Best Gulp Bait for Snook Redfish Speckled Trout Flounder

Best GULP Bait for Snook, Redfish, Speckled Trout and Flounder

Berkely Gulp baits are just about the best scented soft plastic baits that I have ever used for snook, redfish, speckled trout and flounder.

These are the stinkiest baits that you will ever smell but fish like the hell out of them. It not only catches the fish mentioned above but also black drum, blue fish, mangrove snapper, Spanish Mackerel, bonnet head sharks, sheepshead....... and the list goes on and on.

I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the oyster bars and mangroves all around Florida for over 40 years.

The article below will teach you simple tips and techniques to catch more fish using my favorite Gulp baits: The swimming mullet and the 3 inch shrimp. Let's get started.

Watch the video below to catch more fish with Gulp baits.

Best Gulp Bait--Snook

Docks-- Docks are a great place to hunt for snook and just about every other fish around. They are the perfect underwater haven for many smaller fish and shrimp. This of course attracts predators like snook.

Older docks will have pilings that are just covered in marine animals. They will have barnacles, oysters, mussels, sponges, crabs, shrimp, small fish and aquatic plants.

I also like to fish docks with big boats. Big boats have big engines. Big engines have big propellers. Big propellers dig deeper trenches in the ground under the boats. An underwater trench is a great place for a snook to wait to ambush an unsuspecting fish or a shrimp.

I like to cast a Gulp shrimp or a Gulp swimming mullet up current and slowly work it back bouncing it off of the bottom or swimming it within a foot or two of the bottom. Try to cast it under the dock if you can. If not, get it as close as possible.

The big snook will most likely be in the shadows under the dock or hiding behind a dock piling facing into the current.

I wrote another article on this website that covers how to catch a snook in great detail. You can read that article by clicking right here.

You will need to beef up your tackle for dock fishing. You can get away with a 2500 series reel full of 8 pound braided line and a medium action rod on the grass flats BUT you need more power for dock fishing. I would suggest a 4500 series reel full of 20 pound braided line and a medium or medium/heavy action rod.

BEST ALL AROUND ROD AND REEL COMBO FOR JIGGING WITH GULP

In my opinion, the perfect all around rod and reel combo is a 3500 series reel and a 7 foot medium or medium/heavy strength, fast action rod. Fill the spool with 15 pound braided line and use a 20 pound leader.

I have used many different rods and reels over the last 40 years of fishing like Diawa, Shimano and Penn.

My favorite line of reels that are out now is the Penn Spinfisher series reels. They are smooth, tough; have great drag systems; and best of all a sealed body so sand and water don't get inside the reels.

They are perfect for surf fishing, wade fishing and kayak fishing. (Any fishing technique that makes it likely for water or sand to get in them)

You can expect to pay $150 plus for these reels. BUT they are worth it.

My second favorite non-sealed reels are the Diawa BG reels.

They are the reels that I use on my flats boat because I know that they are unlikely to get dunked in the water or to get beach sand in them.

You can expect to pay $100 plus for these reels. They are a great bargain in my opinion.

Mangroves-- Mangroves are another great place to hunt for snook using Gulp baits. You can rig the shrimp and the swimming mullet weed less and cast it up into the roots of the Red Mangrove Tree.

The key to fishing the mangroves is to get your bait or lure into or right at the roots. If you are 2 feet away from the roots, then you are probably out of the snook's strike zone. They will cruise right next to or inside of the mangrove roots with the incoming and outgoing tides.

Snook like to face the current so an up current cast that is parallel to the mangroves is the way to go. Just bounce your shrimp on the bottom and work it slowly back to you. The swimming mullet can be swum slowly back to you because the swim tail adds enough action to elicit a strike.

Grass Flats-- Grass flats are another great place to catch snook with Gulp baits. I like to target the sandy potholes that are inevitably in every big grass flat in Florida. The snook and other predators like to lurk around these sandy potholes to ambush fish and shrimp that the current brings their way.

They will be facing into the current so you must approach the pothole from down current for best results. Cast your Gulp bait past the pothole and slowly work it back with the current through the open area. Do this a few times to cover the entire pothole. The smaller ones seem to be the ones that predators like the best.

