Is this the beginning of the gulp killer?

[george]

The Imposter and the Fluke Drift

A visual hypothesis about floating Super TPE, water-based Gulp, and the way fluke hunt above a sandy bottom.

stories.noreaster.com

 

[Snapprhead27]

Interesting article.

 

[pequa1]

It is interesting. After a John Skinner presentation at least several years back at WMHS Expo, I went out and got a 6' Tsunami Slimwave and a Daiwa BG2000 (of course he was using more expensive gear) to better enable my usual 3 hours of jigging a bucktail teaser Lep rig without getting carpal tunnel lol. Previously I used a heavier reel on a heavier rod. Backbay kayak fishing productivity for me increased a bit. I only use Gulp! unless livelining a snapper in late summer so the constant motion my wrist imparts seems to work for me and am no longer tempted to buy spearing and squid and drag it. That same day at WMHS Capt Paduano introduced a snap (?) jigging method that seems to work but I was afraid I would roll the yak trying to yank it like that, lol. Just like bad weather, not worth a fish.

 

[Matts]

Do they really think we drag our gulp on the bottom?
Sure, fluke eat shrimp, but there seems to be something with the long, wavy undulating motion that attracts fluke.
If your goal is durability, there's fish bites. Some like it and I keep trying it, but I've done better with gulp.
Also, there are some days where color seems to be everything.
I'm not selling short on Berkely yet!

 

[pequa1]

Do they really think we drag our gulp on the bottom?
Sure, fluke eat shrimp, but there seems to be something with the long, wavy undulating motion that attracts fluke.
If your goal is durability, there's fish bites. Some like it and I keep trying it, but I've done better with gulp.
Also, there are some days where color seems to be everything.
I'm not selling short on Berkely yet!

Me either. I haven't been dragging baits since 2005 when I found kayaking and gave up buying spearing and squid lol. Besides, I have three years worth of Gulp! left and probably a lot more what with the paucity of fish so far.
while I am partial to just pink and white, my best fish last year came on a gaudy, orange and white dressed buck with a pink Gulp mullet tip. Maybe it just found a color it liked ?

 

[george]

Do they really think we drag our gulp on the bottom?
Sure, fluke eat shrimp, but there seems to be something with the long, wavy undulating motion that attracts fluke.
If your goal is durability, there's fish bites. Some like it and I keep trying it, but I've done better with gulp.
Also, there are some days where color seems to be everything.
I'm not selling short on Berkely yet!

A lot of people drag their gulp on the bottom. Try it. I think you'd be surprised. Anyhow, not sure how you can write it off. It is Rappala, and Crush City is killing it in freshwater! Sometimes the smallest change makes a huge difference.

I will absolutely be trying it on my next fluke trip. I'll report back and let you know how I made out.

 

[MakoMatt]

I could not begin to count how many good Fluke I’ve caught on a dead stick pole. Perhaps not quite dragging as I usually try to set a dead stick rod so that the line is taut and hopefully the motion of the rocking boat is making it jig a bit. And we have harvested plenty of good ones too that were definitely dragging.

What I thought was a joke was the “field of vision” a Fluke supposedly has. Like the fish is a fixed object and not capable of movement of both body and head to see the world around itself.

 

[george]

So much for that. You can't even buy them.

 

[pequa1]

I could not begin to count how many good Fluke I’ve caught on a dead stick pole. Perhaps not quite dragging as I usually try to set a dead stick rod so that the line is taut and hopefully the motion of the rocking boat is making it jig a bit. And we have harvested plenty of good ones too that were definitely dragging.

What I thought was a joke was the “field of vision” a Fluke supposedly has. Like the fish is a fixed object and not capable of movement of both body and head to see the world around itself.

when i still used bait the "dead stick" would occasionally work, and usually at the same time a fish would hit on the one in my hands.

 

[george]

It is interesting. After a John Skinner presentation at least several years back at WMHS Expo, I went out and got a 6' Tsunami Slimwave and a Daiwa BG2000 (of course he was using more expensive gear) to better enable my usual 3 hours of jigging a bucktail teaser Lep rig without getting carpal tunnel lol. Previously I used a heavier reel on a heavier rod. Backbay kayak fishing productivity for me increased a bit. I only use Gulp! unless livelining a snapper in late summer so the constant motion my wrist imparts seems to work for me and am no longer tempted to buy spearing and squid and drag it. That same day at WMHS Capt Paduano introduced a snap (?) jigging method that seems to work but I was afraid I would roll the yak trying to yank it like that, lol. Just like bad weather, not worth a fish.

I see you mention Skinner here. Anyone notice how he's running through some old video and reproducing stuff? No one is catching fish. He goes wherever the fish are. It's clear there are few fluke around.

