Fishing Forum

Has anyone had any success using the Gulp Minnows, and how were they used? Thinking of getting some to use at Willard if and when I can get there.
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Drop shot shhhhhhh
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They can be deadly. I never go out without 'em, frankly.

I thread the 1" ones on tiny jigheads, or on a bare hook below a couple shot. Tossed plain or under a float. Even on a fly rod.

The 3" size is great as a drop-shot rig, or on a single-hook "crawler" rig instead of a worm.

Chartreuse in stained water, and black shiner in clear.
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I have a hard time NOT using Gulp minnows.

3" smelt on a 1/16oz jig head (longer shank is best) is my poison.

The black leeches are also really good, especially on moving water.

Don't limit your use of them to Willard. They work well in any water.

On lakes, cast them out and experiment with different levels of the water column. Bring them in with a light twitch, twitch, twitch, then let them settle for a second, then repeat.

If you see a following fish that won't quite commit, lengthen your pause and tone down the twitching just a bit. Sometimes that will seal the deal.

The point is to make it look like an injured bait fish when you're close to shore. Out in open water, it just needs to look like a bait fish that is out of place and an easy target.

When the bite is on, they may never hit the bottom. I hook a lot of fish on the drop.

Another bonus is that fish will usually come back for anther swipe if they don't get hooked on the first bite. Once they do bite, they generally pick it up and swim with it for a bit.

They even work well down an ice hole if you keep it bouncing actively. Sometimes even dead sticking it works.

Gulp are awesome. Get some good jig heads. Gamakatsu "Round 26" in 1/16oz are my preference. No need for fancy paint on the head either, but if you find success with it, roll with it.
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[#0000FF]Yeah. What Rocky said.

I also rig small ones either on their own small jig head or along with a tube jig or marabou...white or chartreuse. But when the crappies really get active you will catch bigger ones on the 2 1/2" or 3" minnows...in white or smelt colors...on 1/16 oz. heads.

There are a few guys who do very well on wipers and walleyes on the larger minnows too...in the colors mentioned. Just rig them either dropshot style or on small jigheads you can cast and retrieve or lift and drop.

The cats like them too, but there ain't much they won't hit. Here are a couple of pics from last year just outside the north marina.

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As others have said, drop shot and on light jig heads.

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[quote fishgiver]Has anyone had any success using the Gulp Minnows, and how were they used? Thinking of getting some to use at Willard if and when I can get there.[/quote]

They do work pretty good. But so do regular "Mr. Twister" style jigs too. The one thing most gulp products have over other products is the scent. But you can buy gulp scent for non-gulp products too.

I have had a lot of luck with the worm style baits for river fishing browns. I fish them on a small jighead. The minnows work good on a single hook with a split shot 12-15" above. Hook the minnow through the tip of the nose and give it some motion with pauses.

I know you wanted information on gulp in particular, but I have replaced my gulp products with keitech products over the last few years. They come scented and are designed with much better action than the gulp stuff. If gulp made a paddletail swimbait I'd use it but most of keitech's stuff puts off more vibration. That said, keitech stuff is more expensive and won't last as well. They are made softer which gives them great action but fish tend to tear them up quicker than gulp.

Good luck!
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I have to agree with you on the lack of action from Gulp! products. They're kind of stiff. I don't use them much anymore as I prefer the baits I make myself for drop shots. They're a lot more flexible and undulate in the water much more seductively. I still use Roboworms when the bite is tough though. They just don't hold up super well.
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I have had a couple of great days with a 3" on a drop shot with laker pups in 50 - 80 feet. Never anything over 5lbs though. I don't think a big Mac will hit it so I don't do it much anymore.
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Thanks to all for your feed back. I guess that I will need to experiment on different set ups.
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I would go with Maniac Minnows all day!! A lot lighter on the wallet, Fantastic action, and tons of colors to choose from comes in 2" and 3" for what it sounds like you are looking to do. Rigged on a drop shot or on a 1/16 or 1/8 head. Everyone has their own preference though. Give them a try.
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[#000000]I have used the smelt minnows hooked through the nose on a long shank hook. I rig the hook with a propellor, (Pistol Pete type) between two chain beads, just behind the eye of the hook.[/#000000]

Be aware that these things dry out fast and can become as hard as a rock. When you zip seal the package, put the package in a small bottle. I also buy some of the gulp juice and add it to the package to keep them smelly and wiggly.
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That's their one big drawback. Put one on a jig and set the rod aside for later use, and the GULP! minnow will be dry and hard in no time. The juice also washes out over time, and you should dunk them back in the baggie or jar every 30 minutes or so to re-absorb more scent.
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Lots of good ideas there, and some I hadn't thought of.
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Will the Gulp minnows float off the bottom when you hook them on the jig? I've been wanting to try them out next time fishing. I prefer either black and chartreuse or red and chartreuse jigs. I've been doing well with night crawlers but I'd like to try the Gulp minnows.
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[#0000FF]They do not float by themselves. If you want to fish them up off the bottom you either have to rig with a dropshot...or fish them below a slip bobber on a weighted jig head. That is a popular way for some anglers to present them above weed beds where fish are holding.
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I like the Rainbow Plastics Adjusta-Bubble for fishing jigs from the shore. Just fill it with water. I guess the bass like the Gulp minnows as well as the trout?
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[#0000FF]Most Gulp fans would probably say it the other way. That trout also like Gulp minnows...as well as the bass. I suspect a lot more anglers use them for bass than for trout. But both seem to like them. In fact, there is hardly any species in Utah that does not take them well. Maybe June suckers? Carp eat them.

Fishing them on an unweighted bait hook, behind a sinking bubble, would probably be a good approach. But when fishing them for bass you have to be very attentive. A lot of time they "strike" by just sucking in the lure...no smashing strike. So you have to be alert for a line twitch, a "tick" or even just a "rubber band" feel. Keep the rod tip low or pointed at the jig as you reel slowly in. And set the hook whenever there is a "change in the Force". Hooksets are free and most of the less experienced bassers completely miss a lot of strikes just by not recognizing them and setting the hook in time.
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Here's a quick tutorial on rigging Gulp minnows:

http://youtu.be/c1-EH-yyHrw
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[#0000FF]Didn't see no jig head riggin'. And I have found that rigging with the hook single hooked through the head results in a lot of lost minnows. Expensive. But it does help provide some sexy wiggles.
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