 3 inchers. I think 4inches is just over kill in many situations.

I found the 4 inch minnows will attract better quality fish but less often. For more action the 3 inch minnows out perform the 4 inch from my experience.

[Finns]

I leave the foil on the tub and just cut a rectangle out of the foil (about one half inch by two inches) and use forceps or needle nose pliers to get the bait out. Helps keep the juice inside the tub unless I drop it upside down .

[OnAFly]

I use an old not-so-sloppy-joe jar. The wide mouth makes for easy access and the presence of an actual seal (unlike the extremely irritating Berkley tubs) keeps the juice where it belongs.