Poisoning Fish with Gulp??

[hartattack]

Interesting article & followup video from John Skinner - he posted the underwater Fluke videos this past summer. . . . .

I'm a big fan of Berkley Gulp. It's all I use for fluke anymore, and that's after many years of using everything else. One of Gulp's big advantages is that it stays on the hook better than real bait. When fluke jigging, this means you don't have to worry that you lost your bait when you miss a hit. Just keep bouncing the jig. The time when you've just missed a hit is the worst time to be pulling your line from the water to check your bait.
I use their 6-inch worms for trolling tube and worm in my kayak for bass. It's deadly, and I've had stripers to 40 pounds on the tube and Gulp combination. Because Gulp worms are harder to pull off the hook than real ones, they stand up better to the small interference fish such as porgies and small seabass. As with the fluke, the ability to ignore a couple small taps and leave the rig in the water results in fish being caught at times when I would have been reeling in to check my bait if I was using the real stuff.
The other big advantage of Gulp is the convenience that its long shelf life affords. My first jar sat in my boat for over a year before I tried it, and the fish were all over it when I finally did. There's no need to keep it cold, and I can't tell that it ever goes bad. This means there's no waste, and it's easy to keep a supply of bait around. I wouldn't even bother tube and worm trolling if I had to drive to a bait and tackle shop every time I needed worms, and then had to deal with trying to keep the leftover worms alive. It also takes the guesswork out of how much real bait to buy. Buy too little and a trip is cut short. Buying too much is wasteful in both money and resources.
I saw an online post recently where someone questioned the safety of Gulp. The logic went something like "It says not for human consumption on the label, so why are we feeding it to fish?" I've actually intentionally fed it to fish. I was so fascinated by how well it worked that I wanted to see if fish would just eat it like food. I did it in the fish's environment using scuba gear. I've embedded the video at the end of this for anyone who hasn't already seen it. So was I feeding those fish a toxic substance? I highly doubted that possibility because it wouldn't make sense for a fishing tackle company to be poisoning the fish that their business depends on. Not to mention the scrutiny new products undergo before they're released to the public. Nonetheless, the question as to the possible toxicity of Gulp was an interesting one, so I followed up on it with Hunter Cole, the Senior Marketing Manager for Pure Fishing, the parent company of Berkley, which makes Gulp. He confirmed my assumption that the appropriate studies were done, and that Gulp is completely safe. Cole passed on the following from John Prochnow, the Senior Director of Product Innovation for Pure Fishing.
"During the course of Gulp!'s development we purposely "fed" Gulp! to a variety of gamefish (largemouth bass, bluegills, carp, trout) to verify the product's safety. The fish were fed both whole baits and baits cut into small pieces. We also varied the feedings from a single instance to multiple feedings spread over time. In short, the fish received far more Gulp! than they were ever likely to get in the field from anglers. Since these fish were kept in aquariums, we could easily monitor their individual health during the course of the studies. At no time did any of the fish ever exhibit any abnormal behaviors or symptoms indicative of stress (cessation of eating, loss of equilibrium, intestinal blockage, swollen abdomens, etc). To date, we have never lost a single fish due to Gulp! ingestion. The baits are not digestible, but we have monitored how long it takes for fish to rid themselves of ingested baits. As you know, fish can rid themselves of unwanted gastric items by either regurgitation or, following passage through the digestive tract, anal expulsion. In our tests, the fish practiced both. Small pieces of bait are almost always sent through the digestive tract to be expelled in a few days. Larger pieces may go either way. Normally, if the bait is too large to pass through the digestive tract then it is regurgitated within a few hours to several days. The longest I have seen a fish take to regurgitate a softbait is three weeks, but the bait was attached to a whole bass jig (with the hook bent over). Larger pieces still capable of passing through the digestive tract will do so at a rate inversely related to their size. The larger the bait, the longer it takes for the bait to pass through the digestive tract and be expelled. Usually, however, it occurs within a week or so."
Cole went on to say that the reason that they put "Not for Human Consumption" on the label is that the raw materials that are used to manufacture Gulp are not FDA inspected or approved for humans to ingest. Just like cattle feed and dog food is not meant for humans.

