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I got a topic I'd like to kick around. Berkley Gulp! has been great for me. I've caught a heap of fish with their various artificial baits. I'm curious to know if you troopers out there are using them? What is your most successful color/style and for what type of fishing. My winning gulp for mopping up summer fluke is the 4" white minnow. I landed my largest fluke at 8lbs / 28 in with that little guy. Tip it on a white bucktail and drift away.

I'm a fan of Gulp. I like the 3" minnow on a small jig head. It catches a bunch of different different types of fish. I have had good luck with letting it sit on the bottom for few seconds after casting maybe giving it a few slight shakes and then just jig it back. One thing you don't want to do is leave one on a jighead after you are done fishing. It is a major pain in the ass because they dry up and are hard to get off.

I am kind of a fan...I guess the jury is still out. I have had success drop shotting the 3" minnows I have also used the leeches and they work just as well. I would get the tub with the magic gravy....I just like that...magic gravy. The bags I have heard can dry out quick if they are left open.

Oh yeah, and don't try to store the jig-heads in the magic gravy, it will ruin the bait.

Magic-gravy.

Yes, i like them.
The barra in my avatar fell to a 3" pumpkinseed mullet. I find the size/weight of the jig head can be important.
For the big fish i would still rather live bait. But you cant beat the ease of plastics. Sometimes on my way to work i chuck a pack of gulps and heads in my pocket, strap my rod to the handle bars of my motorbike and fish the bridge for half an hour. No mess no fuss.
Also i think braid is a definite must. You really need to know excatly where and what the gulp is doing.
I find , three sharp lifts then let it sink to the bottom works best for over here. Also a fan of letting it sit for a bit on the bottom.
Good thread Jim
Here is the first fish i ever caught on a plastic. It a Bludger Trevelly

I'm big into shaky head fishing, and I've had a lot of success with largemouth using the Gulp "Alive!" 5" shaky worms. They might be more expensive, but they can last a bit longer since you can "recharge" them by dipping em back in the container over and over. What works best for me is the green pumpkin worm on an 1/8oz green pumpkin shaky head or football head jig, and the lightest fluorocarbon line you can get away with so you can feel every tiny twitch. However for shaky head fishing, I'd recommend the strike king super finesse worms even more. They're those elastic ones so they're really flexible and buoyant giving them great action. And super durable.

Jason - I agree 100% on the not-letting-them-dry tip. Yesterday i froze my fingers off clipping the remnants of a twisted crawler off of a treb. feck!

I find the berkley maggots work well for whites around here.

Sed - When do you start throwing those jigs out? Do you have better results in the spring, summer or fall?
Rodge - Where you from?
Spar - I like keepin' it simple sometimes like you said. Just stroll up to a spot with a pack and see what you can pull up. Nice shot of your first catch on plastic.
I agree too about the dry out, that shit turns to rock. Also the magic juice smells great when you accidentally leave a pack open in you back pack on a hot summer day and it absorbs into all your shit.
For weak fishing in the back bays, hot pink or chrome color berkley shrimp or 5" jerk shad work real with a light jig head. Slow retrieve gets it done. Here's a couple shots of weak fish we caught. And a fluke on my go to rig.

For salt, I love the chartreuse gobi on a white bucktail jig when it's sunny, and pink when it's cloudy.

for freshwater, I love the 3 inch minnow. I fish them weedless with no weight. cast, make a few splashes along the edges of vegetation and let em' drop really slow. count to 15 and do it again. (I fish Senkos the same way) ..I've taken bass up to 7 lbs and dozens of crappies by doing that last year.

Hands down best results are in the spring. I'm boatless so 90% of my fishing is from the shore. I usually just go to my "secret spot" which is a large pond behind a middle school about a mile away. Not too many know of it, but theres 5lb largemouth in there and that works for me since its so close, and rarely have I caught any over 5 in the lakes here in the Chicago burbs that I'd travel a good distance to. So In the best time is spring, especially after a big rain, the pond will overflow onto the grass creating about 6-8 extra feet of water and the bass just love hanging out on the inside edge of the "real" pond. With polarized glasses, you can totally watch the worms action and get a head start when you see the fish grab it. Its also great during spawning since the mama will just attack it, but I try to resist. try to...
Heres my first big one from that pond last year.

Jim - Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It's located right at the centre of the great lakes, Main river in town is the St. Mary's which fuses lake Superior with Lake Huron. Get's cold as a witches tit up here, but our 4 months of warm weather are a blast, as the area is just tattered with wicked lakes and rivers.