Gulp grub tails

[captpierre]

So the walleye fishing on North Pigeon is tough for me.

Was way better last year.

I don't use minnows.

Tried Gulp 3 inch grubs for the first time.

Kept getting the tails bit off. Likely from panfish.

Anybody have any tips how to minimize this?

[mike rousseau]

Smaller grubs

 

I've had that happpen with 4" grubs... Downsized to 3" and bingo!

[PUMP KNOWS]

I hate it when that happens

[cram]

Why not use minnows instead? It's better for the lake.

[porkpie]

The question I have for you is why don't you use live bait? Is it an ethical issue, do you prefer the challenge, do you not want to mess with bait etc? I hear this a lot from guys that want to target pickerel, and I'm not sure I understand it. I primarily target 2 species a year, pickerel from the boat, and steelhead from the bank, with the odd side trip for other species. I catch a ton of pickerel on artificial baits, wether it be cranks, jigs, bucktails etc. There is a time and place for all of them, but while I could cheerfully target bass all year with artificial bait, sometimes you need a fat crawler or some minnows for picks. You can turn negative fish into feeders by bouncing the right bait off their nose, even at 2 in the afternoon on a sunny day. Anyway, all that aside, try a stinger. At least that way you'll know what's nipping your tails, usually if it's a sunfish or perch you'll snag em in the side of the head and discover the culprit. How to stop it? The gulps products and a lot of plastics are like bait, a disposable product unfortunately.

[grimsbylander]

Why not use minnows instead? It's better for the lake.

 

How is it better?

[Sinker]

I've said it before in your posts about having difficulty with eyes on pigeon. Troll a worm harness along a weed edge at 1.5mph and you will catch as many as you want. Its really as simple as that. I'd like to hear why you don't want to use bait as well. Doesn't make sense to me, if your wanting to catch walleyes.

 

S.

[adempsey]

You will probably have to use a different brand of grub. If the plastic is soft so you will always lose tails to panfish. Happens to me all the time with the Gary Yamamoto grubs, which are excellent baits but quite expensive. I've switched over to Yum brand grubs for the most part and they work really well, last a lot longer and are cheaper.

 

Consider trying some paddletail minnows as well. There are many good baits out there.

 

My last outing I used a "Walleye Killer Rig" ("B" in the image below) with a Gulp Fry worm and caught several decent fish popping in through and around the weeds. Panfish tried, but never managed to bite off my bait. There is more than one type of Gulp Fry, the one I am talking about is 3" long. I've attached an image below. I am sure other worms would work too. I plan on trying the Gulp Pinched Crawlers and Killer Crawlers in the future.

 

 

Edited July 6, 2015 by adempsey

[manitoubass2]

Jeez I dont think ive had a grub tail ripped off more then 5 times in my life, and its usually removing them from a pikes mouth.

 

Weird

 

I use Yum grubs and Kalins almost exlusively.

 

Kalins grubs are top notch and come in patterns perfect for walleye?

[manitoubass2]

The worst ive used was trying trigger x grubs and paddletails about 3-4 years ago.

 

I hate those things. Im not sure what rubber they use but its more like soft cement???

 

Maybe I got real old batches or something???

[cram]

 

How is it better?

Fish eat them and they don't digest well.

[captpierre]

Ya so I'm sure minnows would work better.

I just hate stabbing a hook thru their mouths or backs. I guess it's ethical.

A worm no problem. A much more primitive beast

But then is it any different than deep hooking a targeted fish or panfish.

I've had great luck rip jigging, using crank baits and stick baits last few years.

Squat this year. I've asked others and they are struggling too. Even with minnows.

Sinker I guess i better get the worms out.

Thought I'd mostly be feeding Rockies.

Still bothers me the change in the fishery this year.

Thanks for your help everybody.

Will keep you posted.

Surface water temp 75.

[grimsbylander]

Fish eat them and they don't digest well.

 

They don't digest them at all actually.They are completely biodegradable, not digestible. Fish simple pass them.

[cram]

 

They don't digest them at all actually.They are completely biodegradable, not digestible. Fish simple pass them.

 

http://www.bassmaster.com/news/dont-discard-soft-plastics-they-can-kill

http://www.oodmag.com/fishing/troutplastics/

[cram]

Ya so I'm sure minnows would work better.

I just hate stabbing a hook thru their mouths or backs. I guess it's ethical.

A worm no problem. A much more primitive beast

But then is it any different than deep hooking a targeted fish or panfish.

I've had great luck rip jigging, using crank baits and stick baits last few years.

Squat this year. I've asked others and they are struggling too. Even with minnows.

Sinker I guess i better get the worms out.

Thought I'd mostly be feeding Rockies.

Still bothers me the change in the fishery this year.

