gulp alive minnow head

[Irish Jigger]

Has anyone actually seen it in person yet? I saw a pic online at the fish usa site, it looks very plain and lacks eyes. I don't know about you guys but to me the eyes are the most important part, if I lose the eyes I put on a new head. How could they miss such an important detail like that? I would assume with such a specialized bait they must have consulted fisherman at some level.

[Skipper]

The fact about Gulp is that is DOES NOT replace Live or natural bait. Sometimes it will outfish live/natural 3 to 1, sometimes it is the other way around.
You will notice right away that it is not the same as other soft plastic baits, it is softer and slightly mushy. They cant mold this stuff with the same detail as they can with the classic style soft plastic baits, so I guess eyes were out of the idea.

The benefit to Gulp is its ability to put scent in the water, sometimes this is the ticket. Sometimes the fish are looking more closely at things and you will need a minnow head. Two fish Tommy and myself have been messing with the gulp and gulp alive products for two seasons now and we have drawn some pretty firm concussions about the stuff. It is another weapon in the arsenal that I never leave home without, just like live/natural bait. It replaces nothing, it just adds another trick to use.

[Irish Jigger]

Don't get me wrong, I use it also and it does work well in many situations, open water and ice. A minnow ripped in half with its' guts hanging out lets alot of scent in the water too but with no eyes I have noticed the bites slow down, I can even pick up an old head with 1 eye and it makes a huge difference. To me it looks like a tadpole with legs starting to form. I love the idea of having an artifical bait to mimic a minnow head and not having to deal with minnows, with the price and regs, but without such an important detail I personally will have a hard time spending the money on something I see as sitting in my box and not using. I'm sure they consult with pros in thier development process and I find it hard to belive they missed the importance of the added attracion of eyes. By all rights I would try the power nymph as a replacent, it has the same shape and more tentacles or "guts" hanging off it.

[Skipper]

I dont buy the jarred Alive products anymore. It is messy and I dont think it has any advantage over the standerd gulp product. You spill that juice on your leg and you will need to leave your pants outside.

I like to tip with either a fish fry or a small shad body, or for panfish I use the colored maggots in a jar. The maggots are no replacement for waxies or spikes either. The fish almost always show a strong preference for one or the other, one will almost always outfish the other.

You ever thought of putting eyes on your jigging spoons? It is easy as pie to paint them on, or you can buy reflective adhesive eyes too.

[Irish Jigger]

I like the waxies also but like you said they arent as soft as the alive. I usually split them in half the long way, that way they arent as bulky and you get a little more action out of them and you still get the look of a segmented grub. The power wigglers work well too I break them off in sections 1 1/2 size, hook the 1/2 side to get a little more wiggle out of them. They are good for trout also, I'll break off a section of 3 and rig them wacky style with a small split shot.

[jkoegel]

For gulp alive minnows or any other soft plastic minnow I usually go for a northland jig head with eyes on it. Either painted or stick on holographic ones. Works great. I especially like the ones shaped more like a minnow head instead of the classic ball shape. The eyes are molded into the head.

[icejunky]

Has anyone actually seen it in person yet?

I got to try these out on the ice for the first time this past weekend.  I would say I caught 90% of my fish on baits tipped with the minnow head (smelt)

the gill and crappies really inhaled them...can you find the minnow head??

[Woodsman]

I found them at a local fishing store just outside of Woodstock, Ont.
I also got the smelt ones & I am hoping to get out soon to try them.

Rick