# Squigies vs Gulp



## tahch3

Squigies vs Gulp

I prefer Squigies because you get more than gulp.i seem to catch more, They dont dry out and u can add x factor when your ready. I also like x factor to add to my hard bodies. I just want to know what plastic do u prefer?


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## Southerly

Gulps are the only SP I use, apart from 6in stick baits and mojos for kings.

David


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## wopfish

Agghhhh what about Slam baits with Ultrabite - it was the only lure that turned on the trevallies for me in Fiji


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## CamFish

you've got it all wrong the ultimate softie is not gulp its the origanal gulps "powerbait" gulp suffers because they cut back on quality to look environmental friendly powerbaits are supreme are unreal 
p.s powerbait and gulp have same look and same action just one dries up in 5mins and and fish think it taste like sh**t


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## maccayak

Powerbait, squigies and atomic in that order. Powerbaits are getting harder to get, have been told they are phasing them out. I still buy gulp, but I really do hate the way it dries out, and your not wrong saying 5 min. Last night I reeled a line in when I caught a decent flattie on a HB. By the time I stuffed around getting sorted, the tail on the gulp had gone hard. I am starting to sway to hardbodies as I am having some better success with them lately. Either way I get caught $$$ with them all.

Cheers Geoff


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## LoboLoco

Gulp do catch fish but the main reason for that is because they have found a scent/attractant that works. But they are pretty crap lures otherwise! They have very little action of their own (e.g. prawn, minnow) which are two of the most widely used in their range, and I don't think would catch much at all if they weren't scented! So I conducted an experiment to test my theory.

Squidgies on the other hand don't need a scent because they have a realistic action built into them. Take the squidgy flick bait and compare it to a gulp minnow and you will see the difference in action.

I ran an experiment where I repeatedly soaked a gulp in fresh water until I couldn't smell the scent. I then tested it to a squidgy and it was out fished every time. I did this with the gulp minnow and squidgy flick bait, the gulp prawn and the squidgy flash prawn. Here are the reults...

GULP (unscented) Squidgy
minnow/stickbait: 4 fish 22 fish
prawn/flash prawn 1 fish 14 fish

I fished for a period of 4 days, fishing sand flats, weed beds, drop offs. The species caught were flathead, bream, flounder, trevally and pinkies. Both lures were fished equal amounts (2days in the am and 2 days in the pm). I was going to try the test with other styles but the initial results were too convincing and I wanted to catch fish! So I just stuck with the squidgies.

I later conducted a similar test with out getting rid of the scent in the GULPs and using s-factor on the squidgies. Overall the squidgies caught me more but it was a lot closer! 
See the post viewtopic.php?f=10&t=29924 for tests on lure scents.

In conclusion GULP are a good lure and they do catch a lot of fish. But I believe that it has a lot to do with the scent and therefore requires less skill. Squidgies are a great lure and I prefer them due to their in built action and non-reliance on scent. Also GULP stink and leak everywhere, Squidgies don't! 
Please note that this test was conducted to satisfy my own curiosity and I don't have any affiliation with berkley or shimano.

Cheers
LoboLoco


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## Levi

An intersting thread.... i will be watching this one avidly!

Loboloco, great experiment, very very interesting....... was it statisitcallly correct, and what P value did you get? 

I have been stuck on gulp for a while, but agree, bad action, heaps of faulty ones, and without the scent (which for some reason i now love???????????? :? ) i doubt i would use them. I really started on them because they were an easy way to ease the lady into lures, even dead stick you can pick up fish.
having said this, they must be pretty good at catching fish, too many comps won using these (and especially on those bloody ZERO action 2' shrimp)... so hard to ignore. andi have caught great fish on them........ and even somethings you wouldnt expect..








Lately i am begining to find limitations with them, and think i may have to cross to the dark side and try some squiddgies........ but, you know how it is, when you have confidence in something and know how to fish it, its hard to better results chaning to a new lure unless you persist to figure it all out.

