Whole Gulp Bloodworms

[22Tango]

I have been a ground-bound fisherman my whole life. I have a kayak now, and I have been basically paddling to the places I used to pier or shore fish, and dropping my bait right on them. Catching a lot of fish but I really need to expand my skills.

So this weekend, I decided I would try to use artificials instead. Still went just off the piers I know, but I also know the fish are there. Now, I usually use a piece of bloodworm. So, I tried to use just a piece of gulp bloodwork. I did not catch a thing on them. Everyone else was, but not me. This may be a very stupid question, but am I not supposed to cut the artificial baits? The instructions didn't say one way or another! I just thought fishing the entire gulp would be too large for croaker, and since I don't fish the entire bloodworm .... (I didn't want to catch any striper or blues yet). Not sure yet if my 28" wide T13 is big enough for me and a big/toothy critter to share.

Please don't blast me. I'm just a newbie.

[EZMD]

I don't use those Myself but I can relate to that since I was also used to bring live bait ONLY with Me. The advantage is the artificial can be used many times before You have to switch to one in better shape, I used to bring minnows to catch crappie and was lucky if I got to use one minnow twice but early this season I decided to give it a try and brought some Mr Crappie minnows. I kid You not, caught 40 on the same little piece of plastic once I figured a way to get th fish interested with it.

Just My .2c

[kevinfry]

One year I did awesome on extruded gulp bloodworm (not the molded worm looking ones) ever since I have not done as well. Like the formula changed or something. I get best results with a nightcraler and a little piece of fishbites bloodworm. Theywill bite night crawler by itself too, but they seem to find the bait better with the small piece of fishbites. 1 pack lasts me all summer

[Mark]

22Tango,

One way to expand your fishing skills is to cast or troll crank baits, in-line spinners or jigs with curly tail grubs.

You have already learned where the fish are by bait fishing. Your kayak will allow you to easily present moving targets to them. It's fun and often yields lots of fish.

Good luck,

Mark

[DOGFISH]

Those Gulp full size, or bloodworm looking, baits are meant as a lure, similar to rubber baits. They do not do well as bait, fished stationary on a bait rig. Gulp has enough scent to supposedly have fish hold on a bit longer, to allow the angler time to set the hook, same as scent added to other baits. Those Gulp worms need to be worked as a lure, similar to a rubber worm. If you want something artificial to use as bait, Fishbites are your best bet. I know some folks like artificial bloodworm type bait. However, I still rely on the real thing. I have fished both and do better on actual bloodworms. This is just my opinion, based on my fishing. I do keep some Fishbites in my tackle box, for occasions when I decide, on a spur of the moment situation, to catch a few spot for live line fishing. One must always remember, "there are lures that catch fish, and there are lures that catch fisherman."

Good luck.

[Runnin]

I've been very hit and miss with Gulp. Lord knows it's more convenient than live bait. What I want to know is if all Gulp has the same scent. When you buy different shapes are you getting product tht identical in every other way?

[Mmacro]

I have been doing very well with the extruded gulp... Cut them into 1/2 inch bits and combine them with a dime sized piece of shrimp on a double drop rig. I have tried fishing side-by-side rigs with the mix and another role with just shrimp or gulp and the combo wins hands down.

[ronaultmtd]

I rarely use any bait- mostly artificial lures- however when using bait to catch bait (mostly spot for live lining) I use real bloodworms and small #4 or #6 Aberdeen gold hooks on double bottom rigs- I like the very small spot best so I use small hooks and small pieces of bloodworms- I have the Gulp bloodworms and find it works best for some reason during very hot days- even then real bloodworms outproduce the Gulp-

[J.A. Veil]

Zeebyrd and I fished this morning in Weems Creek. For part of the time we drifted near the mouth using bottom rigs. I used 1" pieces of Fishbites and she used similar sized chunks of Gulp bloodworms. Over 45 mins of drifting, Zeebyrd caught several croaker and one spot, while I had no bites. Clearly this is not enough of a test to draw widespread conclusions, but for that short period, the Gulp bloodworms performed better than the Fishbites.

Live or dead bait is usually successful. But carrying a few strips of an artificial bait sure is much more convenient -- and it does not go bad at the end of the trip.

[rob-kayak]

I don't know anything about Whole Gulp Bloodworms ... but FishBites artificial are fantastic.
Obviously... fresh live... bait is always best... I hadn't used bloodworms in 40 years as I was a surf
fisherman... mullet, bunker, spot etc... in my recent history. But a guy introduced me to them last year and we caught
many a spot and croaker in the surf... And now I'm on the bay they just stand up fantastically.

I don't know about the rest of you.. but last year when I renewed my saltwater fishing license
I got an email to a DNR survey about the use and disposal of the packing material in the live bloodworms.
Basically there was the concern about spreading invasive species and the proper disposal
of your unused bait and packaging in an environmentally sound manner.

It's probably been discussed here before...

[kevinfry]

The worm style or extruded "bait" style bloodworm?

Zeebyrd and I fished this morning in Weems Creek. For part of the time we drifted near the mouth using bottom rigs. I used 1" pieces of Fishbites and she used similar sized chunks of Gulp bloodworms. Over 45 mins of drifting, Zeebyrd caught several croaker and one spot, while I had no bites. Clearly this is not enough of a test to draw widespread conclusions, but for that short period, the Gulp bloodworms performed better than the Fishbites.

Live or dead bait is usually successful. But carrying a few strips of an artificial bait sure is much more convenient -- and it does not go bad at the end of the trip.

[sparky1423]

I purchased the extruded bloodworms for the first time yesterday. I fished the bush river for catfish and white perch. The perch would not hit on the gulp bloodworms on a top and bottom rig, but the catfish would. I brought some raw chicken for the cats and experimented. On a top and bottom rig, I would put a small morsel of chicken on one hook and a piece of extruded bloodworm on the other. The perch would only take the chicken...it's hard to find real bloodworms here in Harford County, but I am not sold on the fact that Gulp is a good alternative.

I do love using the gulp 1" swimming mullet for perch on a drop shot jigging rig. For now, it's a love/hate relationship with gulp.

[J.A. Veil]

The worm style or extruded "bait" style bloodworm?

The bag was in Laura's kayak, and I did not get to see the label. They were in the shape of worms -- I think they were extruded rather than molded with tiny legs.

[zeebyrd]

The bag was in Laura's kayak, and I did not get to see the label. They were in the shape of worms -- I think they were extruded rather than molded with tiny legs.

They are extruded - "bloody iridescent". I broke them up into small pieces - did not use them whole.

[yakkinfish18]

In my opinion live bait is better . But when I can I use fishbites bloodworms over gulp. Just seem to have more luck