Fake vs real crawlers

[dean nelson]

Just wonder what people have found well using real crawlers vs power bait/gulp or uncle josh especially trolling spinners. If any of you have run the uncle josh is it worth stocking up on them before they are gone for good?

 

[Newgard]

If you were to use them on a traditional "crawler harness" the pork or the Gulp work fine. But for me fishing on Devils or other lakes of similar water clarity I much prefer a #2 Gamakatsu bait keeper hook with the barbs. Pair that with a white or chartreuse Gulp Minnow Grub on a spinner. It's compact the fish crush it and you have one large almost Bass hook to catch them on. I tie mine with 25# Fluorocarbon so I don't have to worry about pike. A lot of times we put them in the rod holders and let the fish hit the until they "hang" themselves. Very effective setup.

 

[Bfishn]

I've had decent luck at times with the gulp crawlers. I've seen them out fish live crawlers a few times and do just as good many times. Usually one person in our boat will start with them and we respond according to who catches fish. They are definitely nice if you are fighting through perch.

I should clarify that all of my experience has been while pulling spinners. I don't think id want to use them on a slower or still presentation but who knows.

 

[Up Y'oars]

Agree with Bfishin. Nothing worse than live worms getting nipped and swallowed continually by perch schools. I do the same thing, and switch to plastic worms. I have them in regular color, pumpkinseed, and a 50pak of purple/pink ones I found on eBay for cheap.

I usually start out with a spinner rig/crawler harness and one slow-death hook with a single red bead. Whichever takes more in the first hour will dictate to me which color of spinner & presentation I will gravitate to. I probably should switch spinner blades more often, too, until I know which reflection is preferred that day.

 

[KDM]

Speed is everything IMO. Tried the fake stuff under a bobber rig and got nothing. Real Crawlers under a bobber rig equaled walleyes, bass, rock bass, bluegills, perch, etc. etc. etc. For spinners, I haven't seen much of a difference while trolling. If the fish are aggressive enough to hit a spinner and real crawler, they are probably aggressive enough to hit a spinner and gulp.

 

[dean nelson]

Yeah that was my thought on it and why uncle josh peaked my interest since theoretically they should hold up even better than plastic and get you through the perch and short striking eyes. Would definitely not try under a bobber with the plastic but possibly dragging a lindy with the pork. Just trying to see if I want to stock up before they are gone or just use the gulp.

 

[phillyblunt701]

I switched to gulp crawlers last year for pulling spinners, and I will continue to use them this year. They made me a believer after catching 25+ fish on one gulp crawler 2 years ago on Devils Lake.

 

[SerchforPerch]

The pork for me was like any other artificial no real big game changer.. Fish ate it and didn't have to change out as much, as the stuff is super durable on the hook..

 

[sl1000794]

What about vertical jigging at anchor or slow drift/troll? Can you use real or plastic worms or should you only use minnows and leeches?

Steve.

 

[Kurtr]

Gulp crawler on slow death equals lots of fish caught and not rebaiting very much. Great when you got 5 kids in the toon and fishing is good

 

[raider]

my dad and i ran a 5+ year test on gulp... i used it 95% of the time and my dad always used live crawlers averaging 50 days per year on open water... unless the fish were very negative, the gulp worked at least as well if not better... the 5% of the time i changed were those days...

couple things... i transitioned out of the original gulp crawlers to the 5" leaches, and now to them and the killer crawlers... the original gulp crawlers are/were made of a harder material, and i always use #4 hooks for spinners... i was missing a lot of eyes on that combo... the 5" leaches are thinner, and the newer killer crawlers are soft or nearly hollow and compress very easily, making them fine for the #4's... if using the full crawlers, go to a #2, or thread on shallow for better hook sets... the killer crawlers get the rear hook within 1/2" of the end, so short biters get hooked...

i talked to a berkley rep several years ago that told me the bait is the same whether gulp or gulp alive... i buy the skin packs and dump into a couple of the original quart pails, and have marinated bait all summer... when it gets low i will throw in up to 25 of the smaller packs in the juice... it is always in a live well in the boat when i'm not fishing...

good stuff...

 

[tikkalover]

I switched to Gulp 4" pumpkin seed crawlers a couple years ago on spinners, and slow death rigs. lets just say I eat my fair share of fish. :;:rockit;:;boozer

 

[Kickemup]

I use gulp mostly because I fish perch infested waters and I hate having to check my bait after every little bite.

 

[shorthairsrus]

I have used them -- but the containers for Gulp are $hit -- plus every time you open it -- you just gulp at the smell.

 

[Davy Crockett]

There are two varieties of gulp crawlers that I know of , One I have luck with and one I don't. The ones that work for me are the smaller ones that have a crook in them, I think it's the spiral action when you troll with them and to keep them "crooked" when trolling I put a stinger hook behind the crook if that makes sense. With live crawlers , I seldom use a whole Canadian crawler but when I do, I use a stinger hook and pull some slack in the crawler before I hook it , It does the same with live crawlers. You need a swivel or you will be all twisted up.

I plan on spending the whole summer on the water this year, I have a long list of experiments, Playing around with gulp is one of them. Spinnerbaits is another that is close to the top.

- - - Updated - - -

What about vertical jigging at anchor or slow drift/troll? Can you use real or plastic worms or should you only use minnows and leeches?

Steve.

I only troll with them, I have never had luck still fishing with anything artificial, It's mostly because I gave up fast. For me an inch of nightcrawler or a leech under a bobber at devils lake, In the past I haven't caught many walleyes with minnows in the summer, Hoping to change that.

 

[dean nelson]

Ordered a few of these to try on slow death hook since the look pretty good and they seem to be just about gone.

 

[NodakBuckeye]

Are those the Uncle Josh Dean?

 

[deleted___account]

Can't believe I'm reading this. Suppose maybe they do work, crawlers anyways. I've never given the crawlers a fair trial. I've used gulp minnows with turrrible results, they really made me a non believer but the timing may have been off. Will def try g crawlers again to see what the results are. Bringing out the notebook on this one. Make a guy wonder how much he spends total in crawlers each summer, specially if you fish hard.

 

[Davy Crockett]

Can't believe I'm reading this. Suppose maybe they do work, crawlers anyways. I've never given the crawlers a fair trial. I've used gulp minnows with turrrible results, they really made me a non believer but the timing may have been off. Will def try g crawlers again to see what the results are. Bringing out the notebook on this one. Make a guy wonder how much he spends total in crawlers each summer, specially if you fish hard.

Even though plastic crawlers can catch fish , I never leave shore without my live bait.

 

[Kurtr]

For pitching jigs gulp works i was getting out fished by a whole bunch i was using minnows and other guy was using gulp. To be fair though this guy out fishes me what ever we are doing