With Squiddgies- where is the best place to start, what info is best, what types suit the species (bream, flatty, bass, EP, Jew)... dam i need to go learn another lure technique and type... now where is my credit card!!!!!!! :twisted:

Keep em coming guys!


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## YakN00b

I have stopped using gulps and almost exclusively use Squidgies when i use plastics for a few reasons. 
1 they don't dry out and last forever when they are not getting chewed up.
2 They work out much cheaper than the gulps 
3 They don't stink and they don't leak

I have smeared them with S factor and left them lying on the bottom like bait and they have caught fish just as the gulps are supposed too.
While I still have some Gulps left over I don't even use them and as for the Slams I have never caught anything on them not even a cold.


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## wopfish

Not sure if any you have seen the Gulp jerk shads move through the water - but pretty impressive - and can be worked rigged in multiple ways. You can see too that many snapper fishermen now are nailing many fish on the jerk shads - so I wouldnt right them off yet. I would say with any plastic its all in the rigging.


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## LoboLoco

Agree with you there wopfish. It is in the rigging and the action. I think with scented lures like the gulp the art of lure fishing (for the majority of the users NOT all) is lost since you can simply throw, a usually distorted, action-less plastic out near a fishy spot and wait!
Try doing that with an unscented bit of plastic and see how you go.

Levi for the follow species this is what I recommend
FLATHEAD: Squidgy fish in Black Gold or sliver fox fished with an appropriate jig head to get it on the bottom (5-11gm, or even 3 in the shallows) is my all time fav, and I will challenge anyone who says that they can consistently catch more flathead on an different un scented plastic.
(note: flathead also love the stealth prawn and thepro worm... they eat most things)

BREAM: The squidgy wriggler is a killer!
(critter and lobby are also good)

Never caught a bass or an EP so can't help you there, but I assume the wriggler of flick baits will do the trick

JEW: The big flick baits are awesome for jewies. I have also seen people get them on the slick rigs
(big flick baits are also good on the snapper ;-) )


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## YakN00b

LoboLoco said:


> Agree with you there wopfish. It is in the rigging and the action. I think with scented lures like the gulp the art of lure fishing (for the majority of the users NOT all) is lost since you can simply throw, a usually distorted, action-less plastic out near a fishy spot and wait!
> Try doing that with an unscented bit of plastic and see how you go.
> 
> Levi for the follow species this is what I recommend
> FLATHEAD: Squidgy fish in Black Gold or sliver fox fished with an appropriate jig head to get it on the bottom (5-11gm, or even 3 in the shallows) is my all time fav, and I will challenge anyone who says that they can consistently catch more flathead on an different un scented plastic.
> (note: flathead also love the stealth prawn and thepro worm... they eat most things)
> 
> BREAM: The squidgy wriggler is a killer!
> (critter and lobby are also good)
> 
> Never caught a bass or an EP so can't help you there, but I assume the wriggler of flick baits will do the trick
> 
> JEW: The big flick baits are awesome for jewies. I have also seen people get them on the slick rigs
> (big flick baits are also good on the snapper ;-) )


I have caught Bream,Tailor,Snapper and Flathead on those flickbaits in that exact colour. And Flathead and Bream seem to love the Wriggler.
Mangrove Jacks on the Shads and seen Barra and Trevally caught on them as well.


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## kevvy7

YakN00b said:


> I have stopped using gulps and almost exclusively use Squidgies when i use plastics for a few reasons.
> 1 they don't dry out and last forever when they are not getting chewed up.
> 2 They work out much cheaper than the gulps
> 3 They don't stink and they don't leak
> 
> I have smeared them with S factor and left them lying on the bottom like bait and they have caught fish just as the gulps are supposed too.
> While I still have some Gulps left over I don't even use them and as for the Slams I have never caught anything on them not even a cold.


but do squidgies out fish gulp???