Drifting the grass flats or wading the grass flats is great way to find snook hiding in the grass or in a pothole. The key to shallow water grass flat fishing is stealth. You have got to be quiet and get the snook to bite before you spook them and they get a bad case of lock jaw.

Beaches-- The trough right along the shore is a great place to catch snook with Gulp baits during the higher tides. Snook love to cruise the trough when the water level is high enough. They are looking for croakers, whiting, and any bait fish schools that might be cruising the beach.

Try to cast as parallel to the shore if possible and bounce your shrimp or swimming mullet as slowly as possible in and near the trough. The snook will have no where to wrap your line or cut it on so you can get away with a lighter rod and reel than you would need around docks or bridges.

Both the Gulp shrimp and the Gulp swimming mullet work great in this scenario. I like to use the white ones with a red 1/8 or 1/4 ounce jig head so that I can cast it far enough. Snook have excellent vision and can see you walking down the beach if you are too close.

The good news for you is that you might cast for a snook and catch a bunch of pompano to have for dinner instead. That is not a bad trade off.

Watch the video below and catch more snook off of the beach.

Best Gulp Bait--Redfish

Docks-- Redfish will be hanging around the docks looking for prey items just like the snook mentioned above. Redfish have different behaviors than a snook does. They will often use their sense of smell/taste to find the food that they are looking for.

They do not have the acute sight capabilities or the highly evolved lateral lines that the snook has because they use their sense of smell more. Evolution has given them 4 nostrils to help them find food better. This tells you that a sense of smell is the most important sense to a redfish.

You can just cast your Gulp bait to the dock pilings and let it sit like it is a dead bait to catch redfish. Obviously, if you reel it and bounce it along the bottom the redfish can incorporate its sense of sight and its sense of hearing (vibrations) to give you a better chance of catching it.

BUT you can just cast it in front of an approaching redfish and do nothing and you will often end up with a redfish on the end of your line.

I wrote another article on this website that covers in detail how to catch a redfish. You can read that article by clicking right here.

The best technique is to cast under the dock and slowly work your Gulp shrimp or swimming mullet back to you. A parallel cast down the dock pilings is a great way to cover more pilings but you have to be within a foot or two of the dock for best results.

Mangroves-- Redfish like to hunt around in the roots of the Red Mangrove Tree just like the snook do. They will dig around in the mud and sand for shrimp, crabs, and fish. You will probably want to rig your Gulp weed less so that you don't lose them all on the oysters and roots.

The mangroves are another place where you can just cast your bait in front of an approaching redfish without moving it and still catch them. In fact, I think that it is better not to move it most of the time. If you move it, then you might spook them when the water is very shallow very clear.

You will probably want to beef up your tackle for fishing the docks and the mangroves because the redfish will wrap you up and cut your line on the barnacles and oysters on the dock pilings and roots.

A 4000 series reel filled with 20 lb. braided line with a medium/heavy rod will do the trick. The key is to have enough drag to turn their heads towards open water.

WANT TO CATCH A SNOOK AND REDFISH? BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!

Oyster Bars/Mud Flats-- This is my favorite environment to hunt for redfish. Redfish are often the first fish to hit the flats when the tide turns from dead low to incoming. They like to root around in the mud for crabs, shrimp and other invertebrates. They will also flip over the oyster clumps to eat the mud crabs and oyster crabs that will be under each one.

They are extremely spooky in shallow water so stealth is the key to catching them. I like to scout out an area to find the right underwater topography that funnels the fish right to me.

I try to find a tidal creek with a mud flat on one side and an oyster bar on the other OR a creek with oyster bars on both sides. I am also trying to find one that I can cast across the entire thing if possible.

Once I find this set up, I know that the reds will have to come by me at some point. So I just set up shop right as the tide stops going out and wait. Because I know that the redfish will hit the flats first and I will be there to intercept them.

As the tide comes in I will cast a Gulp shrimp or a swimming mullet up current and slowly bounce it on the bottom back to me about as fast as the current is moving. This is a very effective way to catch redfish.

I also like to attach a rattle cork or a popping cork above the Gulp to attract the reds in the area. You will just cast up current and let the tide bring it back to you. Just twitch your rod tip every few feet to attract the attention of the predators in the area. Once your cork goes under set that hook.