Video of Scup reacting to Gulp! :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct06n...layer_embedded

[chrislars]

just a side note, a mate told me people are allergic to gulp! they can't handle it or break out with rashes. i had been using rubber gloves to bait my hooks because the stink takes forever to wash off and the mate asked me if I was allergic and then he told me some people are. luckily i am not, just hate the smell! but, that can't be good if it is known in the fishing community that people react to the stuff

[Chrisk]

Just don't discard used up Gulps over the side. Toss em in the trash because the fish can't easily digest or pass them. And if you catch a short with a Gulp stuck in it's throat pull it out before tossing him back.

[kurtisb]

Originally Posted by hartattack

Interesting article & followup video from John Skinner - he posted the underwater Fluke videos this past summer. . . . .

One of Gulp's big advantages is that it stays on the hook better than real bait. When fluke jigging, this means you don't have to worry that you lost your bait when you miss a hit. Just keep bouncing the jig. The time when you've just missed a hit is the worst time to be pulling your line from the water to check your bait

I can no longer agree with the above statement. Berkley changed the gulp formula this year to be much softer. Any 4" sea bass can now destroy a 6" gulp grub with a little nibble. You better worry if you lost your bait because it is probably gone, or at least the tail.

I can understand their business model, make it softer, lose more , buy more, more profit.

I still have a lot of old gulp that you have a hard time getting on the hook as well as a lot of new stuff that slides on and off with zero effort.

I used to be a fan but I know when I'm being f***ed, so i'm done with it.

[fish4fun]

Some swear by Gulp while others frown upon it. I personally prefer real bait, especially live bait, over Gulp. I just can't see how something man-made from rubber is better then the real thing.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by fish4fun

Some swear by Gulp while others frown upon it. I personally prefer real bait, especially live bait, over Gulp. I just can't see how something man-made from rubber is better then the real thing.

I hate to tell you. I have caught more Ling and Fluke with gulp than bait many times. It does work, also last longer than bait. Kurt, your right about the softer Gulp. I noticed it too recently when I bought a pack.

[tropics]

I like the older formula, the new stuff is almost like play dough, have to reset the hook after a few Ling. Small pieces still do work. The 6" grubs I still have a lot of the old stuff, hope they have had enough complaints to change back.
Nice post Larry

[kurtisb]

Originally Posted by tropics

I like the older formula, the new stuff is almost like play dough, have to reset the hook after a few Ling. Small pieces still do work. The 6" grubs I still have a lot of the old stuff, hope they have had enough complaints to change back.
Nice post Larry

Complain about it or they won't change it. Here is the link, tell them you are not happy with their product. I have numerous times.

http://www.berkley-fishing.com/contact

[seazu]

Originally Posted by kurtisb

I can no longer agree with the above statement. Berkley changed the gulp formula this year to be much softer. Any 4" sea bass can now destroy a 6" gulp grub with a little nibble. You better worry if you lost your bait because it is probably gone, or at least the tail.

I can understand their business model, make it softer, lose more , buy more, more profit.

I still have a lot of old gulp that you have a hard time getting on the hook as well as a lot of new stuff that slides on and off with zero effort.

I used to be a fan but I know when I'm being f***ed, so i'm done with it.

i called them about it and in so many words they told me to go f my self. so i wount give them my money any more, its crap now and not worth the price we pay for it.

[Tim B]

Originally Posted by kurtisb

Complain about it or they won't change it. Here is the link, tell them you are not happy with their product. I have numerous times.

http://www.berkley-fishing.com/contact

Kurt

Thanks for your note. i feel the same way as you and many others and your link to Berkley prompted me to send them an email expressing my dis-satisfaction.