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## YakN00b

kevvy7 said:


> YakN00b said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have stopped using gulps and almost exclusively use Squidgies when i use plastics for a few reasons.
> 1 they don't dry out and last forever when they are not getting chewed up.
> 2 They work out much cheaper than the gulps
> 3 They don't stink and they don't leak
> 
> I have smeared them with S factor and left them lying on the bottom like bait and they have caught fish just as the gulps are supposed too.
> While I still have some Gulps left over I don't even use them and as for the Slams I have never caught anything on them not even a cold.
> 
> 
> 
> but do squidgies out fish gulp???
Click to expand...

For my purposes I don't care. From a cost and ease of use point the Squidgies win hands down. I also do most of my fishing with hard bodies.


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## bimbo

I use majority Gulp. pretty much 2 inch shrimp in a variety of colour and 3inch minnow in a bunch of colours. Also found that the 5 inch jerk shad pretty darn good on flatties.

I have just started trying the squidies and although I have found I don't catch as many fish - this is because i mostly use the gulps though - that the toadfish which decimate my gulps tend to leave the squigies alone. Another bonus is that I love the anisead smell of the squigies.

Personaly I doný really think one is better than the other, they both have pro's and cons

Cheers
James


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## kevvy7

YakN00b said:


> kevvy7 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> YakN00b said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have stopped using gulps and almost exclusively use Squidgies when i use plastics for a few reasons.
> 1 they don't dry out and last forever when they are not getting chewed up.
> 2 They work out much cheaper than the gulps
> 3 They don't stink and they don't leak
> 
> I have smeared them with S factor and left them lying on the bottom like bait and they have caught fish just as the gulps are supposed too.
> While I still have some Gulps left over I don't even use them and as for the Slams I have never caught anything on them not even a cold.
> 
> 
> 
> but do squidgies out fish gulp???
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> For my purposes I don't care. From a cost and ease of use point the Squidgies win hands down. I also do most of my fishing with hard bodies.
Click to expand...

fair enough. i reckon gulp is better on bream and sqiudgies better on flathead. but i'd choose powerbait over both. gulp do rip you off with generally about 3 out of 8 in a pack of shrimps stuffed.


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## blueyak

LoboLoco said:


> JEW: The big flick baits are awesome for jewies. I have also seen people get them on the slick rigs
> (big flick baits are also good on the snapper ;-) )


I'd have to add squidgy fish from size 80mm and above for jewies. For many years this was the only lure I would use for jews. I still use them now but believe a hungry jewie will eat anything that swims past within striking range.

Personally I prefer squidgys over gulps purely because I think they swim better. If your aim is to just catch fish I think gulps will really outperform squidgys.
ps I think atomic and damiki make great plastics too and I wish I could afford sluggo's lol.


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## Levi

some great banter, and interesting Q's asked and answered.... thanks all for the great advice ( wrigglers and minnows on the list to buy now!!!)

i will definatley add a couple of packs of squidgies to the box..... and i will give them a good bash. for sure i have caught flatties on these years ago, but it will be the bream that convince me!

.......but out of all this i am seeing a slight trend.... just slightly, but it is there i think....
it does seem that most can admit gulp dry out, you get faulty products in the pack (over 20% is not uncommon in my experience), and they stink...... but, they do catch fish, and after all is this not why we are there???

Comps are won, bream eat them dead stick or moving, and snapper smash them to bits. 
lately i find the ones with more movement (3' minnow grub, minnow etc) kill the bass when nothing traditional is working. flatties, whiting you name it they eat them........... deadsticking, well, it is close to bait fishing, but a well used minnow or grub is still luring to me.... and they will have a place in my box until i am certain others will work.....

time to go test, now where is my rod????


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## soggypilchard

good info guys
anyone tried those stand up yabbies?

or the kokoda soft plastics from kmart?
i have caught salmon, pike and flathead on kokoda soft plastics

a mate reakons he got a big flathead on a stand up yabbie that was left unmoved in the rod holder on the beach on the riverbank.
he reakons the yabbies sit on the bottom waving their claws like real life angry yabbies supposedly do... any thoughts?
i have since tried them for jew and bream where i saw others getting jew on live yabbies, but so far no luck.


