Anyone tip their jigs, flies or lures with natural bait?

[Damon Toney]

I've been looking to experiment with adding a lure to my natural bait. I crappie and strip bass fishermen who tip with minnows and eels all the time. Do any of you do this while targeting bluegill?

[dick tabbert]

Damon, Damon, Damon. you got the best tipping bait going far better than gulp. 

[Damon Toney]

hehe! Yup, I sure like'em! Good bit cheaper too. $8 for 50 lbs bag of wheat to rot, and I have thousands.

[dick tabbert]

Damon I'll be picking your brain in the spring about the black soldier flies. I don't get out much to fish but have plenty woods across the road maybe I get get something started from there if I'm not to far north.

[Tony Livingston]

Ice fishing must not be too far away.....my favorite tipping bait, maggots, showed up in the mailbox this afternoon.

[Slip Sinker]

Check out this discussion if you like tipping jigs Damon........ 

http://bigbluegill.com/forum/topics/jig-fishing-under-a-float-thing...

quote from J. Abney

[Slip Sinker]

... but here i easily concede a tipped jig under a float will usually outperform an untipped jig

when i jig fish i cast and retrieve

[carl hendrix]

Damon-- for what its worth;; I have tried berkly gulp products  on my water;; for quite some time; with little to zero luck;; I gave all of mine to a bbg member; hope they work for him on his water..  as for me-- Ill never have another gulp product;; live bait- worms; crickets; minnows produce a lot better for my water..

[Damon Toney]

Yeah, that's my thing. I know natural baits work, and it's so cheap to get a bed of larvae going it doesn't make much sense to buy a product like GULP. Tying some lures myself to enhance makes a lot more financial sense.

[Jim Gronaw]

Here along the Mason Dixon, we tip our panfish jigs with a wide variety of baits, to include garden worm pieces, live maggots, meal worms, wax worms and Berkley Gulp baits such as the angle worms, earthworms, maggots, 1 inch minnows and crappie nibbles. The crappie nibbles and Gulp! minnows have been hot lately.

[Slip Sinker]

reading these posts and a little in between the lines... it seems most fisherman are referring to fishing the jig with a float... completely different strategies than casting and swimming the jig. adding a big ole cricket to  a swim jig and cast and retrieve just does not work effectively. the intended action is gone. i believe if i fished a jig under a float at any time it would be tipped with something like everyone is saying but id rather fish a plain hook and bait under a float.. i entice a bite by putting an action to the jig and covering more water vertically and horizontally. more water in less time = more fish per outing. especially with the crappie. 

as a teenager fishing with my dad we started with the cane poles minnows/worm under the red/white float. i started breaking out the spinning gear and couldnt wait to entice the fish with an artificial bait..first crappie on a bare pinkie ... ive been hooked since. 

[Tony Livingston]

I think what you're buying with Gulp is convenience. No mess, no dirt, no expiration if left in the sun for a day or the aerator batteries die. The 1" minnows have produced well for me, and the maggots haven't done too bad either. Sometimes, especially in cold water, the fish are sluggish and they don't want to see a lot of movement. cast and retrieve may be too aggressive for the wily, bigger bluegills, and that tiny maggot just wriggling enticingly on my jig seems to be irresistible. Can't get that wriggle with gulp, and angler-induced movements may be too disturbing for those lethargic fish.

[Damon Toney]

Yeah, I notice even when I'm drifting that if the wind is too fast I get far fewer bites. The times I do best are when there is no wind and I can use the oars to move at snail's pace.