 |
Fishing Report for Homosassa, Florida
Capt. Mike Locklear
October 30, 2006
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
Berkley Gulp Vs. Live Bait
Because of the rage over Berkley Gulp I needed to convince myself that this artificial bait outfishes live shrimp as advertised on every package.
I heard of stories from a reliable source of bait shops north of Homosassa selling more Gulp than live shrimp and some stop carrying live shrimp.
For my test, two clients whom had interest in testing the product that consisted of a father-son team whom the Dad was a math teacher and the son, an Air Force civil service employee. Both in my boat and both fishing the same hole while anchored.
We began the day fishing a hole where spotted sea trout were turned on and most every cast was a strike. Using the Berkley Gulp 3-inch “New Penny” shrimp was Ken Boydston. His Dad, Mr. “B” was using live shrimp.
Results were, Ken landed 11 trout on one Gulp. Mr. “B” landed 11 trout with 10 live shrimp. One Gulp cost mol about a buck depending on where you buy it. Shrimp are about 20 cents each. You can do the math. There is a big savings using Gulp.
I must give credit where credit is due to other soft bait manufacturers like Bass Assassin and Cotee. I can catch just as many trout using a 5-inch white shad. Some of these soft baits are larger and trick bigger trout into biting the bait. My Gulp test was done in a hole where 90% of the trout were juvenile some barely out of pre-school.
That same day, a friend was up stream and using a TT-23 Mirrolure that resembles a tiny trout of about 4 inches in size. Mirrolures in the TT models are twitch baits that sink slower than jigs. He had caught his limit of trout between 18-24 inches. When fishing holes that are deeper than eight feet, I would suggest having a Mirrolure tied onto at least one rod.
Another positive feature of the Gulp is that the product is 100% biodegradable. I am not sure the fish can digest it though. I would throw it the trash bucket rather than pitch it overboard.
There are two things to remember about Gulp after you are done fishing. Remove the bait while it is soft and put into the bag and reseal the bag. Gulp is water based and when the water evaporates the bait shrinks. It becomes very hard to take off a hook or jig head if left on overnight. Sometimes you have to cut it off the hook.
You can learn more about Gulp by going to their web site at: http://www.berkley-fishing.com Make sure you look for the salt water Gulp.
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