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## ohagas

LoboLoco said:


> Gulp do catch fish but the main reason for that is because they have found a scent/attractant that works. But they are pretty crap lures otherwise! They have very little action of their own (e.g. prawn, minnow) which are two of the most widely used in their range, and I don't think would catch much at all if they weren't scented! So I conducted an experiment to test my theory.
> 
> Squidgies on the other hand don't need a scent because they have a realistic action built into them. Take the squidgy flick bait and compare it to a gulp minnow and you will see the difference in action.
> 
> I ran an experiment where I repeatedly soaked a gulp in fresh water until I couldn't smell the scent. I then tested it to a squidgy and it was out fished every time. I did this with the gulp minnow and squidgy flick bait, the gulp prawn and the squidgy flash prawn. Here are the reults...
> 
> GULP (unscented) Squidgy
> minnow/stickbait: 4 fish 22 fish
> prawn/flash prawn 1 fish 14 fish
> 
> I fished for a period of 4 days, fishing sand flats, weed beds, drop offs. The species caught were flathead, bream, flounder, trevally and pinkies. Both lures were fished equal amounts (2days in the am and 2 days in the pm). I was going to try the test with other styles but the initial results were too convincing and I wanted to catch fish! So I just stuck with the squidgies.
> 
> I later conducted a similar test with out getting rid of the scent in the GULPs and using s-factor on the squidgies. Overall the squidgies caught me more but it was a lot closer!
> See the post viewtopic.php?f=10&t=29924 for tests on lure scents.
> 
> In conclusion GULP are a good lure and they do catch a lot of fish. But I believe that it has a lot to do with the scent and therefore requires less skill. Squidgies are a great lure and I prefer them due to their in built action and non-reliance on scent. Also GULP stink and leak everywhere, Squidgies don't!
> Please note that this test was conducted to satisfy my own curiosity and I don't have any affiliation with berkley or shimano.
> 
> Cheers
> LoboLoco


Hey LoboLoco

If you reckon the secret of Gulp is the scent but Squidgy are a much better lure, then I wonder what the results would be if you soaked squidgies in gulp juice. Would that be the ultimate lure? Or do you think the s-factor is just as good as the gulp juice?


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## YakN00b

The S factor is supposed to contain a Pheremone that makes the fish more likely to bite and keep the lure in its mouth without spitting it out.
I did a stupid little test one day. There were some small toadfish in the shallows following a hardbody minnow I was using as soon as it stopped moving they would lose interest and swim off. When I smeared some S factor on the started trying to eat it when it stopped moving.
So based on that it appears that it does do something.


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## LoboLoco

Hey ohagas,
That is an excellent idea! However squidgy lures are made of a plastic that doesn't absorb liquid (thats why they don't dry out) so they wouldn't absorb the gulp juice. If you were to soak a squidgy in the gulp juice I think it would come off within 1 or maybe two casts at most.

The s-factor is like a paste that sits on the lure (soft plastic or hard body) and slowly dissolves into the water and will last maybe 10-20 casts. The idea behind it is that when an inquisitive fish comes up to the lure it sucks/'breaths' in the water around the lure which contains the dissolved scent. So they can actually taste it before they have it in their mouth, similar to smelling a nice home cooked meal that makes your mouth water! And if they were a bit shy to start with then this entices them to eat it, just as yakNOOb said. The gulp juice works in a similar fashion.

In terms of which works better (gulp juice or s-factor) I think they both work very well. Maybe the gulp juice is more effective because it releases more scent in the water than the s-factor (not sure if this is the case but I think it is). But I still believe that a more realistic looking/moving lure (which is the squidgies in most cases) along with the added scent (s-factor) will do the job more often than not.

