A Review of Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Shrimp Fishing Lures

Last weekend I use Berkley Gulp Saltwater Shrimp for the first time on a fishing trip. Now I have lived and fished my whole life on a barrier island in Florida, surrounded by the ocean, and a saltwater lagoon. Throughout my life I have used almost every inshore saltwater lure invented. From Saltwater Assassins, to Krocodile spoons, to every combination of jighead, and soft plastic I could find, I have caught a fair amount of fish on these lures, but I doubt I will ever go back to using these lures again.

The Berkley Gulp Saltwater is an all natural, biodegradable soft plastic that is available in a number of shapes, sizes, and colors. Some of the shapes they come in are shrimp, squid, sand fleas, crabs, eels, and mullet. The colors that are offered in the Berkley Gulp Saltwater are about as numerous as the colors offered on any soft plastic worms sold for bass fishing. The Berkley Gulp Saltwater is advertised to release 400 times the scent of any other plastic lures, and can outfish live bait. One important thing to remember about the Berkley Gulp Saltwater baits is that they will dry out if they are not sealed in a bag, or kept in the water. These soft plastics come in a resalable bag, where they can be stored without worry of them drying out.

I used the 2 inch New Penny colored Gulp shrimp on a white jig head, fishing off a dock in a saltwater canal. When I first pulled the Gulp shrimp out of the packaging I first noticed how strong the scent was from it. I quickly rigged it up, and was casting in the canal. My first fish came on my second cast, it was just a small pinfish, but it was a fish. I then missed a handful of spotted sea trout over the next half hour. Having to head out with the family, I decided to really test the lure while I was gone. Knowing I would be back out on the dock fishing within an hour, I simply put my rod in a rod holder, and let my jig dangle in the water, right next to a piling. I just figured this would be an easy way to keep the Gulp moist, but I had heard reports that fish would bite these lures if they just sat in the water. Well when I came back, my line was in the middle of the canal, and I quickly found out that there was a fish on my line. The fish broke off, but it proves Gulp’s advertising of how much scent these baits release.

I have read a number of reports of other using the Berkley Gulp Saltwater, and many people have sworn off using live baits or any other lures because the Gulp catch so many fish. Some reports have even said the Saltwater Gulps work well in freshwater catching bream, and catfish. I can say that I have now switched to exclusively use Berkley Gulp Saltwater. Yes they are expensive compared to other soft plastics, but these fish more like live bait, but they are much more durable than live bait.