# GULP is it bait or a lure



## grinner (May 15, 2008)

was in bcf yesterday, walked past the tiny chest freezer full of stale prawns and covered in dust.

entered the aeroplane hanger fully of male bling. several million packets of "plastics". mind boggling.

now i accept a fly is a lure
a slug is a lure
a hardbody is a lure
a spinnerbait is a lure.

squidgees (except the pro range which are covered in a bait concentrate) are also a lure.

but is gulp not a degradable carbohydrate covered in a scent. that sound like bait to me. nothing against the stuff, i like it , but what do the purists think.

also are these little buckets of gulp scraps meant to be used as berley , youre kidding right.

also i remember seeing paul worsel whatever (lets call him paul wheelbarrow) mixing up some sort of "plastic" into a red putty and putting it on a hook in a little ball for snapper . surely that is a bait.

interested in others thoughts,

pete


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## troutfish (Jun 21, 2007)

it's an artificial bait for mine, like any lure....

as long as it's fun, who cares 8)


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## mulder (Apr 13, 2008)

yeah i'd call it a bait.
the selling point is the scent...not the action
either way they work and i guess thats what matters


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## wayner (Jan 7, 2009)

hmmm lets see
bait left in the sun dries out and so does gulp but gulp is man made.
bait or lure ,either way it catches fish 
i use and it dont stink like old prawns and cathes more fish than bait

wayne


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## grinner (May 15, 2008)

yeah , dont get me wrong , i do like it,
but to me bait equals setting a trap ,

lure equals hunting

theres a subtle difference, so do you think fish are biting because of the action or the taste (suppose youd have to ask a fish)


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## Rebel 1 (Mar 27, 2007)

I think it is bait. MY personal opinion is that it is not the same as a soft plastic or hard body. It has brought about the rise of the technique known as dead sticking.... like bait


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## blueyak (Jan 20, 2009)

The way I see it a lure must imitate a living creature, be it an insect, a baitfish or prawn or any other creature that a fish might eat or attack.

It is the action of a lure that makes a fish strike, whether it be the tight shimmy of a little crankbait, the splash of a popper or the darting action imparted on a stickbait it is the movement that has attracted (or LURED) the fish.

One "lure" I don't quite understand though is the "Berkley Gulp Saltwater 7 1/2" Cut Bait". It is a thin square piece of Gulp that the angler must cut into strips to use.

Surely this lure just drifts around untill a fish smells or tastes it then eats it (just like a bait) . A flick of the rod tip or a retrieve would only make this product spin, not swim like a fish.

A great technique for Kingfish is to put a squid tentacle on a jidhead and dart it around like a stickbait, but it is still bait fishing.

Gulp are a great product and they catch lots of fish. They are even a good way to get kids into lure fishing but myself, I would struggle to call them a lure.


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## dishley (Jan 20, 2009)

Seen strips of beef cut thinly and with a bit of work in the retrieve they look like a worm or little fish swimming along. i guess the plastic is just imitating that.
Doesn't the scent of these 'plastics' "lure" the fish? or the retrieve?
Man made it's a lure.
The whole point of a lure is to imitate the bait the fish eat in their natural habitats. As technology progresses theses lures will be more an more realistic.
if you've got to go and catch it it's bait.
Whether or not the lure deteiorates the same as bait it is imitating nature. They are still not natural and i thought that would have been the definition of bait.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

grinner said:


> ,
> but to me bait equals setting a trap ,
> 
> lure equals hunting


Pete, to me in both cases the we are hunting fish, and that sport is called "fishing"

If the method and the outcome was critical, I think the sport might be called "catching" instead


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## Kevlar (Nov 7, 2008)

pretty sure it is classed as a bait. Was looking around the net for info on what i could use at Eucumbene (providence portal to be exact) and gulp was listed on the same "no no" line as power bait.

I didn't think of the squidgee pro as bait though, interesting.


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## deano199 (Nov 2, 2008)

Id say bait, as i beleive its more the scent then the action the brings the fish to it.

Either way i find then to be a total pain in the ass. Use a few (no fish), put em away (for a rainy day when the fish arent takin anything else) That day arrives (out come the gulps) suprise their all dried and shribbled and useless.

Or even worse use one, leave it rigged. Go to use the same rig again a few hours later, dried and stuck to the hook :? :shock: .

Never leave em on after a trip ive had em dry soo solid ive bent hooks gettin em off. :shock:

EDIT: forgot to mention that ive had 5-6 packs and caught probably 5 fish on em. All on sandworms (beach fishing) got 5 fish with one worm, didnt use em again for a for months whent to use one (dried up again) $10 down the drain to use one whole worm and get 5 fish.

