Gulp vs Live Shrimp vs DOA

[Badbagger]

Having always used and been done right by Gulp New Penny Shrimp, I'm curious about yalls opinions. I've been considering trying live Shrimp just for a test. Never used DOA so I can't very compare. Been reading up on rigging Live Shrimp and I've read using a #1 or #2 circle hook is the way to go....

With that, I await your input.

[leonreno]

Problem with live shrimp is the pinfish will tear them up if they are around. Though, if conditions are right they are what everything else pretends to be. Gulp work well and last longer than most anything I have used. Never used DOA. Bass Assissins work good but they are super soft and get tore up rather quick.

[Flint River Pirate]

DOA makes a great shrimp to use under a popping cork.

[FishWithChris]

Big fan of the DOA shkrimpies. Gotta fish'm a bit slower

[Tidedancer]

D.O.A. Shrimp in the glow color is my go to bait on a popping cork. Gulp are great for the bottom bumping jig-heads. I would prefer a pilchard over live shrimp any day. Well that's the way I look at this question. I am sure there are many who have their go to baits too.

[ontiltttttt]

A Gulp Shrimp on a chartreuse jig head is my go-to for flounder on sandy bottom or trout on a grass flat but they don't hold up too well to bait pickers. One bait you should consider is the Z-Man Scented Shrimpz. I like it better than the Gulp in the sense that the plastic holds up to multiple bites/hits/strikes; it's actually a stretchy plastic infused with Pro-Cure. However, in 90% of situations (& with the CORRECT bait) nothing beats a live bait. If I had to rank them it'd be:
1) Live bait
2) Gulp Shrimp (any New Penny variation)
3) Z Man
4) DOA CAL paddle tails
1,000,000) DOA Shrimp

I've never caught anything on a DOA Shrimp; in my book, they're garbage. I'm a Gulp fanatic. Just my $0.02

[Bigdog]

Last fall and this spring live sprimp were the ticket. Many limits taken on live bait quickly. One drift put 11 keeprs in the boat. Now the pinfish will take over. Gulp or live pinfish plus the live pinfish are cheaper.

[Harmsway]

Consider adding Big Bite Bio-Baits to the list of fish-catching scented plastics. Cheaper than Gulp, and worked good for me.

Fishin' is the mission.

[SS-342]

You ask a good question!

From my experience things change. They change from season to season and from year to year. We caught more trout on Bass Assassins several years ago then it changed to Gulp Shrimp. We still have better luck with Gulp but are now using a variety of Gulp products: shrimp in several colors & jerk shad.

We've found the best time to use live shrimp is in the winter months after most pinfish & Black
Sea Bass are gone.

We tried several hundred dollars worth of other baits. Some work....some don't but we seem to always come back to using Gulp.

My advice, don't buy over a couple packs of anything. What works today might not work tomorrow or something else works better.

[bman]

Everything eats shrimp...
If I'm taking newer guys that don't really know how to work a bait then I get shrimp.
They will catch fish- they will lose some to pinfish but its the cost of doing business.

I like fishing a pearl or Nuclear Chicken gulp - never really liked new penny.
Thats just me. I think they all catch fish.

finally on cost- I think shrimp may be less $$.

50 shrimp is $11
5 gulp is $6
I've had days when every trout or lady fish that hit ripped my gulp off the hook.
I have pinfish eat the tails off Gulp.

[WolfeMan]

Is it just me, or have Gulp become more fragile over the years? I remember a few years back the gulp I used to buy were more rigid and leather-like. Now, they seem soft and super flexible like rubber worms. The old ones used to could take a fair amount of bait-nibbling - the new ones seem much more delicate.

The change came when they started packing them in the little molded plastic trays instead of just loose in the bag. Know what I mean?

[oreocwby]

The gulp are different from the gulp alive. I actually called Berkley and asked why my shrimp were sagging(like a home boy from the hood) ??She said that the gulp alive are softer and more maliable due to the action of the bait. The softer they are the more action but also everything tears them up so you end up going thru $15(3 packs) worth of Gulps in a day trip.Its hard to put down a lure that's workin...I figured gulp thought they weren't making enough money as it is... so now ya use twice as many baits. I love mirrorlures soft baits and or bass and salt assisan soft baits. Heck even a zoom lizard has worked for me.

[onefishtwofish]

Funny you say that BMan, but when I fish in your neck of the woods, I use the Nuclear Chicken or pearl white (in gulp or other baits too) as my first choice.

When fishing east, New Penny and Pearl are the go to colors I try first. Never have much luck with the Nuclear Chicken in the east of St Marks.

I like the little white Mirrolure grubs on a pink head jig. Tore up the trout in early spring on those. I caught so many, my elitist nephew that was only fishing for reds with a gold spoon finally gave up and started trout fishing with me.

[rockyg]

The DOA Shrimp is deadly when fished correctly. I talked to Silverking yesterday and he is down at a DOA sponsored media event in Stuart right now. I have not seen pics but the word is he caught a big snook on a DOA, and another writer caught a trout close to 10 pounds. He was supposed to fish with Mark Nichols, the DOA founder today.....so no telling what that trip may bring. Evidently Mark was telling SK of a 12 pound trout he caught a few weeks ago.....you would have to assume on a DOA lure of some kind.

So maybe DOA is somewhere above a ranking of 1,000,000.

[leonreno]

I have found the pearl white gulp is much softer than the glow, so I only buy the glow if I want a white Gulp. The pearl whites are almost as soft and destructible as regular soft plastic baits.