Berkley® Gulp!® Minnow Grub

Gulp! is the next generation of scented softbaits from the company that practically invented the genre with the creation of their PowerBait brand. Berkley Gulp! baits claim to have over 400x more "attraction" than other scented baits and unlike plastics, Gulp! claims to be made of 100% biodegradable materials.

First Impressions

It's not cheap. That was the first impression. About 15 baits for almost $6 bucks, or about $0.40 each. That's significantly more than old fashion nightcrawlers. The materials are bio-degradable, however the feel of the bait is very pliable like a quality plastic. And without question, the scent is very apparent.

Fishing the Bait

Our reviews and myself use the Gulp! Minnow Grub two ways depending on the water. For deeper water and weedbeds, we hooked the bait Texas-style on a Carolina slip rig and jigged the bait across the bottom of the lake. For shallows, rocks and other cover, we loaded the bait onto a jig head with skirt to create a "creature" presentation for lurking bass. We used the only three colors available at the time of testing: Chartreuse, Pumpkin Seed, and Bubble Gum.

When choosing colors, skip the "Bubble Gum". I'm sure there has been scientific field testing on this color and it may work somewhere, but in our neck of the woods it couldn't catch a cold. I know this because we absolutely nailed 'em on the Chartreuse and Pumpkin Seed colors. On the Carolina rig, I caught my biggest largemouth of the year (6 lbs) using the Chartreuse color in about 12-15 feet of murky water. With my buddy (and fellow reviewer) Dave, we had our best day of the year — 16 bass, 12 keepers (all were released) — using the Pumpkin Seed color rigged onto an Enticer Jig. I really like the comfortable size of the 3" body and the action of the tail moves perfectly during the retrieve. In addition, the Gulp! Minnow Grub is surprisingly durable, helping to offset the cost. You'll find that you may able to reuse most of your baits for multiple catches.

Review Summary

It seems the 3" Minnow Grub Gulp! by Berkley actually does attract fish as we've caught more bass on this "plastic" than any other scented bait we fished all year. I caught my largest bass of the year, and we had our most productive bass day using this bait. The Chartreuse and Pumpkin Seed colors continue to produce. I keep both colors in my Plano travel-box, and hooked Texas-style on a Carolina Slip-Rig has become the "go to" set up when bites get tough and I want to fish deep or heavy cover.