Article by Sue Foster
“Does Berkley Gulp! really work? Can I skip real bait and just use Gulp!? What’s in that stuff anyway?”
Berkley Gulp! soft baits look similar to any other package of soft baits, BUT, they are totally different! Berkley fish biologist Dr. Keith Jones and chemist John Prochnow spent 20 years researching and perfecting Berkley Gulp! artificial baits. Other soft baits are made out of oil-based resins while Gulp! is made using water-based resins. As soon as Gulp! hits the water, scent is dispersed and acts like a blood trail. It’s important to fish the Gulp! slowly. Of course, the ingredients are secret! It works, or tackle stores would not sell thousands of packages and tubs of Berkley Gulp! every season.
In our area, the Berkley Gulp! Swimming Mullet is the most popular of the Gulp! line. Anglers use them primarily for flounder fishing during the summer months.
“Does it work better than live minnows or frozen shiners?”
I would say, on the whole, for the average angler, “no.” That does not mean I would not suggest using it. I would highly recommend using it in combination with your minnow or shiner bait. Many anglers use a high/low rig and put a live minnow or shiner bait on the bottom hook and a Gulp! 4-inch Swimming Mullet bait on the top hook. I like to slide a 4-inch Swimming Mullet on the hook first, just like you would slide any soft body on a jig head, and then attach my live minnow or frozen shiner to the hook. That’s called a sandwich bait or a combination bait! It also gives you a larger bait, which hopefully will give you a chance to catch a bigger flounder! Bigger bait = bigger fish!
Flounder will eat only Gulp! on some days and other days they prefer real bait. That’s why most good anglers and charter boat captains take both real and fake bait out with them to see which is working the best on that particular day. PLUS, you need a little finesse to work the Gulp! in the water. It’s almost like a subtle twitch of your rod tip to make the Gulp!
Swimming Mullet dance without jerking it all over the place and moving it too fast. Some anglers, fishing in relatively shallow water, which some locals call the “flats” (water that is 4 to 7 feet deep) fish with a lead head and a Gulp! Swimming Mullet. Berkley Gulp! actually makes lead heads for their product and they work great. You can bait up with just Gulp, or fish with a combination bait of live minnow and Gulp!. Cast the lead head away from the boat, and work it in slow. Or if the tide is running hard, simply drop it down and work it up and down off the bottom, letting some line out as you work it.
Some people also do this with a Spro bucktail in the ¾ to 2-ounce range in the bay. Offshore on the artificial reef sites, you can use the Spro bucktails in the 3 to 6-ounce range. When I am offshore, I like to use a long strip of fresh bait, such as sea robin, flounder, dolphin, bluefish or croaker belly along with a 5-inch Swimming Mullet. Slide the Swimming Mullet on first and then attach the strip of bait, hooking it only once so it dangles off the hook. Never bunch the strip bait up! (Hint: Change your strip bait if it gets muddy or has been on the hook for a long time.)
“Can I use Berkley Gulp for croaker?”
You can, but they will tear up your Gulp! bait in a heartbeat. Keep jigging up and down until you hook them. It would be a lot easier on your pocketbook to use Fishbite Bloodworm, Fishbite Crab or Fishbite Clam because they stay on the hook a lot longer. Croaker eat about anything and a combination of Fishbites and squid will be a whole lot more economical.
“Can I use Berkley Gulp! for stripers?”
Sure, I would suggest using Berkley Gulp! in place of any soft body and attach it to your lead head or bucktail and use it like a lure. If you are fishing at the Inlet or off the Route 50 Bridge at night, this will work. Go to the Berkley Gulp! selection in your favorite tackle store and choose the Gulp! that best mimics the soft body you are using.
If you have been casting a lure towards the pilings of the Rt. 90, Rt. 50 or Verrazano Bridges, try a lead head and a Gulp! If you are fishing the Rt. 90 Bridge, you do not need a heavy lead head. A 3/8 or 1/4 oz. will work fine. You will need a heavier lead head at the Route 50 Bridge since the current is stronger and the water is deeper. Fishing at the Verrazano Bridge will depend on the tide. It’s deeper in places than the Rt. 90 Bridge and the tide can get strong down there as well.
“Can I use Berkley Gulp! in the surf?”
You can use it for stripers on a lead head and fish it like a lure. Other than that, you will be better off with Fishbite Bloodworm in the surf. Plus, once a snapper blue clips off the tail of your Gulp, it loses it’s action. You can waste a lot of Gulp! in the surf without ever catching anything!
The one most important thing to know about Gulp is that like any other bait, you need to change it once in a while. When using Gulp! we call it “rejuvenating!” Take your Gulp! off the hook and put it back in the juice in the package or tub and let the Gulp! soak the new juice back up. Then you can use it later.
The other two things you need to remember about Gulp! is that if you leave them on your hooks after you are done fishing, they will get as hard as cement and then they are very hard to get off your hook. Always take your Gulp! off the hook and put it back in the package or tub at the end of the day. If you are using the package of Gulp!, always seal it back up, or they will dry out and be useless to you.
Another nice thing about Gulp is that you can mix colors in your tub or package and they will not bleed on each other!
“What’s the best color?”
White by far, then chartreuse. Pink would come in third.
Good fishing…
Sue Foster is an outdoor writer and co-owner of Oyster Bay Tackle in Ocean City, MD and Fenwick Tackle in Fenwick, DE.