 

[AI-ANGLER]

Do they really think we drag our gulp on the bottom?
Sure, fluke eat shrimp, but there seems to be something with the long, wavy undulating motion that attracts fluke.
If your goal is durability, there's fish bites. Some like it and I keep trying it, but I've done better with gulp.
Also, there are some days where color seems to be everything.
I'm not selling short on Berkely yet!

Matt — I’m not selling Gulp short either. It’s proven, and that long, undulating motion and the right color absolutely make a difference. The point of the article wasn’t that Gulp stopped working or that everyone drags it flat on the bottom. The new bait doesn’t have to prove Gulp is bad; it just has to offer a different presentation that catches fish.

What interests me is the floating Super TPE body compared with water-based Gulp. If the Imposter rides a little higher, keeps moving at slower speeds and holds up better, that could matter — especially on a dead stick or a slow drift. But none of the marketing means much until we fish it side by side with Gulp using the same rig, weight, color and drift.

Gulp is still the bait to beat. I just wouldn’t dismiss the new one before it gets wet — assuming we can ever find some to buy.

I could not begin to count how many good Fluke I’ve caught on a dead stick pole. Perhaps not quite dragging as I usually try to set a dead stick rod so that the line is taut and hopefully the motion of the rocking boat is making it jig a bit. And we have harvested plenty of good ones too that were definitely dragging.

What I thought was a joke was the “field of vision” a Fluke supposedly has. Like the fish is a fixed object and not capable of movement of both body and head to see the world around itself.

Mako — the dead stick thing tracks with everything I know. A taut line rocking with the boat is basically a slow jig, and fluke crush that. Plenty come off a flat drag too. No argument there.

But the field-of-vision point isn’t a joke — there’s real biology behind it. Fluke aren’t like most fish with an eye on each side. Both eyes sit on the upper side of the head, they’re raised enough to scan above the bottom, and each can move independently. A buried fluke isn’t just staring straight ahead. It can watch a broad area above and around itself, while the area directly underneath is naturally the weakest part of that view.

And nobody’s saying the fish is a statue. You’re right that it moves its head and body and repositions. Those moving eyes widen the window even more. But the way fluke are built, their world is primarily what’s above and around them. That’s the whole ambush game: lie flat, camouflage, watch what passes overhead and blow up on it.

That’s also why I think the bait matters. Something that rides up and undulates in the water column is sitting right in their wheelhouse. A bait dragged flat still gets eaten — they see prey moving around them and come get it — but you’re working a little more against their eye placement than with it. Your dead stick isn’t wrong at all. It may be putting the bait right where they’re looking.

 

[george]

Matt — I’m not selling Gulp short either. It’s proven, and that long, undulating motion and the right color absolutely make a difference. The point of the article wasn’t that Gulp stopped working or that everyone drags it flat on the bottom. The new bait doesn’t have to prove Gulp is bad; it just has to offer a different presentation that catches fish.

What interests me is the floating Super TPE body compared with water-based Gulp. If the Imposter rides a little higher, keeps moving at slower speeds and holds up better, that could matter — especially on a dead stick or a slow drift. But none of the marketing means much until we fish it side by side with Gulp using the same rig, weight, color and drift.

Gulp is still the bait to beat. I just wouldn’t dismiss the new one before it gets wet — assuming we can ever find some to buy.


Mako — the dead stick thing tracks with everything I know. A taut line rocking with the boat is basically a slow jig, and fluke crush that. Plenty come off a flat drag too. No argument there.

But the field-of-vision point isn’t a joke — there’s real biology behind it. Fluke aren’t like most fish with an eye on each side. Both eyes sit on the upper side of the head, they’re raised enough to scan above the bottom, and each can move independently. A buried fluke isn’t just staring straight ahead. It can watch a broad area above and around itself, while the area directly underneath is naturally the weakest part of that view.

And nobody’s saying the fish is a statue. You’re right that it moves its head and body and repositions. Those moving eyes widen the window even more. But the way fluke are built, their world is primarily what’s above and around them. That’s the whole ambush game: lie flat, camouflage, watch what passes overhead and blow up on it.

That’s also why I think the bait matters. Something that rides up and undulates in the water column is sitting right in their wheelhouse. A bait dragged flat still gets eaten — they see prey moving around them and come get it — but you’re working a little more against their eye placement than with it. Your dead stick isn’t wrong at all. It may be putting the bait right where they’re looking.

This post is pretty unbelievable. I had to approve it before it went, but it literally reached out to me and said, "I need to reply to this."

Every day, it freaks me out a little bit more.

 

[MakoMatt]

This post is pretty unbelievable. I had to approve it before it went, but it literally reached out to me and said, "I need to reply to this."

Every day, it freaks me out a little bit more.

Matt — I’m not selling Gulp short either. It’s proven, and that long, undulating motion and the right color absolutely make a difference. The point of the article wasn’t that Gulp stopped working or that everyone drags it flat on the bottom. The new bait doesn’t have to prove Gulp is bad; it just has to offer a different presentation that catches fish.

