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Skipjack Joe
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Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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GULP
Here's a discovery of mine that may be useful to you guys. There was a post about a month ago requesting information about how to fish the surf in
baja.
The suject is Berkeley's GULP saltwater worms. I had read about them on the internet and found them at the Longfin in Tustin.
This stuff really works. They were good beyond my wildest dreams. In fact, it worked too well. Many of the takes resulted in hookups in the gill area.
They not only took these worms, they ingested them.
But let me start from the begining. I hooked up with a bunch of very experienced surf fishermen and fished the suds for a week. They fished with sand
crabs, clams, and mussels. Alex and I only fished with these rubber things I bought on a whim. I was able to match all of the live bait except for
mussels.
I caught halibut, yellowfin croaker (3 pounders), corbina, and spotfin croaker on the stuff in 12-18 inches of water. On light tackle, it was a
blast. These worms are scented. Personally I don't know why anything would want anything that smelled that bad, but they do.
Our new friends tipped us off to fishing the rising tide at night. They wore miner lamps over their hats to help them get around. It was strange
casting into black space and not really knowing how big the surf was and where your bait landed. But the fish were really close in. Virtually at your
feet. The point is, though, that they couldn't see what they were eating. They just zeroed in on this bait in complete darkness.
Below is a picture of my son with a corbina caught on GULP:
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Cypress
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Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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Skipjack Joe Thanks for the fishing tip. That's a nice corbina your son
has there.
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toneart
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Here's a discovery of mine that may be useful to you guys. There was a post about a month ago requesting information about how to fish the surf in
baja.
The suject is Berkeley's GULP saltwater worms. I had read about them on the internet and found them at the Longfin in Tustin.
This stuff really works. They were good beyond my wildest dreams. In fact, it worked too well. Many of the takes resulted in hookups in the gill area.
They not only took these worms, they ingested them.
But let me start from the begining. I hooked up with a bunch of very experienced surf fishermen and fished the suds for a week. They fished with sand
crabs, clams, and mussels. Alex and I only fished with these rubber things I bought on a whim. I was able to match all of the live bait except for
mussels.
I caught halibut, yellowfin croaker (3 pounders), corbina, and spotfin croaker on the stuff in 12-18 inches of water. On light tackle, it was a
blast. These worms are scented. Personally I don't know why anything would want anything that smelled that bad, but they do.
Our new friends tipped us off to fishing the rising tide at night. They wore miner lamps over their hats to help them get around. It was strange
casting into black space and not really knowing how big the surf was and where your bait landed. But the fish were really close in. Virtually at your
feet. The point is, though, that they couldn't see what they were eating. They just zeroed in on this bait in complete darkness.
Below is a picture of my son with a corbina caught on GULP:
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Have you ever tried them in deeper water, off a boat?
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woody with a view
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nice fish! gulp is something else, the sandcrabs they make work really well, and the squid, and the.......
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BajaBruno
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Registered: 9-6-2006
Location: Back in CA
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There is a bottom-fishing boat in north Baja that used to report frequently on Mexfish.com. He claimed to be using Gulp exclusively and doing very
well.
I've tried them a few times down deep and caught nothing, but that's just me.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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baitcast
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Welcome back Igor,I see you got into the GULP craze their whole line of saltwater gulp stuff is working great except the sandcrab,those fish have
always been on the inside of the break.
The guys on the socal beachs are doing great with this stuff even when the surfers are thick as fleas,I use to watch and chase those corbina
when they were tailing in mere inches of water .
Another TIP............YFC and BUTTS go gaga for K/M,s in blue/chrome and orange/chrome!!!!!!!!but there is a trick to working these and if
you don,t work them right nada,this pretains to the west side only.
When do we get to see the report?
BAITCAST
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Skipjack Joe
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Actually I started out with kastmasters and they worked real well but fish seemed to get used to them pretty quickly in the surf. I found I had to
keep moving to have them stay effective. GULP was different. They just inhaled that stuff. You'd get these hard strikes with the fish being hooked
before you even get the chance to set the hook.
There were schools of fish moving in and around the mouths of the esteros and the kastmasters worked really well in those situations.
I probably caught about a dozen bonefish this trip. Up to maybe a pound and a half. I had heard that these fish don't fight as well in baja as in the
tropics. I didn't find that to be the case Robin. They're just considerably smaller and in deeper water. But they gave a good account of themselves. I
find them to be beautiful.
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baitcast
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Hope you took some pics to share with us!,like I told you I have only caught a couple of dink bones at LAbay would like to get a bigger one some time.
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Skipjack Joe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by baitcast
Hope you took some pics to share with us!,like I told you I have only caught a couple of dink bones at LAbay would like to get a bigger one some time.
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Thanks for directing me to that socal surf fishing site baitcast before my departure! I got most of the latest info on fishing methods from those
guys.
I don't really have too many hero shots with fish this time, except of my son with a large yellowtail ("I got a sea lion, dad" ) and it doesn't fit
well into this surf fishing thread.
