Gulp or other similar baits...

[CaptainCrappie]

To all you Kipawa Junkies out there.  Recently SnodT2120 posted that he or his group had caught some nice walleyes on 4' Gulp minnows.  I've tried several of the Gulp baits (minnows, leeches, crawlers) on several different trips and have never caught a thing while trolling or jig fishing using those baits at Kipawa.  Now here at home, the Gulp smaller minnows, etc. work on the crappie population but never would I say what they profess, "Out fishes live bait"  There are many manufacturers that inject or fuse different scents in there soft bodied lures, or sell spray bottles filled with their magic stuff to spray on crank baits etc.  They all claim that using their scents will catch more fish.  If I had every scent I've bought over the years, I could probably fill a 55 gallon drum!   

I have since stumbled on to another product that has got my curiosity peaked.  Uncle Josh (the old bass pork rind people) have a product called "Meat."   It's pork rind cut into crawler, leech, and minnow shapes. It comes in different colors etc. Any one out there actually used that product and if so, any luck?

Can someone out there that has had success with Gulp or any other similar product, describe how they do it?  Maybe we can all put those baits to rest by the lack of success of our Kipawa family. But then.... SnodT2120, how do you do it?

Thanks Guys!

C.C.

[RHYBAK]

C.C.
Just to point out,Snod did say that it was not a kipawa fish.

[Marco]

I have a farm pond with bluegill, bass, catfish.  I have tried Gulp products in it and have had very little success.  Last weekend after a camp out we used some cut up hotdogs (cheese filled!) on a whim and caught a bunch of bass and catfish.  So for me , I'd rather spend money on Oscar Meyer fishing supplies than Gulp...

[Fishn Deep]

Captain,

I've fished a number of places in Quebec and often it depends on the lake you are fishing and sometimes even a particular part of a lake when fishing on a waterbody as large as Kipawa.

Gulp and Powerbait has produced really good results for us. But as you say I'm not willing to suggest it out fishes live bait. Not buying that claim. Might add not on Kipawa as it wasn't invented last time we fished there but it has worked on other lakes in the region (Ogascanan, Ostabonique, Trout, etc.)

Here's how we do it:  Put a 2" or 3" gulp minnow grub in chartreuse. black or white on a 1/4 or 1/8 oz jig and then tip the jig hook with a leech or piece of nightcrawler. You have to figure out what the fish want by trial and error. Sometimes the eyes will eat anything and color doesn't matter. Other times they clearly prefer one color combination over another and you just have to experiment with different jig head and gulp colors. And it can change daily. Today it might be pink jighead with white tail, tomorrow chartreuse jighead and black tail, etc.

I've also fished lakes where artificial baits like Gulp and Powerbait do not work at all, nor do any other plastics for that matter. The eyes just wanted a plain jig or hook tipped with leech, minnow, or crawler.

Sometimes the best thing to do is stick with what you know and what has been a proven winner!

[CaptainCrappie]

OK guys.  That's about what I expected and to be honest about it, I feel good that it's just not me. When I see some of the TV show hosts catching fish after fish on Gulp or flavored plastics I always wonder if its real or staged.  In Fisherman's Doug Stange catches everything he fishes for using swim baits.  Doesn't matter how he rigs em.  Sideways, upside down, backwards, inside out, wacky, whatever.  I guess if you need to tip the lure with live bait to catch the fish, that says a lot. Marco has the right idea. Save money by not buying Gulp and buy hot dogs instead. And Fishin Deep,  it sounds like there are only a few fish somewhere in the system stupid enough to eat the phony stuff anyways.  At my age I don't want to spend the time trying to find em.  Thanks guys.

C.C.

[Fishn Deep]

Lol on Doug Stange! How true though.

Don't discount the hot dog. I've caught catfish and bowfin on those. Someone try it for walleye this year and give us a report on how it works. With all the additives they are like an artificial bait. Ha ha.

I know guys that swear by WD-40 on their trolling plugs too. Never tried that but I do know of other weird substances that when placed on lures will definitely out fish someone in the same boat 5 to 1 using the exact same lure and setup.

[TBIRD]

OK Folks - we all know when Walleye are on the hunt they'll hit anything. I lived in Dryden Ontario, late 60's.  Many years ago on a fly in Ontario, we ran out of minnows, leech's and worms. Plastic was new - we tried white twister's - kept catching - point is, find the fish, dang easy to catch em  The beauty of leech's ya can catch 3+ on the same leech - no reloading - more brewskies
As always - Tight Lines
Ray.

[SnodT2120]

CC, all we do is take the 1/8 oz jig head and put the 4" gulp minnow on it, tip it with a small piece of worm and troll the rocky shelves. Since we switched over from non scented twister tails a few years ago we have caught more and bigger eyes. I'm not saying it's a proven fact to work, I'm just giving you a personal opinion. The biggest eye I have seen was not caught on the gulps, but I never seen a walleye (other than the biggest one 31.5") that was 26+ that was not caught using the gulp minnows for us. Use what works best for you and I'm sure you'll stay happy. As for me, the gulps have worked, and I'll continue to fish with them.

Rhybak. I didn't say that none of them were caught in the kipawa area. We caught several nice eyes last year at Ogascanan using the gulps. I don't have my paper in front of me, but I believe we caught 2 over 28, and 5-6 over 24". We didn't catch numbers but the overall size was larger.

Hope this helps. The intentions were to not say your lures were not working. You asked in another thread about lures for large walleyes and I provided, whether you use a lure I mention or not has nothing to do with my fishing.

[johnny walleye]

DID NOT OUT PREFORM LIVE BAIT OR PLASTIC MR TWISTER I GAVE UP ON IT.

[Bucktail]

September three years ago we were on a large school of eyes using jigs and worms it was non stop fish as soon as the bait hit bottom. I decided this would be a great test for the gulp minnow, never caught a fish not even a bump while my partner was still pulling them in.
      Bucktail

[RobWozny]

I have had success up North with both the 3" and 4" minnow (smelt) as well as the leach. KSmithy and I were fishing lake O and Kevin was mildly irritated that I had not packed enough leaches. Needless to say, we slayed them on Gulp and did not need the leaches. We used 1/16 oz jig heads and glided the bait just off the bottom near and around the weeds. We also use 1/8 oz jig heads with a drag and or lift and drop retrieve. You can use them as a single hooked through the head or to bulk them up you can bite the head off a second minnow at an angle and run the hook through the bite out the back so the second minnow nestles on the back of the first minnow. You have to be confident in the bait you are throwing to work it properly.

[jackalofnar]

We always get a 1/2 flat of worms at Kipaw bait for our week trip.  Works great, we catch tons of fish and always have enough worms to take some home.  No need to change for walleye fishing.  We like to troll worm harnesses though so it makes sense.  Have put a gulp minnow on a spoon when trolling for lake trout, but most often just go barr hook.

[Administrator]

A couple different techniques from Gary Parsons. Interesting, but I didn't see him catching any fish.
http://youtu.be/8q5wcwt_PBQ

[600 miles north]

     That is interesting Nancy, I just wonder about snags on Kipawa? Worth a try on a sand bar for sure...

     Brad