Not to mention the 4-5 other packs that caught nothing. Nowadays i avoid them unless someone else brought them (DAD!! can i borrow a gulp?, nothin alse seems to be working)


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## Ozzybass (Jun 29, 2007)

deano199 said:


> Either way i find then to be a total pain in the ass.


I reckon they're a pain too, but for another reason. They certainly work & I don't really have a problem calling them "lures", BUT I'm almost totally over using them in SW due to the number you have to go through! The toadfish, chopper tailor & leatherjackets sure make short work of them in the estuaries. So much so, I've found myself virtually re-"baiting" after every cast. This, in conjunction with smelly fingers, make it too like baitfishing for me !


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## justcrusin (Oct 1, 2006)

I use them and they work, intrestingly squidgy pro's don't really work deadsticked, gulps are much better for it. Personally I hate deadsticking it sh&(s me to tears.

But gulps do work while being worked back to the yak so its really a toss of the coin call. It depends on how you as the angler use them. If you work them back there a lure if you deadstick there bait.

Cheers dave


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## rob316 (Oct 2, 2007)

The good thing - is that they are biodegradable....this is a big thing for me personally...if you end up losing the fish or it swallows the "lure" - it isn't harmful , well not as harmful as some of the true plastics out there that don't break down as quickly - or at all....
As for the question - well i certainly get alot more fish when "working" the gulps - so i'd class them as a lure - well - really , they are referred to as "softies"...


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## breamski (May 3, 2009)

it depends on how you work gulp, if you cut it up and mix it around then its bait, but if you work it in its natural form its a lure, thats my opinion


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## AdrianK (May 30, 2006)

It doesn't really matter what you call it.

In my opinion, though, I've never seen a Gulp swimming around in its natural habitat in the wild, so my suspicion is a Gulp might be artificial - hang on - that would make it a lure! ;-)


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## blueyak (Jan 20, 2009)

AdrianK said:


> It doesn't really matter what you call it.
> 
> In my opinion, though, I've never seen a Gulp swimming around in its natural habitat in the wild, so my suspicion is a Gulp might be artificial - hang on - that would make it a lure! ;-)


I've not seen a blade steak fillet swimming around in the wild. So would it to be artificial and therefore a Lure. I think not.

If it smells like chicken and tastes like chicken it probably is chicken err i mean bait. ;-)


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

dishley said:


> Man made it's a lure.
> .


So cheese is a lure?


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## Kevlar (Nov 7, 2008)

Junglefisher said:


> dishley said:
> 
> 
> > Man made it's a lure.
> ...


If you are fishing for a frenchie ! :lol:


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## ausbass (Feb 15, 2007)

I reckon Gulp's are lures, cause most people add action to it, etc. though on that point, are garfish or other fish baits that are trolled or cast/retrieved lures?

The bait stuff you mentioned in the first post is called Ultrabite Instant bait, when it first came out I considered buying some thought it is expensive so I left it alone. Link:http://www.okuma.com.au/home/stimulate/


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## grinner (May 15, 2008)

ultrabite instant bait, yes it was indeed.

actually i saw on the telly in the bass fishing tournaments, a guy was putting ultrabite on his plastics, dont really know much about it.

interesting you say you thought it was too dear , my thought as well.

can i tell you a story my pharmacist told me. he was talking about how companies price new products particularly a new cold and flu drug and a new face cream, turns out if you make it too cheap consumers wont buy it. you actually have to jack up the price so people will think it works. funny old capitalist world.
my impression with some lures is the same. i try not to be like that but i noticed when i went to buy a new lure i just headed for the 12 dollar range as i mentally thought the 5 dollar ones must be crap. now they may well be crap but my advice to the makers of 5 dollar lures is put your price up

cheers pete


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## AndyC (Feb 29, 2008)

I can't see why a bait ceases to be a bait, just because you are working it. If that was so, then every bait that is drifted through a current or moved along the bottom (standard techniques for all kinds of fishing) would suddenly become lures.

For me, the definition of bait fishing is simple. If you are using something that involves chemical or biological material that is intended to stimulate the fish's desire to eat it, then you are bait fishing. Doesn't matter if the bait is actually edible, or good for the fish. Its still bait, even if its just chemically scented.

Anything that doesn't involve any chemical/biological agent ... like a hardbody, a metal slice or a fly or popper .... is a lure. Wouldn't stop being a lure if it was just left sitting on the bottom. As soon as you go smearing it with some scent agent or whatever, you have crossed to the dark side and you are bait angling ... even with a 'lure'.

Just my opinion, of course.

Cheers All,

AndyC


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## Stu (Feb 12, 2009)

Bait.