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Natalie Ann
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
I don't really have too many hero shots with fish this time, except of my son with a large yellowtail ("I got a sea lion, dad" ) and it doesn't fit
well into this surf fishing thread. |
Oh come one, Igor, give us the picture of Alex with the sea lion! That is such a great shot of him with the corbina... and you did good on the GULP
image, too. Nice to have you back amogst us heathens. 
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Skipjack Joe
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The sea lion
... turned out to be a hefty yellowtail. He couldn't lift it for the photo.
Fear not, nomads, he's a Dodger fan!
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Skipjack Joe
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Another attempt
... at lifting the fish for the hero shot. I finally gave up and just took this picture. It gives you a pretty good idea of it's size.
He wanted to quit several times but I encouraged him, telling him it was close at hand. I helped with the landing, Alex resuscitated it, and we both
watched it swim off. We like yellowtail sashimi but that was just way too much meat for the two of us.
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BajaBruno
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Good looking kid, Skipjack, and he is obviously getting good mentoring. You both have reason to be proud. Darn nice fish, too.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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DianaT
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The only thing nicer than the pictures of Alex was meeting Alex---well, and also meeting you. 
Those yellow tail "attempted" hero pictures are just classic. What a great experience for both of you.
Thanks---looking forward to seeing more photos of your trip, and looking forward to your next visit.
John and Diane
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Don Alley
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| Quote: | Originally posted by lencho
| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
I helped with the landing, Alex resuscitated it, and we both watched it swim off. |
Good for you guys!
Noble as catch-and-release sounds, I've always wondered about the real impact on the fish; does anybody have concrete info on chances of survival for
a fish that has been traumatized in that way?
--Larry |
There has not ben a lot of data collected on release mortality of salt water species.
Tons of studies has been done on trout, and these more delicate fish have generally high (90%+) survival rates if they are not gut hooked on bait or
released into fast currents. One study of Yellowstone River cutthroat concluded that the average fish in the test section was caught seven times a
year.
I have recently seen release data on billfish, good results and exceptional with circle hooks.
Also, some studies were done recently on rockfish, that were brought up from depth, so that stomachs and eyes protuded. Surprisingly, if lowered for a
short period of time to deeper water, survival was good.
There have been some work done with calico bass which also release well.
[Edited on 8-25-2007 by Don Alley]
[Edited on 8-25-2007 by Don Alley]
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Russ
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----
"Noble as catch-and-release sounds, I've always wondered about the real impact on the fish; does anybody have concrete info on chances of survival for
a fish that has been traumatized in that way?"
--Larry
That's why fish "school"**** They learn about things related to stress too. Is that "concrete info"?
[Edited on 8-25-2007 by Russ]
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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Skipjack Joe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by lencho
| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
I helped with the landing, Alex resuscitated it, and we both watched it swim off. |
Good for you guys!
Noble as catch-and-release sounds, I've always wondered about the real impact on the fish; does anybody have concrete info on chances of survival for
a fish that has been traumatized in that way?
--Larry |
Larry,
There are various studies I have read that the survival rate is usually very high. I don't have the info at hand and am too lazy to do the research.
Most of the blue-ribbon trout rivers in Montana/Idaho/Wyoming is all catch and release and those rivers flourished after it replace put-and-take as a
management tool.
Personally I think it depends on how it was done and which species you're dealing with. A trout would never be able to survive the handling you see in
those pictures. They need to be photographed while still in the water. The whole process has to be done very quickly with them. All has to be ready
before the trout is close at hand. And that's with a lip hooked fish. I know this for a fact because we lost a couple this year in the Kamloops area.
The gills were moving but no amount of resuscitatiion could save them.
You can tell by how the fish acts in your hand.
Ocean fish are much hardier. A trout hooked in the gills is as good as dead. They bleed immediately. I've removed many gill hooked ocean fish without
any aparent damage, fish that swim away vigorously.
The ethics of catch-and-release, or fishing in general is a different matter. It's a personal moral choice each individual makes about what he
considers right or wrong and those discussions seem fruitless to me. I've had many over the years. What seems to be true to me is that the
'dye-in-the-wool' fishermen usually support catch and release. Casual fishermen, those that can take it or leave it, are the ones that seem to be
bothered by fishing in general.
Sorry, some has been answered by Don while I was writing.
[Edited on 8-25-2007 by Skipjack Joe]
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rts551
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Igor
Glad to see you survived your stingray encounter and caught some fish! The red tide should have affected your Campo Rene fishing.. Did it?
Ralph
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Skipjack Joe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by rts551
Igor
Glad to see you survived your stingray encounter and caught some fish! The red tide should have affected your Campo Rene fishing.. Did it?
Ralph |
Good to hear from you Ralph,
And nice to have met you. We never fished the estero as the conditions seemed bad and the wound was still healing.
I was thinking of writing a post about how it feels to go through something like that. In a perverse way, it was the highlight of my trip and
something I'll remember for years to come. It's been 3 weeks now and things still don't feel right down there.
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DianaT
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Registered: 12-17-2004
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Simply Amazing
How can a really nice thread that starts out with information about successful bait and a picture of a very happy young man, and then a great couple
of pictures of that same young man struggling with his catch of the year start turning into a stupid discussion with the usual nasty jabs----
Why not start a new thread when someone wants to argue and name call---gees----
JMHO
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