A GULP! Substitute? Maybe So . . .

[wader]

I liked gulp - it works however I stopped using it 8, 9 maybe 10 years ago. While it breaks down in a released fish (which was a concern of mine) it is made from PVC & oil resins & therefore it is also adding to the plastic pollution problems we currently have in our oceans.

I'm probably gonna get some flack here but.....................

 

[crabby]

I liked gulp - it works however I stopped using it 8, 9 maybe 10 years ago. While it breaks down in a released fish (which was a concern of mine) it is made from PVC & oil resins & therefore it is also adding to the plastic pollution problems we currently have in our oceans.

I'm probably gonna get some flack here but.....................

I don't think it has PVC in it. If you leave it out it dries up and shrivels. I don't think PVC would do that.

 

[CELLFISH]

The container I bought doesn't leak. You could also try a mayo container, but I doubt you could reach your hand in one.

Berkly sells a container, but I'm not sure how tight it is.

The container below works if you don't completely remove the seal under the lid. Just cut through it.


View attachment 1409

I’m all good now, especially that original Zip bag and that large jar onda beach... cellfish...
.

 

[wader]

I don't think it has PVC in it. If you leave it out it dries up and shrivels. I don't think PVC would do that.

To make a soft plastic bait out of PVC, the material must be heated up and combined with an oil-based resin. The more oil-based resin added to the PVC, the softer the bait will be. This is how Berkley PowerBait is made. Gulp! is made using water-based resins, thus the major difference in the two baits.

But still using PVC. And even if not - there be plastic in that bait...............

I've ceased using any plastic baits or lures. Only real exception are poppers. They aren't "consumed" by the fish & should the line snap or if the lure gets off while casting - I go & retrieve it. They be a bit expensive.

 

[crabby]

To make a soft plastic bait out of PVC, the material must be heated up and combined with an oil-based resin. The more oil-based resin added to the PVC, the softer the bait will be. This is how Berkley PowerBait is made. Gulp! is made using water-based resins, thus the major difference in the two baits.

But still using PVC. And even if not - there be plastic in that bait...............

I've ceased using any plastic baits or lures. Only real exception are poppers. They aren't "consumed" by the fish & should the line snap or if the lure gets off while casting - I go & retrieve it. They be a bit expensive.

Didn't know that. But I'm still using it.

 

[buddha162]

I liked gulp - it works however I stopped using it 8, 9 maybe 10 years ago. While it breaks down in a released fish (which was a concern of mine) it is made from PVC & oil resins & therefore it is also adding to the plastic pollution problems we currently have in our oceans.

I'm probably gonna get some flack here but.....................

There is no PVC in gulp, the main component is some kind of yam powder/paste. They use the same or similar type of yams to make Shiritaki noodles and other food products for human consumption. Someone looked up and posted the patent on Gulp years ago...that's why they can claim it's biodegradable, because it is.

There's a few reasons not to use gulp...I stopped using gulp last year, mainly bc I just got bored with it lol.

 

[CELLFISH]

There is no PVC in gulp, the main component is some kind of yam powder/paste. They use the same or similar type of yams to make Shiritaki noodles and other food products for human consumption. Someone looked up and posted the patent on Gulp years ago...that's why they can claim it's biodegradable, because it is.

There's a few reasons not to use gulp...I stopped using gulp last year, mainly bc I just got bored with it lol.

Got bored with it, LoL, all I need is one Gulp to start that sea robin thing for the rest of the day, Robin strip better than gulp,,, cellfish...
.

 

[Rick67]

There is no PVC in gulp, the main component is some kind of yam powder/paste. They use the same or similar type of yams to make Shiritaki noodles and other food products for human consumption. Someone looked up and posted the patent on Gulp years ago...that's why they can claim it's biodegradable, because it is.

There's a few reasons not to use gulp...I stopped using gulp last year, mainly bc I just got bored with it lol.

"Gulp Teriyaki!"

I actually do better with epoxies jigging. Everything nails them.

