Gulp! Alive! Lives Up To Hype

I think it would be fair to say that the most talked-about soft-bait development over the past 16 months has been Berkley Gulp! and the follow-up Gulp! Alive!, which comes packed in bait-like containers filled with Gulp! juice.

The whole Gulp! phenomenon reached critical mass this summer, when the baits absolutely dominated the Detroit River FLW Tour and Erie Bassmaster Elite Series out of Buffalo, N.Y.

For the past 5 months, I've tested Gulp! Alive! extensively, often for multiple days in a row. Below is my feedback.

The Big Lake

Gulp! Alive! is available in several various styles and quantities. I tested the Freshwater Bass Assortment in two styles – 3" minnow and 4" minnow. The Assortment includes color varieties of emerald shiner, pumpkinseed, smelt and watermelon pearl.

I used the Assortments heavily all summer for Lake Erie smallmouths. I primarily used it on the dropshot, but did some jigging with it too.

It's amazingly effective on the dropshot. I watched it outfish handpour plastics and tubes in calm to still conditions on several outings.

When the waves get rocking and rolling, it still catches fish, but anytime I have to go up to a 1/2-ounce weight to remain vertical, I generally opt for a tube. Remember, though, that bait choice makes the biggest difference when Lake Erie's calm, and that's where the Gulp! Alive! truly shines.

What I also liked about the Assortment was the color choice. Of course, I mainly threw emerald shiner on the big lake, but when a small hump started to slow, I could simply grab a different color from the bucket (like pumpkinseed, which looks like a crawfish) to get a few extra hookups.

I also noted that size did make a difference on occasion, and I preferred the 3" minnow on the dropshot (it danced more), while the 4" size was decidedly better on a jighead. However, that could easily change this fall, when larger baits are traditionally better because forage has grown to full size.

The bottom line? If you fish Erie, you'd better have Gulp! onboard.

The Small Lake

I also brought the Freshwater Assortment on a fishing trip to northern Michigan. I stayed on a small, private lake that was once a trout lake, but is now dominated by largemouths (no smallmouths). The water's gin-clear and the lake's lightly fished.

It's traditionally been a jig lake, and I threw a lot of football-heads with excellent success. My 5-year-old son fished Gulp! Alive! exclusively on a dropshot.

After 3 long days of fishing the results were conclusive. Although the jig did produce a slightly better average weight, the dropshot Gulp! Alive! was bit three times as often. And not only did it account for the most overall fish caught in the lake, but the biggest fish as well (shown to right).

And it should be noted that the Assortment is a fantastic choice for kids. There's almost constant action, from bass to sunfish, bullheads and perch, and it's easy for them to rig and work.

The Wilderness

My final Gulp! Alive! test came a few weeks ago in the French River wilderness of Ontario, along the northern shore of Georgian Bay.

With the value of the dollar, plus Canadian taxes, a 3-day supply of minnows in Canada can easily run $100-plus. Ouch.

I decided against live bait this year and dedicated myself to Gulp! exclusively. After the second day, everyone in camp was bumming my Gulp!. One reason was it smoked the smallmouths. The other was half the live bait died the first night.

I rigged the 3" and 4" minnows on Northland's new Slurp! jigheads, which are designed specifically for baits like Gulp! (they have a double-barb keeper on the hook shank, along with a 4/0 Mustad Ultra-Point hook).

Although the smallmouth fishing up there is pretty easy, Gulp! went toe-to-toe with live bait. We lost count, but I'd guess that it outfished live bait for the simple fact that it's so quick and easy to re-rig. While my buddies were still dipping into the livewell, I already had a new bait rigged and on bottom. It's especially convenient in swift current, when the last thing you want to do is hassle with the baitwell and lose your boat position.

Additional Notes

Gulp! Alive! stinks, which is great for fishing, but not great for your truck or tackle locker. When fishing, I left a few baits on the deck, then closed the container securely. The few times I got lazy and didn't tighten the top, we picked up to move and the bucket dumped and spilled some juice when on plane. Also, once you break the seal, keep it flat while traveling. I took an extra measure of caution when packing and laid a section of plastic wrap on top of the bucket before screwing the lid on.

If your bait's been wet for a while but you haven't gotten bit, recharge it with a dip in the juice.

If you're used to fishing curlytails on jigs for smallmouths, keep in mind that you need to give Gulp! the action. A jigging rod with a real fast tip helps tremendously. You can shake it quickly and it looks just like a minnow rooting around on bottom. On a dropshot, shake the slack line only.

I also had a few buckets of the Walleye Assortment, and smallmouths loved the 5" Jumbo leech.

Great Lakes states currently have significant restrictions on live bait, due to the VHS virus, which has driven up the cost of live bait. Gulp! Alive! is a great alternative.

Notable

> Retail price for the Assortment Buckets is $19.99 each.

> To learn more about other new Gulp! Alive products, like a craw, creature and lizard, click here.