Inshore Saltwater Fishing Tips for Using Berkley Gulp Baits

If you are an inshore saltwater fisherman and you haven't tried Gulp baits yet, you might want to consider adding them to your tackle box for the fishing season.

Gulp lures are a synthetic line of soft baits marketed by the Berkley tackle company and since their introduction they have develop a feverish following among inshore saltwater anglers.

One of the biggest innovations of the past decade in angling has been the rise of synthetic baits meant to feel and smell like the real thing. Life-like lures made with natural ingredients that dispense fish-attracting scent into the water exploded on the fishing scene a few years back and now have a corner on the tackle market.

There are many different companies manufacturing these synthetic lures for inshore fishing but Berkley (an Iowa company) really caught lightning in a bottle with the Gulp line.

Gulp lures come in a lot of shapes, colors, and sizes, but their main attraction is their scent which at times allows them to out-fish even wriggling live bait. Gulp soft baits (which actually contain no plastic) disperse scent as soon as they hit the water attracting fish and causing them hang onto the lure for the extra few seconds needed to set the hook.

Gulp soft baits like the saltwater shrimp and swimming minnow are terrific for targeting speckled trout, weakfish, flounder, redfish and many other inshore species. You can fish them in many different ways, but here are two simple methods that will catch most inshore saltwater fish:

Bottom Bump Method Using Gulp Baits

Tie a swivel on the line from your rod. Then run a leader of about 14 inches and tie on the Gulp bait at the end.

Rig your saltwater shrimp or swimming minnow Gulp bait on a red or white jighead. You can use jigheads sizes ¼ ounce, 3/8 ounce, or 1/8 ounce depending on the strength of the current where you are fishing.

Cast out and let the Gulp bait settle on the bottom. Then give it a quick hop by raising the rod tip quickly, so that the lure imitates a shrimp or minnow dashing around in the water. Reel up the slack and let the lure settle back. You can make one hop at a time or use a couple of quick hops in succession.

Don't do this too quickly or make the hops too fast or long. You want to use your wrist to move the lure, not your whole arm. In colder water you have to go very slow. Part of the attraction of Gulp lures is scent, so go slow enough for the fish to smell the lure.

Popping Cork Method Using Gulp Baits

Rig the Gulp bait about 3 feet (you can vary this according to depth) under a popping cork. You can just use a saltwater hook with no weight to make the lure fall slowly. The key here is not to "pop" the cork too much. Just give it a good "pop" every twenty seconds or so and no more. That will give predators a chance to notice the Gulp bait and get attracted to the scent.

Berkley has been expanding the Gulp line and once they get a handle on how to catch inshore fish with basic Gulp baits there are lots of new variations for the inshore saltwater angler.

For more fishing tips and reports see my blog A Dash Of Salty