Gulp baits on the west arm

[doubleheader]

Hello everyone. I'm already thinking about our annual trek to Lakair and it got me thinking about Gulp baits. Do you guys have much success on walleyes with Gulp on the west arm? I posted last year following our July trip which was our best ever as we caught nearly 400 eyes. That being said, I've tried Gulp on two separate occaisions, both times pulling harnesses, and have yet to catch a walleye on a Gulp bait. The 2nd time was during a hot bite, and as we were low on crawlers I switched to Gulp. My wife boated a number of eyes as did our friends in their boat and I never had a hit. I've tried both the natural and the chartruese, and the packages were fresh each time. I watch all these shows during the winter that show guys killing walleyes on Gulp and I wonder what the xxxx, is it me? Anyhow, I'm curious to know if any of you have success on the west arm with Gulp for eyes and if you do, what presentation and style bait have you used? Appreciate your feedback, I'd love to figure out how to catch them on Gulp.

[Whopper]

Hi doubleheader, I really think you have answered your own question here. I totally remember your post from last year. People were still talking about it when I was there a few weeks later. Now I have only been in that area twice and I was sure of my fish catching ability and tactics that works at other places would also work there also, I WAS SO WRONG. It wasn't until I finally listen to someone that knew did I get any positive results. I say keep on keeping on doing what you have proved to work.

If it was me I just make sure I had plenty of crawlers. Sorry I can't help ya with the gulp.

 

Cheers

[irishfield]

There's fish in the West Arm? Since when?

 

Maybe we, or at least I, need to start following doubleheader around.

[Terry]

I tried them on a lake up that way and the first day I thought they worked real well

except the guy I was fishing with caught as many as I did, he never like to check to see if he still has bait left on his hook so much of the time he was fishing a worm harness with no bait..or just about..

as the week went on I figured out if the fish were biting well they worked well

but if they were biting slow, they didn't work nearly as well as live bait

so I have a bunch of the gulp worms and leeches and minnows but will go to live bait every time I can

 

note to self " if on the west arm follow doubleheader"

Edited January 29, 2008 by Terry

[wallyboss]

My experience with GULP is all good. I outfished 2 guys (17 to 5) they were using live minnows for walleyes and I used GULP nightcrawlers.

 

I've also outfished live worms with GULP nightcrawlers fishing for catfish.

 

Gulp minnows have been very succesful ice fishing eyes this winter. Not outfishing live ones but close.

 

So do I believe in GULP ?? I don't leave home without some.

[doubleheader]

While we do have some success with some regularity I assure you last year was unusual, but like a dream come true for a walleye guy. After the 2nd or 3rd day of me expecting the pattern to change and it didn't I thought maybe I was in a head-on coming up Rt69 and was transported to walleye heaven! I have to regularly remind my wife and friends who were with us as to the fickle nature of the fish and that the odds of that pattern working as it did last year are probably 100:1, yet somewhere inside me is that devlish dufus that says, "no problem we can do this every year". Yeah right. The logical side of my brain says, "what fun would that be, half the fun is figuring them out?", but before the thought is even completed the hedonistic side says, "what a stupid axx, of course it would be fun, you know you want them to be there". Suffice to say my rigs are already tied, and while I do enjoy the challenge of trying to figure them out I won't be disappointed if the harnesses work again in that same area. Two years back we pulled three big eyes on the first morning, one 5lbr, one 6, and one almost 8. Then we never caught another big one the rest of the week and only a couple over the slot. No, I'm afraid following me wouldn't help anyone much, although when we do find fish we are glad to share with anyone. One day last year my buddy and his wife and Amy and I were pulling harnesses side by side and hammering them. A guy pulls up beside us and asks how we're doing. I say to my buddy, "Gary how many do you guys have?" He says, "15", and so I tell the guy, "we've boated 33 so far today". The guy never said a word and just took off down the lake thinking we were lying. We got a charge out of that one.

[Seaweed]

Moon phases are key on the West-Arm

 

I have fished there many years running and .... didn't do that awful well but the scenery kept me coming back.

 

Then one year I was there during the full moon period of August.

 

Let me tell you the difference was like night and day. Oh yeah and the nighttime with the full moon out on the water almost seem as bright as daylight too. Got my personal best walleye of my life .... on a Believer. Go figure.

 

I have the same week booked every year and only every four years or so... the full moon will be there. Three to go.

[bassmaster4]

i havent fished Lakair at all but have had success with the Gulp Baits while jigging they have produced strikes from decent smallmouth bass and pike but no walleye yet

[Whopper]

There's fish in the West Arm? Since when?

 

Maybe we, or at least I, need to start following doubleheader around.

 

Hard to believe uh Wayne

 

I don't know where doubleheader and crew were fishing but I ended up in an area about a mile east of the bridge at a place you and I passed on more than one occasion and my boat landed close to thirty on our last day all came off of worm harnesses in 18 to 24 foot of water. Once we located the fish and caught a few I went back to my jig and didn't get bit once so it didn't take me long to switch back to a harness and the game continued. We didn't boat any real big fish but it was a lot of fun and it sent me home with a smile on my face.

[doubleheader]

Whopper, they'll hit cranks in that deep water too but what I really couldn't believe was how selective they were on blade color. One day it had to be pink, the next chartuese, the next day all red. And if you weren't willing to switch you didn't catch a fish. I think if you mark hooks in that deep water with any regularity it's just a matter of figuring out what they want and the speed.

 

Seaweed, we were there on a waning moon the 1st 2 weeks of July last year. I just checked a moon calculator. That said I don't doubt what you say one bit as that has been my experience on our home lake. I think the extreme hot weather just before we arrived pushed the fish deep, and the perch were feeding on the minnies and the walleyes on the perch, ya da ya da ya da

[Cory]

I don't know where doubleheader and crew were fishing but I ended up in an area about a mile east of the bridge at a place you and I passed on more than one occasion and my boat landed close to thirty on our last day all came off of worm harnesses in 18 to 24 foot of water.

 

Don't worry Phil...you were pretty much fishing the same areas where doubleheader was...

 

2 years ago we were about 50/50 on gulp/real worms.

 

Last year was about 3/1 real/gulp

 

This year I'll use gulp if I run out of real...but until then.....

[Ramble]

i havn't fished the west arm but I've used gulp many a time. White and Pink for 'eyes has worked well for me. But for some strange reason the orange gulp does not out produce a regular orange twister tail. It's actaully the opposite. The bright yellow also has it's moments. I think it's all on the mood of the fish. The action of the twister tails i use have far better action the the gulp tails and i think that may make a differance.

 

It's interesting that you mention the colour of the worm harness blade. i have noticed the same thing when i used to fish the Bay Of Quinte regularly a few years back. We used to use a hammered silver coloraldo blade with red beads, or a red willow leaf in the low light condtions in the morning or the evening. But once the sun got up a little we were doing better on Blue and Green willow leafs. We also had a yellow/orange willow blade combo that didn't do too bad on cloudy days...but it also had a habit of picking up sheepshead if there was any around.

 

-Ramble