 

[buddha162]

"Gulp Teriyaki!"

I actually do better with epoxies jigging. Everything nails them.

epoxy jigs are money for sure...

But day in/day out, if you're targeting fluke...I don't think there's a bait that even comes close to gulp. I spent the entire 2018 season experimenting with Keitech Easy Shiners and fat impacts...incredible baits, incredible action, but at best...under the most ideal conditions, it's maybe 40% as effective as gulp --- maybe. Berkley didn't design it with fluke in mind, but boy did they hit the jackpot with that particular species.

 

[Leprechaun]

I agree. I tried the Tsunami version, what was it called? Excite-a-Bite? While it did catch fish, it wasn't at the rate of similar GULP! mullets, fished over the same bottom on back-to-back drifts.

I know all about GULP!'s shortcomings - and I still ain't switching off it, until something else comes along that can catch at the same incredible rate. We'll see about this new stuff, soon enough.

 

[buddha162]

I've ceased using any plastic baits or lures. Only real exception are poppers. They aren't "consumed" by the fish & should the line snap or if the lure gets off while casting - I go & retrieve it. They be a bit expensive.

It's definitely a concern, esp in freshwater. I've found bloated senkos in nearly half the lakers I've harvested out of RV, and have caught/released many bass with huge heads and emaciated bodies...some of those probably had plastic plugging them up also. I've often wondered if a ban on soft plastics is feasible in freshwater...hard to imagine. That's like 80% of the warm weather bass patterns right there. Gulp is a long ways from matching the colors/actions of quality soft plastics, maybe that will change in the future.

I've been trying to find a hardbait that fluke will hit consistently...so far no dice. I thought the vibrating crankbaits would be the ticket...and though I've caught a few here and there it was nowhere near as effective as even non-gulp soft plastics (and I spent a fortune buying UDM and JDM lipless crankbaits, different colors/sizes/profiles and sounds). This year I'll be trying out some deep suspending jerk baits...but that's a very limited application (under 12fow). Another category of hard baits that might work are the non-lead slow fall jigs. I ordered a couple from Japan, will be testing those out too.

 

[wader]

There is no PVC in gulp, the main component is some kind of yam powder/paste. They use the same or similar type of yams to make Shiritaki noodles and other food products for human consumption. Someone looked up and posted the patent on Gulp years ago...that's why they can claim it's biodegradable, because it is.

There's a few reasons not to use gulp...I stopped using gulp last year, mainly bc I just got bored with it lol.

beg to differ - link says only difference between Gulp & Berkley Power bait is the use of different resins to soften it:
To make a soft plastic bait out of PVC, the material must be heated up and combined with an oil-based resin. The more oil-based resin added to the PVC, the softer the bait will be. This is how Berkley PowerBait is made. Gulp! is made using water-based resins, thus the major difference in the two baits.

 

[wader]

and the term biodegradable is also subject to interpretation.................

All plastic eventually breaks down. However plastic when it eventually breaks down simply breaks down into smaller pieces which the fish can pass but which remain in the water which are picked up by other fish & consumed. That's how plastic is getting int the food chain.

 

[Rick67]

Here's an article saying not PVC.

Do Berkley Gulp Baits Really Work? And What’s In That Gulp Juice?

 

[buddha162]

and the term biodegradable is also subject to interpretation.................

All plastic eventually breaks down. However plastic when it eventually breaks down simply breaks down into smaller pieces which the fish can pass but which remain in the water which are picked up by other fish & consumed. That's how plastic is getting int the food chain.

Well, all I can do is link the patent here: US20090196849A1 - Fishing Lure Formulations - Google Patents

At a quick glance, the listed components are Amorphophallus Konjac (the aforementioned yam species), and different types of polyvinyl alcohols, which is a water-based adhesive.

No argument that what you describe is how plastic behaves. But AFAIK, and as far as everyone I've read/spoken to who have put some effort into determining the composition of Gulp...it is not plastic, it does not contain plastic, and w/e matrix it is comprised of is entirely water soluble...which is why it is so damn effective at attracting fluke!