Thanks for your help everybody.

Will keep you posted.

Surface water temp 75.

I'm sure every lake is different, but we've had a lot of luck with leeches as well.

[Joeytier]

Gulp! is not plastic, as someone has mentioned. I would listen to Sinker about the worm harness thing, obviously he's got them dialed in, but something else to consider is lindy rigging a leech on the weed edges. Panfish seem to leave leeches alone, even in spots where worms are getting devoured by them.

[grimsbylander]

http://www.bassmaster.com/news/dont-discard-soft-plastics-they-can-kill

http://www.oodmag.com/fishing/troutplastics/

Not the same products. Those are an oil based non- biodegradable plastic. Gulp is not.

[cram]

Not the same products. Those are an oil based non- biodegradable plastic. Gulp is not.

Gotcha. I didn't know that.

 

Curious though - if you cleaned a trout or a walleye with a belly full of old gulp worms, would you still eat the fish?

[captpierre]

I've said it before in your posts about having difficulty with eyes on pigeon. Troll a worm harness along a weed edge at 1.5mph and you will catch as many as you want. Its really as simple as that. I'd like to hear why you don't want to use bait as well. Doesn't make sense to me, if your wanting to catch walleyes.

 

Are you using a bottom bouncer trolling weed edges? How are you keeping the worm harness down ?

S.

[Sinker]

I use a 1/4oz egg weight about 18-20" from the spinner, where my swivel is. Toss is back a cast, and let out 3 rips of line. Keep tight to the weed edge, and troll 1.5mph....some days more, some slower.

 

I only use bouncers in deep water....15ft+.

 

S.

[porkpie]

1 and 2 ounce bottom bouncers are all you'll need in most kawartha lakes. Drop it over the side, wait till you feel it hit bottom, let it settle and then let out a foot or two more line to account for blowback. If you feel yourself regularly ticking or dragging bottom, reel up a half turn. Your bouncer should just touch every so often. If your holding your rod and feel the hit, feed it back to them a little, then a nice easy sweep. Reel in fish! If you have a few guys in the boat , I find a planer board helps with midday fish. You can run up to at least 2.5 ounce bouncers off a church boards. 1.0-1.5mph is the sweet spot for crawler rigs. The fish will tell you.

Edited July 7, 2015 by porkpie

[grimsbylander]

Gotcha. I didn't know that.

 

Curious though - if you cleaned a trout or a walleye with a belly full of old gulp worms, would you still eat the fish?

 

Good point but realistically I think you'd fish a long time before finding a fish with a belly full of Gulp baits. If ever. As far as live bait being better for the lake, I'm not sure that as a general statement is true. Live bait is regulated to control disease, invasive species and the introduction of non native species. The emptying of minnow buckets is one example. There are lakes I know that now are full of suckers, carp, etc. that were trout lakes when I was a kid. I have no idea if it has anything to do with the white bucket brigade but I'm sure if I dumped a couple hundred Gulp baits in the lake for 30 years they wouldn't turn into suckers.

I'd like to know if anyone on the forum has ever caught a fish with a bait inside it. Not in its mouth, inside its intestines.

[ecmilley]

i use gulp products regularly for walleyes and have zippo issues with tails being removed by panners, maybe you need a better rod.

as for different brand i use yum and phoenix as well, each brand has some characteristics that have proven themselves.

also big thing is weight really dont need anything heavier than a 1/4oz in some cases i toss a 1/8 o weed edges

[cram]

Good point but realistically I think you'd fish a long time before finding a fish with a belly full of Gulp baits. If ever. As far as live bait being better for the lake, I'm not sure that as a general statement is true. Live bait is regulated to control disease, invasive species and the introduction of non native species. The emptying of minnow buckets is one example. There are lakes I know that now are full of suckers, carp, etc. that were trout lakes when I was a kid. I have no idea if it has anything to do with the white bucket brigade but I'm sure if I dumped a couple hundred Gulp baits in the lake for 30 years they wouldn't turn into suckers.

I'd like to know if anyone on the forum has ever caught a fish with a bait inside it. Not in its mouth, inside its intestines.

Good point about suckers etc.

 

I actually learned about the plastics on this site, probably this thread - http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67994&hl=%20trout%20%20plastic

[fishindevil]

I've said it before in your posts about having difficulty with eyes on pigeon. Troll a worm harness along a weed edge at 1.5mph and you will catch as many as you want. Its really as simple as that. I'd like to hear why you don't want to use bait as well. Doesn't make sense to me, if your wanting to catch walleyes.

 

S.

. I have said the same things before in your posts as well capt Pierre !! Worm harnesses & bouncers !!! As water warms up if rock bass & perch are bugging you speed up a bit .... It's a for sure deal .... It's that easy