Question @ Gulp

[Daze Off]

This might be a nutty question but have been wondering about it since it became evident that (1) Gulp wasn't going to go away and (2) that it apparently works pretty well judging by some of the catches made by people using it that I have been with. Here goes....

How different is this stuff than using non-live bait like corn or bread dough or stinkbait or dead minnows/crawfish/earthworms/leeches or anything else that is used that is not technically "alive" but is natural? At what point do we draw the line, at least in tournaments, with these so-called "natural" baits that are scented or composed of such powerful attractants that it begins to take the "sport" out of fishing with artificial baits?

Does this make sense to anyone else or am I just suffering from cabin fever?

I have resisted using it because it almost seems like cheating....might as well just hang it under a bobber. I guess the same applies to sprays/dips too (which I don't use either). Where is the line between purely artificial and live and/or natural bait? It does not take much skill to get my dog to follow/attack a dog treat and aren't we getting close to the same thing in this case? Why not just throw out a chum slick and call it good....?

Daze Off

[Mr. Pike1]

I like many of the Berkley products like power bait, tubes, crappie nibblets etc. However, my limited experience with Gulp has been less then impressive. I also kept some of the gulp grubs with my ice pack and it ohed from the container an left a that terrible gulp smell on one my my plastics packs so I tossed it and may slowly start tossing all the other gulp bass plastics I have very limited faith in any of them to produce..

[CrappieJohn]

I've tried Gulp in several different venues. Does anybody want some partial packs? They'll likely be in the garbage can at the boat ramp at Alma tomorrow.

[river rat316]

Gulp! is junk its impossible to handle and keep, it stinks, and on top of that it doesn't produce. I threw mine out and wont buy more, if you wanna try a scent dispersion plastic click on the Exude logo before you come in here, it handles better and produces better than gulp!

I know some people have caught some on sinking minnows (gulps senko) but I think theres better stick baits out there also

[Boedigheimer]

I second that motion! Gulp is all that yucky stuff previously mentioned, AND it drys out to rock hard permanent fixture on your jig.

Can you really improve on Powerbait?

My 4 year old son will catch sunfish, rock bass and perch off the dock with the same little bit of powerbait on his hook for weeks at a time until one tears it off, or a bass comes along and rips the rod out of his hand.

[ikeslayer]

Alright fellas the original post got a little hijacked here. The authors original intent was not to rip on Gulp or other naturals he was wondering where to draw the line. I have wondered the same question myself and i think the Dnr is going to have to make the call real soon because of trout fishing yes trout fishing. A couple of years ago several streams went to no "live bait". Although i never used live bait in trout streams before i started to wonder does this mean i could kill the night crawler first and then use it, or kill the minnow and then use it? There is also another company out there that makes baits out of fish food. There shelf life is very short but it is 100% fish food. It isn't alive but what is considered live bait any more. Was once alive should this be considered live bait??? But even true plastics is i believe made from some animal parts. It is a tough call but a line that use to be so definite is now pretty fuzzy. I think the envelope will get pushed a little further yet and then you will see DNRs and tournament directors and even B.A.S.S. and F.L.W. start drawing some lines in the sand. As for now if it were on my conscience i would have to research every bait and find out what i am fishing is made out of. I would be willing to bet that even powerbait has something in it from a once living creature. But i am not willing to do that kind of research nor do i think powerbait would just send me their ingredients to one of there best products. that is what i think, thanks for reading, ike

[Ole the Guide]

I'm with you guys. When I first bought some gulp maggots a few years ago they seemed okay but that soon changed! I've only used gulp for crappies but now they (the craps)don't seem to like it at all! My friend sat next to me in the shack and hammered them on Powerbait while I sat and watched.

As for Bass, my go to is fast becoming Exude, especially now that I know where to get them.

Ole

[Daze Off]

Thanks ikeslayer for the response to my original question and, for clarification, it is exactly the Gulp sinking minnow that I have seen do well and not any of their other products.

I hope at some point that some official body draws the line clearly.

Daze Off

[Deitz Dittrich]

I'll throw in my opinion on the subject.

I dont think that using products like Gulp is cheating. Its not alive and has no action at all of its own. Its up to you to find an area that has fish in it and tempt them to hit.

Just to play devils advocate, do you use crankbaits that resemble baitfish? Isn't that similar thinking to not useing a plastic that may look or even taste like a baitfish?

I myself do not use live bait for bass, but I do use Exude, and at times will use spray scent. And I dont think its cheating.

[Daze Off]

Deitz - good points - I guess I would respond by saying that crankbaits have no other attractant than the color and/or action that is imparted to them by the skill of the angler (color is choice of angler). For example, if you just put a crankbait underwater tied to the bottom (different than a pause during a retreive with a suspended or even sinking/floating bait) it would not likely be bothered since there is no movement or scent but if you put something with scent or made from a natural bait under a bobber or suspended in the same way underwater it would likely be attacked for those reasons and unrelated to the "skill" of the angler....

Thanks for responding!

Daze Off

[Deitz Dittrich]

Thanks for the post daze.. I would love to see a test of that.. I do think that if you put a big sinker and suspended a crankbait about 2 feet of the bottom and didn't move it, so long as there were bass around.. one would hit it I would bet.

I could be wrong?... I've even been wrong before LOL

I too dont know where they will draw the line?,, freeze dried?

[OnTheWater]

Anything that is manufactured in a factory is fine in my book. I don't see how the scent dispersion of a plastic is any different then the sound and vibration emitted from a rattle trap or blade bait. Both lures are designed to attract the fish's various senses. Plastics attract their sense of smell or taste, and rattling cranks attract their sense of vibrations through their lateral line. So what’s the difference? Both are simply creative lures that have found a way to attract a fish's interest. The angler still has to catch the fish. I would say that angler knowledge and skill (and of course a little bit of luck) is a much greater factor in actually getting the fish to bite.

[Bobb-o]

I personally have had great success with the Gulp, but if you are going to have it out in the boat with you all day, make sure to store it in a cooler, or it will all melt together.

[ikeslayer]

however fellas where do you draw the line. Is once live bait ok, if it is dead while you are using it? or is that cheating? if i had a 5" sucker minnow and killed it and put it on a hook and gave it all the action is this cheating i bet most of you would say yes. however if i took that same sucker minnow killed it and ground it up and put it in a plastic mold with an amount of plastic and sold it as a senko i bet some of you might start to see this line get fuzzy. and that is the question. The envelope is going to be continued to be pushed so how far does it go or should it go before it is live bait or dang close to live?

ike

[Slyster]

I'd say there's a very distinct line between life and death.. there is no gray area. I tried Gulp.. really didn't care for it either.. nor had much luck.

[ikeslayer]

i am sure it is like a secret recipe but does anyone know what this GULP is made of? ike

[Smallie]

Plastic companies are a dime a dozen these days!!I can't give a fair opinon on my thoughts on Gulp because I have always stayed with what works right or wrong..

I can say for some of buddies that spend more time on the water than most they have been made into Gulp users..

However I can't say that they just use the Gulp brand but it's another trick to throw into your bag of goodies..I will give it my fair shot this summer I have not tried it much because I have been happy with the results I produce with Berkely and other Soft plastic brands..I will say that Berkley is probably the most well known plastic brand company in the fresh water market that puts there plastics through more testing than probably any other manufacture.

I'm sure the bait produces good results to the right presentaions and situations...