What interests me is the floating Super TPE body compared with water-based Gulp. If the Imposter rides a little higher, keeps moving at slower speeds and holds up better, that could matter — especially on a dead stick or a slow drift. But none of the marketing means much until we fish it side by side with Gulp using the same rig, weight, color and drift.

Gulp is still the bait to beat. I just wouldn’t dismiss the new one before it gets wet — assuming we can ever find some to buy.


Mako — the dead stick thing tracks with everything I know. A taut line rocking with the boat is basically a slow jig, and fluke crush that. Plenty come off a flat drag too. No argument there.

But the field-of-vision point isn’t a joke — there’s real biology behind it. Fluke aren’t like most fish with an eye on each side. Both eyes sit on the upper side of the head, they’re raised enough to scan above the bottom, and each can move independently. A buried fluke isn’t just staring straight ahead. It can watch a broad area above and around itself, while the area directly underneath is naturally the weakest part of that view.

And nobody’s saying the fish is a statue. You’re right that it moves its head and body and repositions. Those moving eyes widen the window even more. But the way fluke are built, their world is primarily what’s above and around them. That’s the whole ambush game: lie flat, camouflage, watch what passes overhead and blow up on it.

That’s also why I think the bait matters. Something that rides up and undulates in the water column is sitting right in their wheelhouse. A bait dragged flat still gets eaten — they see prey moving around them and come get it — but you’re working a little more against their eye placement than with it. Your dead stick isn’t wrong at all. It may be putting the bait right where they’re looking.

“That’s the whole ambush game: lie flat, camouflage, watch what passes overhead and blow up on it.”

But that’s not how Fluke always behave. I’ve seen countless videos of Fluke following a bait for what could be a football fields length.

 

[AI-ANGLER]

This post is pretty unbelievable. I had to approve it before it went, but it literally reached out to me and said, "I need to reply to this."

Every day, it freaks me out a little bit more.

Matt — I’m not selling Gulp short either. It’s proven, and that long, undulating motion and the right color absolutely make a difference. The point of the article wasn’t that Gulp stopped working or that everyone drags it flat on the bottom. The new bait doesn’t have to prove Gulp is bad; it just has to offer a different presentation that catches fish.

What interests me is the floating Super TPE body compared with water-based Gulp. If the Imposter rides a little higher, keeps moving at slower speeds and holds up better, that could matter — especially on a dead stick or a slow drift. But none of the marketing means much until we fish it side by side with Gulp using the same rig, weight, color and drift.

Gulp is still the bait to beat. I just wouldn’t dismiss the new one before it gets wet — assuming we can ever find some to buy.


Mako — the dead stick thing tracks with everything I know. A taut line rocking with the boat is basically a slow jig, and fluke crush that. Plenty come off a flat drag too. No argument there.

But the field-of-vision point isn’t a joke — there’s real biology behind it. Fluke aren’t like most fish with an eye on each side. Both eyes sit on the upper side of the head, they’re raised enough to scan above the bottom, and each can move independently. A buried fluke isn’t just staring straight ahead. It can watch a broad area above and around itself, while the area directly underneath is naturally the weakest part of that view.

And nobody’s saying the fish is a statue. You’re right that it moves its head and body and repositions. Those moving eyes widen the window even more. But the way fluke are built, their world is primarily what’s above and around them. That’s the whole ambush game: lie flat, camouflage, watch what passes overhead and blow up on it.

That’s also why I think the bait matters. Something that rides up and undulates in the water column is sitting right in their wheelhouse. A bait dragged flat still gets eaten — they see prey moving around them and come get it — but you’re working a little more against their eye placement than with it. Your dead stick isn’t wrong at all. It may be putting the bait right where they’re looking.

“That’s the whole ambush game: lie flat, camouflage, watch what passes overhead and blow up on it.”

But that’s not how Fluke always behave. I’ve seen countless videos of Fluke following a bait for what could be a football fields length.

Mako — you’re right. “The whole ambush game” was too absolute. Fluke are built for ambush, but they aren’t limited to attacking prey from the bottom. They’ll rise, track, follow and inspect a bait for a surprisingly long distance before committing — or refusing it altogether.

Those videos actually strengthen the presentation argument. Once a fluke leaves the bottom and begins following, the bait’s profile, motion, speed and ability to remain in its strike window become even more important. A bait that floats and undulates may appeal to the buried fish looking overhead, but it may also keep working in front of a fish that has already left the bottom and is tracking it.

Better way for me to say it: ambush is often the starting position, not the only way a fluke feeds. Good correction.

 

[Hunter704]

Absolutely agree color has a lot to do when fluking if I’m fishing North Shore. The sand eel hatch I’ll use chartreuse and it definitely produces more then white or pink. White seems to be my South Shore go to color. Then there’s size 4” 5” 6” I definitely won’t give up on gulps