Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3709 April 13-27, 2018 | Page 20

20 FRESHWATER April 13 - 27, 2018 HOW TO By Cal Kellogg Gulp! is not plastic. Standard soft-plas- tics are made of polyvinyl chloride – the same material used to make pipes and other items. To make a soft-plastic out of PVC, the material must be heated up and combined with an oil-based resin. The more oil-based resin added to the PVC, the softer the bait will be. This is how Berkley PowerBait is made. The difference between Gulp! and PowerBait is that Gulp! is made using water-based resins. This allows for much more scent distribution than with oil-based resins. Because oil and water don’t mix, when scent is added to a bait created from PVC and an oil-based resin, the oil liter- ally traps the scent inside the bait. While some of the scent does get out, the oil actually functions as a barrier. However, anglers know that when fish bite Power- Bait, they hang on much longer than they do with other baits. By biting the bait, the fish is releasing that scent, which makes them think it’s actually food. This results in more positive hooksets. Most of the time I use Gulp! like I would use live or dead bait. Here are a few of my favorite presentations… For drifting in both saltwater and fresh- water Gulp! grubs work great, provided the boat is moving fast enough to make the continued from page 11 baits swim. In saltwater when targeting rockfish and lingcod, I like to take a 6 inch Gulp! grub and place it on a three way rig. I slap a 12 ounce weight on the rig and swim it just off the bottom, ticking the rocks occasionally. In freshwater, I downsize the same three way rig and use it for targeting bass with 3 inch grubs. The presenta- tion is exactly the same as in saltwater. Locate some fish holding structure and walk your bait across it from a drifting boat. This approach will hook the occa- sional trout too. Stepping back into the saltwater for a moment, for decades strips of squid were the bait of choice for tipping shrimp flies. These days I rarely use squid for this anymore. Instead I go with 3 inch Gulp! grubs. Not only are Gulp! grubs tougher than squid, the rockfish actually prefer the Gulp! over squid most of the time. When trolling for trout Gulp! Min- nows and Killer Crawlers are dynamite. To hook up all you need to do is thread these baits and run them behind a dodger or a set of flashers. The worms are hollow and work every bit as well as a conventional ‘crawler. If you are in a situation when you California Inland Fisheries Foundation, Inc. - Project Kokanee presents the: 8th ANNUAL COLLINS LAKE TEAM TROUT FUN FISHING DERBY Team & Youth Divisions 2 fish weigh-in — Pay down to 15 places! North Bay Boat, RV & Sport Show: April 20-22! T he North Bay Boat, RV & Sport Show is coming to the Sonoma County Event Center this April. See the latest models of boats, RVs, motorcycles, wave runners, ATVs & More! Fun, food, music for you and your family…Don’t miss the action! Hours: Fri Noon-7pm / Sat 10am-4pm / Sun 10am-3pm Location: Grace Pavilion & Shade Park Admission: Saturday and Sunday, Adults $5 / Children under 12 Free. FREE FRIDAY: Free Admission for everyone on Friday April 20th For more information, call Kevin Wod- linger at (707) 543-0117. think casting is the way to go, both of these baits perform well when rigged on a 1/8 ounce jig head despite the fact that the baits have little built in action. Clearly the scent and shape of these baits play the major role in triggering strikes. All of the presentations I’ve touched on so far have focused on moving baits. Can you use Gulp! for still fishing like traditional bait? You can and in some situations Gulp! works as well or better than the real thing. When I’m trout fishing I often bait up with Gulp! Pinched Crawlers. The size of the worms is perfect for trout fishing and you don’t even need to have a worm blower because Gulp! Pinched Crawlers float on their own right out of the package! In saltwater when fishing from the shoreline for surfperch, stripers and rockfish soaking Gulp! Sandworms and Crabs can pay hefty dividends. In closing it’s important to point out that Gulp! has different physical proper- ties then traditional soft plastics. Gulp! is made mainly out of soybeans and water. If you leave them out of the water for a long period of time the baits will shrink and become hard. For this reason, Gulp! baits either come in a zip lock package or a liquid filled tub. When not in use store your baits in the package they came in. If a bait does dry up, soak it in water or Gulp! liquid solution and before long the baits will regain their size, shape and softness. If you’ve yet to give Gulp! baits a try, pick some up and experiment with them. They are truly the nexus between natural bait and artificial lures! WHAT’S HOT Saturday, April 28, 2018 1st Place $300 VOL.37 • ISS. 09 3708 SHORE ANGLERS WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED!! All youths entered as part of a team must pay the full entry fee and will not be considered in the Junior division. out to be the biggest of the day at just over 3.5lbs. As the day went on, the bite slowed down. We managed to land 9 in total for about 10 pounds. As we talked to others heading back to the ramp, it sounded like it was generally a tough bite overall. Water temperatures remained in the in the 55-56 degree range with only about a foot of visibility. All of our bites came 10-25 feet deep on a very slow presentation. It’s only a matter of time before the spring bite really erupts at Berryessa. Louis’ Tackle Box: The key, in my opinion, to a success- ful day throwing a jig is having the right equipment. My jig preferred jig set up is a Dobyns Extreme DX 744 paired with a Third Annual NORTH BAY BOAT, RV & SPORT SHOW Sonoma County Fairgrounds Friday April 20th – Sunday April 22nd, 2018 BOATS – RV’S – ATV’S PERSONAL WATERCRAFT For vendor and event info, go to https://sonomacountyoutdoorexpo.com or call