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## ausbass (Feb 15, 2007)

grinner said:


> can i tell you a story my pharmacist told me. he was talking about how companies price new products particularly a new cold and flu drug and a new face cream, turns out if you make it too cheap consumers wont buy it. you actually have to jack up the price so people will think it works. funny old capitalist world.
> my impression with some lures is the same. i try not to be like that but i noticed when i went to buy a new lure i just headed for the 12 dollar range as i mentally thought the 5 dollar ones must be crap. now they may well be crap but my advice to the makers of 5 dollar lures is put your price up, cheers pete


 i have *heard* that this happened when victa lawnmowers became available, not sure if its true


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## Rebel 1 (Mar 27, 2007)

I have no problem with people catching fish with gulps, they work and they will entice a strike when soft plastic will not.They are clean and reasonably easy to use. The problem is with calling them a lure, i dont think they are a lure.
I was amazed when i realised that they were allowed in lure fishing comps. To me , its bait. You can go in one of these competitions and dead stick and catch a fish... and often catch big fish. I believe that if they were not permitted there would be a significant reduction in fish being caught.This would mean that a higher skill level would be required to consistantly place well.
Where do you draw the line between soft plastic and bait.... maybe at cheese. We could get cheese moulded into shads... man made, must be a lure. But dont bring your bread lures, thats just taking it too far. Also for you guys cutting shads out of squid hoods, that wont be permitted. 
Just my opinion,
Andrew


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## Rodman (Jun 29, 2007)

This hoary¹ old chestnut...

Why don't we let the Oxford dictionary answer it for us?

a) *lure*
• verb tempt to do something or to go somewhere. 
• noun 1 a thing that lures a person or animal to do something. 2 the attractive qualities of a person or thing. 3 _a type of bait used in fishing or hunting._ 4 Falconry a bunch of feathers with a piece of meat attached to a long string, swung around the head of a falconer to recall a hawk.

b) *bait*
• noun 1 _food put on a hook or in a trap to entice fish or other animals._ 2 variant spelling of BATE. 
• verb 1 taunt or tease. 2 set dogs on (a trapped or restrained animal). 3 put bait on or in.

c) *food*
• noun _any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or that plants absorb to maintain life and growth._

So...all lures are bait (a), and all bait is food (b), and all food is nutritious (c)...go eat an SX40 right now!

The correct definition of the noun "lure" here is the first one, not the italicized one.

Polyvinyl Alcohol is not nutritious, not food, not bait. Gulp is plastic, a lure.
http://www.fslures.com/document_uploads ... Is_Plastic

NB: that article is from a lure company that actually promotes their (alleged) "lures" as being made from food (pssst...bait).
http://www.fslures.com/product-info/real-food.php

¹ Alright, I admit it! I _did_ only reply to this thread to be the first one to use the word "hoary" on AKFF. :lol:


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## blahger (Feb 6, 2009)

ok so where do i get polyvinyl whatchamacallit and roll my own........


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

I say both bait and lure.

When hunting, you can "lure" your prey with food/bait, sent, decoy or motion to your "trap". A trap is a device for taking game or other animals, eg cage, jaws, snare, hook, enviroment etc, etc.

A body of a gulp is a decoy that can be used still or with motion, just like an unscented soft plastic. Unlike a soft plastic lure, it is also scented and is "edible" as well (food/bait).
That makes it one hell of a "baited lure" attracting fish to your trap "the hook".


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

I leave rigged hardbodies and softplastics on my rods from one trip to another. You can't do that with bait.

Last time I was in BigW I noticed they weren't selling powerbait sps any more. Just gulp and squidgy. No more visits to BigW for me


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## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

The big problem lies with trout streams and such.

Most trout streams are a lure and fly only.

Fisheries won't give me a definative answer on gulps.


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## dishley (Jan 20, 2009)

Was already thinking about cheese, or "pudding", or those tubes the englishmen stuff with powder to catch carp. To me it's not bait. Bait to me has to be caught. What about milk bottle lollies for bream and gummi worms for flathead? They're biodegradable and technically food but they're definately not bait.


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## basschaser (Jan 30, 2009)

well i would have always said that it was a bait... although, recently i found a small jar of worms (gulp). awesome i thought, no more finding dead worms in the back of the garage, or buying them at huge prices... i dangled these fake worms right in the faces of at least 3 rainbows, all they did was swim around them, sitting in the current waiting for some thing nice to come along.... changing over to a real worm they goobbled it up without a second thought... hence it is not just a bait... it would have to be fished more like a lure to get a reaction, not just a lump of worm that any trout would smash


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## AdrianK (May 30, 2006)

blueyak said:


> I've not seen a blade steak fillet swimming around in the wild. So would it to be artificial and therefore a Lure. I think not.
> ;-)


I haven't seen a gulp grazing in a field either. so steak = bait, gulp = artificial.

(If you bring up bread dough, though, my argument is completely shot and I have no comeback!)


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