I will say this: I think gulp (Berkley) have some excellent lures and they have developed a scent that really does work, and they catch a lot of fish. 
However I prefer to fish with squidgies as they require a little more knowledge about how the lure swims and a little more skill to make them swim enticingly in different conditions (as opposed to letting the scent of a poorly worked lure entice the fish). Also they don't stink and leak everywhere. And, if worked enticingly, they also catch a lot of fish (even without the added s-factor).

Cheers
LoboLoco


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## AnonymousFisherman

the gulp for sure i think they have better range and more size varity also only bummer is that the dont last 

ps good thread topic


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## Maca

I have had more success with Gulp but that's because I fish with them alot. I buy more Gulp because of the previous success I've had with them but it doesn't mean they are better than Squigies.

I have recently discovered Juro Firebaits: http://www.jurofishing.com/juro_firebaits.php?subCatID=502 I've had good success with the longtail minows catching bass. They are unscented so whacking on some x-factor might improve the catch rate (not that I have done that yet). I like the colours that they have; different to anything else on the market, which can sometimes help with catch rate.


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## CatfishKeith

i use them boh.

Love the Gulps but there are some squigie pattens that are very useful.

If the Gulps arnt working I move the the Squigies etc.

no one lure or SP works in all stuations at all times.

Dont forget the Gulps are a soy based material so they are bio degradable Squigies are plastic 
Gulps are impregnated with scent
The sent on Squigies is smeared on the surface and is washed of quickly.

I dont think scent has much if anything to do with the sucess of a SP or lure its more about the action you work the SP with that makes for sucess


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## craig51063

i use to fish gulp pretty much exclusivly BUT i am sick of buying a packet of prawns and half of them have twisted tails . Or u buy a packet of grubs and they dont have enough juice in the packet so they have dryed up and become useless because the tail dosnt swim because its to stiff , or they are so soft they are like areoplane jelly and just do not stay on the hook .

i like the 3 inch minnow in pumkinseed and they seem more reliable as far as quality control goes BUT for me they do not perform any better than squidgies.

at $11.00 a packet and u end up paying $2 a plastic !!!!! its just not good enough . i think they should really have BETTER quality control .

i am slowly fishing through my gulps and fastly becomeing a fan of the squidgy sp,s . lately my best bream have been on wrigglers 80mm - 65 mm and the 50mm[$4.65 ] at kmart .

and the critters im finding are also very good .

the smell of the gulp juice dosnt bother me as i use to fish alot with pillies and they are MUCH worse .

also liking the squidgy bugs fished on the surface they seem to be alot of fun [ u gotta love a big surface strike]

craig


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## tomca

not a real fan of the sp's, but have a preference for the squidgies, solely for the fact you can leave them lying around. 
BUT....with hardbody lures, I found the starlo ones pretty crap, and buy berkleys whenever I see them, whether it be Big W or tackle shops, they are awesome for the dollars. Most of my pb's are from 50-75 mm berkley hardbody minnows. The starlo ones won't even swim straight, maybe to immitate an injured baitfish :?


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## YakN00b

tomca said:


> not a real fan of the sp's, but have a preference for the squidgies, solely for the fact you can leave them lying around.
> BUT....with hardbody lures, I found the starlo ones pretty crap, and buy berkleys whenever I see them, whether it be Big W or tackle shops, they are awesome for the dollars. Most of my pb's are from 50-75 mm berkley hardbody minnows. The starlo ones won't even swim straight, maybe to immitate an injured baitfish :?


The Starlo lures are crap however the Stiffies are another story


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## LoboLoco

Yeah the stiffy lures are pretty good! Caught lots on them recently

Cheers
LoboLoco


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## YakN00b

Had a good haul of Cod on a 80mm Green Squidgie Slick rig on Sunday


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## glint

wopfish said:


> Agghhhh what about Slam baits with Ultrabite - it was the only lure that turned on the trevallies for me in Fiji


slam have just come out with a new formula,even better than they were and the bodies are softer and more flexible. They have been catching up on the market share that gulp led over here.


