Thread: The definitive Berkley Gulp Shrimp review

How to Rig a Berkley Gulp Saltwater Shrimp For More Bites (Product Review)
How to Rig a Berkley Gulp Saltwater Shrimp For More Bites [Product Review]

Published by Joe Simonds on September 10, 2015 under Fishing Tips, Product Reviews

In this independent review of the Berkley Gulp “Alive” Saltwater shrimp, the 11.5 oz “bucket” of 3″ New Penny color Gulp shrimp is featured since it’s the most affordable way to get Gulp shrimp (click here to get these Berkley Gulp Shrimp on Amazon).

As I mentioned above, I used to be very skeptical of these Gulp baits as there was a ton of hype and they aren’t cheap.
But after actually using them on the Florida flats, I realized that they are a fantastic choice for catching redfish, snook, sea trout, flounder, and any other species that feed on the flats…
So here are my overall Pros and Cons of Berkley Gulp Shrimp.
Pros of the Berkley Gulp Saltwater Shrimp

• Inshore fish LOVE these baits
• They are easy to use in terms of putting on a jig head, casting, retrieving, and they can even be fished weedless
• These artificial shrimp are tough enough to last through multiple strikes (except for those pesky puffer fish that can bite them in half)
• Comes in a ton of different colors for certain areas, water colors, times of year
• Gulp shrimp catches less “trash fish” (like catfish) compared to fishing with live shrimp

Cons of the Berkley Gulp Saltwater Shrimp

• A bit more expensive than other soft plastic shrimp
• They cannot be left on a hook or jig head when not is use because they’ll shrink/harden when they dry out (click here for Gulp maintenance tips)
• They seem to cause hooks to rust faster than normal, so be sure to rinse hooks/jig heads off with fresh water after use
• The juice really does smell bad, so be careful not to spill on your clothes, boat deck, car, truck, etc.

There are several videos and links attached to the article... https://youtu.be/n89hhrsI07A
Great reading to understand why this is such a 'must have' bait and New penny is THE most widely used color (as much or more than ALL other colors combined).

Has any bought the South Bend casting bubbles in the 2 1/2 inch size 12 for $7.99 wondering how they hold up ?

If you fish Gulps on a jighead....do yourself a HUGE favor! Thanks me later, but Purchase some jigheads from Lunker City. These are the folks that make Fin-S grubs and such. The jighead has conical serrations which actually form a vacuum inside the bait to hold it on the jighead. As far as I know all other heads have one or two "barbs" which make you believe they may "hold" the soft plastics on when in reality they are the culprit behind your lures getting torn up too quickly. The other culprit is twisting the bait out of a fish that has been caught. Not only does it tear the bait up it is actually the harder way to remove the hook. Push the hook directly backwards into the fish and most times it pops right out. If you buy the saltwater version in 1/4 oz, item no. is 14111 on the website, it has a black pearl finish which will not rust quickly. Rather than remove the bait, I put the jighead and all back in the tub til next time.
I honestly go through about 15-18 of the big tubs per year. They are a tremendous bait. one more tidbit...when they bite it off behind the hook, save the leftover for ground mullet and whiting fishing...killer!

I haven't tested them yet, but I've started to load up on a few Gulp versions. Been watching Skinner's videos and he swears by them too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp6JVqETqOg

I'm a fan of the Gulp baits and use them at times. However, I'm not sure I believe all the hype on the style of jig head to use. IMHO I don' think that when a fish strikes they take the time to inspect every little detail of a bait. I believe that if it smells like food and resembles what they normally eat and is in their strike zone they will strike it. It's just hard to believe that a fish will reject something to eat because it has a round head instead of a pointy one.

I resisted using them for years, sort of turned off by the hype. Then, as luck would have it, I found a sealed bag of penny shrimp floating in little lagoon while I was kayak fishing. I pulled off the grub I was using and gave the gulps a whirl. By the end of that day I was sold.