 

[Rick67]

Can't believe I read most of that. Found out why my gulp has been so much stiffer then new. Pulled this out of their patent.
0017]
[It was found in testing for shelf life of the lures that successive freeze/thaw cycles create lures that continue to get harder and stiffer. This hardness-stiffness eventually draws the molecules so tight that syneresis of liquids occurs and the fish lure becomes unacceptable; that is, increased hydrogen bonding initiates severe syneresis (weeping), which changes the physical properties of the lures unacceptably.]
I buy a few tubs a year. They stay in garage over the winter. What I use can be two years old. Some are hard to run the hook through. I thought they changed formula.

 

[wader]

found this:
Hydrophilic polyurethane urea foams which are made without toxic, leachable additives are disclosed. High molecular weight, isocyanate-terminated, ethylene oxide-rich prepolymers are used in place of surfactants to make the foams.

Now polyurethane urea is a plastic, From what I could tell from the Patent data & looking up the uses for this material in Gulp - it apparently is what is used to retain the scent or attractant in the bait.

US5296518A - Hydrophilic polyurethane urea foams containing no toxic leachable additives and method to produce such foams - Google Patents

anywho - like I said - I'm off gulp or any plastic lure/baits - and I'm off of this conversation

 

[buddha162]

found this:
Hydrophilic polyurethane urea foams which are made without toxic, leachable additives are disclosed. High molecular weight, isocyanate-terminated, ethylene oxide-rich prepolymers are used in place of surfactants to make the foams.

Now polyurethane urea is a plastic, From what I could tell from the Patent data & looking up the uses for this material in Gulp - it apparently is what is used to retain the scent or attractant in the bait.

US5296518A - Hydrophilic polyurethane urea foams containing no toxic leachable additives and method to produce such foams - Google Patents

anywho - like I said - I'm off gulp or any plastic lure/baits - and I'm off of this conversation

Before you go, could you point out where in the Gulp patent you found polyurethane urea foams? Because I just did a search and could not find it.

What is listed are 3 different formulations of the product, broken down by % weight. Here's one:

Component Formula A Formula B
Polyvinyl alcohol (Celanese Celvol 165SF) 10.0 10.0
Water 38.8 29.6
Magnesium Chloride 25.0 35.0
Glycerin 15.0 15.0
Attractant 10.0 10.0
Gallic Acid 1.0 0.5
NaEDTA 0.2 0.2

So unless there is plastisol present in the gulp attractant, the product seems to be entirely water-based and water soluble.

 

[buddha162]

Can't believe I read most of that. Found out why my gulp has been so much stiffer then new. Pulled this out of their patent.
0017]
[It was found in testing for shelf life of the lures that successive freeze/thaw cycles create lures that continue to get harder and stiffer. This hardness-stiffness eventually draws the molecules so tight that syneresis of liquids occurs and the fish lure becomes unacceptable; that is, increased hydrogen bonding initiates severe syneresis (weeping), which changes the physical properties of the lures unacceptably.]
I buy a few tubs a year. They stay in garage over the winter. What I use can be two years old. Some are hard to run the hook through. I thought they changed formula.

I recall a massive thread on another forum a few years back demanding the "old" gulp formula back. Some poor Berkely rep even stepped in and tried to answer questions...and they accused him of conspiracy and malfeasance; how dare he go and make the bait softer...it's all a trick to get us to buy more gulp!

Needless to say, that experiment in social media relations was quickly abandoned. Guy's probably pissing his pants at the vehemence of the internet fishing mob even now. Little did the mob know...all they had to do was toss their new, mushy gulp in the freezer!

 

[george]

I have a theory in fishing that if it's attracting big fish consistently I stick with it. I keep my an assortment of Gulp Alive in their container on my boat during the season, and they work fine. Yes, they are a few bucks more and don't hold up as well as in the past, but for me, I wouldn't change a thing. If it's not broke don't fix it, and I love my Gulp.

Great thread!