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## keza

I'd be interested which ones are better for the fish and the environment, and ultimately us.
If the fish are eating a lot of plastic then so are we :shock: 
Are they biodegradable, and do they dissolve in a fishes gut ?


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## craig51063

glint said:


> wopfish said:
> 
> 
> 
> Agghhhh what about Slam baits with Ultrabite - it was the only lure that turned on the trevallies for me in Fiji
> 
> 
> 
> slam have just come out with a new formula,even better than they were and the bodies are softer and more flexible. They have been catching up on the market share that gulp led over here.
Click to expand...

all the slams ive used have been very stiff ??????

craig


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## Levi

craig51063 said:


> glint said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> wopfish said:
> 
> 
> 
> Agghhhh what about Slam baits with Ultrabite - it was the only lure that turned on the trevallies for me in Fiji
> 
> 
> 
> slam have just come out with a new formula,even better than they were and the bodies are softer and more flexible. They have been catching up on the market share that gulp led over here.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> all the slams ive used have been very stiff ??????
> 
> craig
Click to expand...

i really feel the desire to crack a joke about not playing with them so much before you use it... but that would just be plain old rude of me. so i promise i wont


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## Ranger

I think you need to compare apples with apples!

Gulp are water based, hence are edible and will degrade. This is also the reason why they dry out. You must always keep your Gulps moist in the sealed packets of juice, or keep them in the water, because they will dry out really quickly in the air and sun.

Squdgies ar oil bases and similar to all other soft plastics. They will not degrade in the environment, they do not need to be kept moist and they are not edible.

I don't think a lure fisherman would limit himself to either Gulp OR Squidgies, and I don't think one is better than the other.

I don't personally use the "Slams" as I bought a packet and found them to be far too stiff for my liking, so I've never used them.

If you are new to plastics Gulp are good because you don't need a lot of technique to use them. Fish will pick them up off the bottom and eat them and the scent attracts the fish.

Also if you are new to plastics, select any Squidgy lure with a curl tail, as this has an action built in. All you have to do is slowly turn the handle on your reel and the tail will perform for you attracting fish.

For more experienced, they will have all shapes, sizes and brands of lure on hand, both water soluble and oil based. They will have their own scents, pheremones and attractants to spray or wipe onto the plastics, and they will have the skill to work each type of lure, making it look lifelike and attractive as a meal. Everything from the little crabs through shrimp, worms and crankbaits.

It takes time to perfect things with plastics, and they all have their place in the arsenal. Anglers always reach for their "confidence" lure though, and we will all have a different one.

Me personally, I would normally reach for the Gulp 6' worm, the Gulp 2" Shrimp, the Squidgy 65mm Wriggler, the Atomic 2" Fatgrub, or the Berkley 3" Powerminnow.

They all work and they all catch fish!


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## blueyak

Ranger said:


> the Atomic 2" Fatgrub,


ssshhhhh Ranger I hoped everyone had forgotten about these :lol:


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## breamsta

I have had more success on squidgies and secondly all the tails in a pack are more consistent. In a gulp pack you'd find several that have bent/twisted tails and they don't last as long, as for comparing the two when it comes to swimming, Squidgies are the go for me and their still durable as hell for me. I've caught Bream, Flathead, Whiting, Flounder, Tailor and silver Trevally on Squidgies (Most of the time unscented). On gulps I only was able to get Flathead, Tailor. I think the scent does it for the gulps. I really have no favourite in the Squidgy range, they all have worked quiet well for me but for bream, squidgy Flickbaits.


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## breamsta

yeah the S-factor is great, I apply it to my devilfish vibes (bushy's designed vibes) and my strike pro vibes.....summed ups-factor on a squidgie plastic = deadly...........s-factor on a hardbody lure = deadly. the gulp minnows are the only thing close to being good....I never keep my berkley minnows in a pack, I but a good sealing container and just empty it in there, they last longer...little tip, get the containers where you have to clip them shut.


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