South Jersey Fishing: Gulp! Fowl Trio Hard Peckers at Fluke

That Berkley Gulp! continues to reign supreme in the world of summer flounder fishing is a given considering the synthetic-yet-biodegradable bait’s livewell and cooler filling success most of the past decade.

The various shapes (grubs, mullets, shrimp, crab), shapes and lengths have a common denominator, that being a scent that the flatties cannot seem to resist.

There are Gulp! baits in both salt and fresh water formulas, blue packaging for the former, red for the latter. A few of the shapes, lengths and colors are identical, the only difference being the names and a slight variation in the scent formulations.

“What we’ve done is create a base scent that is common to all the baits, then it’s the spices’, that final few percent, that appeal to a specific species or to a variety of species,” explains John Prochnow, the director of product development for the Berkley division of Pure Fishing. He continues, “First came the Power Baits, both fresh and salt water. Gulp! was a natural progression and is different from the Power Baits in that the scent begins dispersing as soon as the bait submerges and lays a trail for the fish to key on and follow.”

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With the Power Baits (except for the dough and paste varieties) the fish must first grab the bait in order for it to taste the flavor and get a dose of the scent. This will invariably make it hold on longer than with a standard plastic bait. Hence the “Holds on 18X Longer” statement on the Power Bait Packaging.

When it comes the choice of which Gulp! to purchase and present, form is followed ultra- closely by color...nearly a tie. The tried ‘ n true hues for fluke fillet dinners include nuclear chicken, pink shine, white glow, new penny, salmon red (orange), blue fuze, red belly shrimp and firetiger.

Nuclear Chicken in particular has been a fluke slayer, especially in the five and six-inch grub form. Last season two new color grubs, Cajun Chicken and Curried Chicken, both boasting multi-colored patterns, joined its Nuclear Chicken kin. It wasn’t until later in the
season last year that the flattie-flattening potential of the Cajun and Curried patterns were being realized, and so far during this early season, this Gulp! Fowl Trio has been pecking hard at fluke populations in the tidal rivers, bays and from recent reports, out front.

The colors and the names?

Says Prochnow, “Actually, the Curried Chicken and the Cajun Chicken color patterns are from our Australian market where they catch just about everything. The names are different, of course, and it was the Pure Fishing pro staffers here in the coastal US that submitted name ideas. We settled on the two, and now we have more ‘chicken’ options for those who enjoy catching, fluke.”

Nuclear Chicken. Cajun Chicken. Curried Chicken...in five and six-inch grubs. Limit makers, for sure.