Live Bait vs. Gulp Shoot-Out 2012

[Johnny wilkins]

Two Baits Enter, One Bait Leaves!

I have seen and read, I know a lot of people look for an edge, but I have to take this on once and for all. Are there any Gulp champions or distributors who would like to participate in a fish-off comparison?

I will take live grubs and will go up against Gulp artificial canned baits.

I do however wish to make this fair in terms of data collection but I will need your help. I will try to use all the good suggestions, while still keeping this test where I can complete it without this test becoming too fat, or too expensive, too complex.

Post your thoughts here and I will assemble this test. Along with some local testers I will do my best to keep this as scientific as possible. This topic has been partially discussed but I want some data this Spring to show which works on bluegills best.

If you live near Chicago I would need some help filming, counting and recording this test.

• Where can I get enough Gulp for a 5 hour fish-off?
  Berkley Reps anyone I know on the can it says Outfishes Live Bait - Care to donate?
• I might need a volunteer as well who is free one Saturday or Sunday
• All tackle will be supplied

I actually have a 1-man test that will work, but this will require two assistants to record fish by the quarter hour and to guide me to transition times. If we can get 4 people, I have an idea for a 2-person simultaneous  test.

Does this sound interesting? If so, add some thoughts, let me know that you can volunteer this Spring etc. Any help on getting Gulp would be appreciated ...

[Johnny wilkins]

I can't wait for the ice to melt off- but until then we can get testing conditions right. I have a show to prepare for but Friday I will post some of the testing guides and get some feedback from our Gulp V Live 2K12 crew.

[Leo Nguyen]

Let me know if the live bait you're shoving onto the hooks are dead-on-being-hooked or you need a sticky sample of the pine resin to truly make them remain alive rather than death to impalement.

[Johnny wilkins]

P.S. I do care... This is why when I see any information which means someone is struggling catching - I feel like- man, they are
Missing out. I know there are many who don't like to post, but who prefer just reading- that is great. If you feel like asking a question or you would rather ask questions on the phone - just email me.
I hope the forum information gets your interest, makes you wonder and always keep an open mind.
This could be a huge year for your fishing.

[Leo Nguyen]

Good to hear Johnny! If you need a sample of the sticky stuff, let me know. I'm brewing the mixture right now as I post. I'm trying to bring down the melting point of the resin, and maintain it at lower temperature for usage in cooler environment. Hope I can match and beat the Bait Stick version. We'll see I guess. Let me know Johnny. Keep the info flowing. As a wise Asian dude once said, "Those who ignore the thrive to seek improvements are doomed to relive the past."

[dick tabbert]

Thank you Leo for that fine wisdom.

[Johnny wilkins]

I love that wisdom! Also when the tackle devolves - don't trust that the new stuff will work..  Hmmm.. My thesis is that live bait anglers had it better in the 1800's.
They didn't have plastic or foam bobbers or Single-species driven industry like we do today. Stickleback Pro Shops....

[Johnny wilkins]

I read this claim from a jar of Gulp Maggots for sale online:   "Has outfished live bait 2:1 in head to head field tests" - so I guess all we have to do is catch half as many as this jarred stuff...

: )

[Leo Nguyen]

You know the jar stuff contains the same phenols and salt content as their powerbaits and plastics. That's what attract the fishes by ..scents.

[Johnny wilkins]

Test #1: Buying Bait

I have to order some quantity of Gulp and some quantity of live bait. For this test, I will need multiple sessions to do a few tests. My order will be slightly larger, but I also want to catch a lot of fish to have some substantial results. Test 1 will be purchasing bait. I used a national fishing store and a national bait store and will have some shipped to my house. We already have to live up the claim - "Outfished live bait 2:1 in head-to-head field tests". So I am assuming that you can order twice as many Gulp vs. shipping live bait as well. To out fish it, does it have to cost less? Hmmm...

Is anyone cost conscious in their fishing? Does cost matter, or does catching fish matter. At what cost does poor bait use up all your time? Let's take a look at shipping some bait to our house.

Narrowing this down to $$ live bait vs. $$ in Gulp, I think it will be hard to maintain "Outfished live bait 2:1 because just in ordering for this test, I already see a gap. To make shipping efficient, I will order some quantity of both so $10 - $20 of shipping doesn't make the price of each bait very expensive (like I normally do).

Shipping for the fake bait is less expensive it would seem (it can ship 5-day ground delivery). Live bait needs to be shipped faster to survive - 2nd day air.

$107 in live bait for the test will equal $82 in live bait and $25 for shipping

$107 in Gulp will equal $95 in Gulp and $12 in shipping because in shipping, Gulp is more efficient than live bait. Per its claim, it should be twice the bargain of live bait. 

In ordering Gulp maggots for the test, I will order 15 jars and have them shipped regular ground for that price which will yield me approximately 2,250 artificial grubs.

In ordering the live bait maggots, I must them 2nd Day delivery at a slightly higher shipping cost, but I will receive 15,000 maggots. Divide the cost per bait and the following is revealed:

Cost Per Gulp Shipped: 

.05  each (.047 cents) per Gulp - so that is pretty cheap...

Cost Per Maggot Shipped:

.01 each (.007 cents) per Maggot

Sor far, live bait is beating Gulp 7:1 in price. Test #1 - I think goes to the live bait.

I mean, if you can purchase 7 times the cost of live bait, that could be an advantage.

Test #1 - Can we call it? I am giving the nod to Live Bait unless I hear some objections.

Live Bait 1, Gulp 0.

I will come up with test #2 next and put together the guidelines for our field test.

[Leo Nguyen]

Good start..good writeup!  Agree:  Live Bait 1, Gulp 0.

Will test your hypothesis with my own bait resin glue as well..may be fishing early by Feb since redears are striking hard around the Big Bear areas.

[Johnny wilkins]

I will test the resin for sure - but outside of this test.

I definitely will give it a go because I know people don't like to put bait on a hook so I think it has its value for certain!!

I do know there are also people who refuse to deal with live bait so I know artificial baits have their place as well - but, I want people to know the value of live bait.

What Drives Me?

I believe that live bait anglers have been persecuted, mocked, ridiculed and slandered for 100's of years. George Washington refused to fish with artificial baits and exclusively fished live bait.

At the end - my goal is to show the art, beauty and sport of live bait fishing when it is done at a higher level. I see the gap in tackle, techniques and I aim to close it - fishing doesn't need to be hard, but the industry is run with the stereotypes in place and based on sales figures- not fish catching.

[Leo Nguyen]

Agree! But rather than killing ourselves further with higher chances of cancers due to pollutants like petroleum by-products, it's time to return back to the natural, wholesome, icky live stuffs again. It's a pain to deal with, but we're doing our part to preserve what nature has intended. Not artificial flavoring and undigestible craps that will cause us to grow the 11th or 12 digits on our bodies.