Watch the video below and catch more oyster bar redfish.

Best Gulp Bait--Speckled Trout

I will probably get every trout fisherman upset by putting this one out there BUT I'm going to do it anyways. THE BERKELEY GULP SHRIMP IS THE BEST SPOTTED SEA TROUT LURE IN THE WORLD!

There, I said it. I often out fish my friends who are using live shrimp to catch spotted sea trout a.k.a. speckled trout a.k.a. specks with my Gulp shrimp. The Gulp shrimp under a popping cork or a rattle cork is the best rig that I have ever used for catching trout.

I remember the first time that I saw someone using this cork with a jig technique. I was on a fishing trip in Northwest Florida with a buddy of mine 20 years ago. There was an older husband and wife couple using a rattle cork and some soft plastic shrimp imitation jig. (I don't even think that GULP was around yet so it probably wasn't even scented.) They had about 18 inches of leader from the cork to the jig and they were reeling in fish with every cast.

I was using live shrimp and my buddy was using a shad with a paddle tail jig. They were out fishing my buddy and me 5 to 1. I went straight out to the store and got myself some rattle corks the next day. Now I use them to catch trout all of the time.

I wrote another article on this website that covers in detail how to catch a spotted seatrout. You can read that article by clicking right here.

Oyster Bars/Mud Flats-- My favorite place to hunt for speckled trout is this environment. I am looking for the same set up that I mentioned in the redfish oyster bar section above. I want a pinch point that funnels fish to me. It can be mud flats, oyster bars or sandy islands with a deeper cut in between them.

The gulp under a popping cork or rattle cork works wonders in this scenario. You will have to manage the length of your leader to optimize the bites. So if the water is 6 or 7 feet deep you will need to have a 3 or 4 foot long leader. If the water is 3 or 4 feet deep then you will want to have an 18 inch leader for best results.

In this scenario, you can bounce a Gulp shrimp on the bottom with the current and catch plenty of trout too BUT nothing beats the rattle cork set up when a school of trout moves through.

The video below shows the rattle cork with a Gulp technique in action.

Docks-- Docks are a great place to find trout. The same reasons that redfish and snook like docks are what make docks so appealing to trout. Docks are like underwater sanctuaries for small fish and shrimp to hide and still find food at the same time.

Spotted sea trout love to hunt among the dock pilings for shimp and small fish. The swimming mullet works wonders around docks for trout catching. Just cast the lure up current with a 1/8 ounce jig head and work it slowly back to you with a twitch or two every 10 feet or so.

I usually like to keep it a couple of feet above the bottom but a bounce or two off of the bottom will often get its fair share of bites from hungry trout.

The docks at night are like a speckled trout all you can eat buffet. The lights will attract bait fish and shrimp. The trout will be hiding in the shadows waiting for the shrimp and fish to show themselves in the shine of the dock lights.

You can just let your swimming mullet under a rattle cork flow with the tide and get bites at night. You don't even have to move it. The swimming tail is all the action that bait needs at night. Just make sure to cast way past the light shine so that your lure is coming from up current from the dark into the light.

Grass Flats-- Grass flats and speckled trout go together like chicken wings and college football. A speckled trout spends its whole life near the grass flats. If you don't have any grass flats around, then you won't have many trout around either.

Spotted sea trout are perfectly camouflaged for hiding in the grass waiting for some unsuspecting shrimp or fish to swim near them. Their spotted backs make them almost invisible when they are motionless. My favorite way to hunt for trout is to drift the flats with a Gulp Shrimp under a rattle cork until I find the water depth where the fish are.

They are usually somewhere on the grass flats between 3 and 6 feet deep. BUT they are picky about the depth. SO if you catch them at 4 feet and drift to an area that is 7 feet deep, then the bite will often stop. You have to get back to the 4 feet deep part of the flats.

The sandy potholes are another great place to target trout on the grass flats. They will be there with the reds and the snook waiting for some shrimp or fish to get too close to them. They will shoot out of their hiding place and slam their prey.

Watch the video below and catch more trout with a popping/rattle cork rig.

Best Gulp Bait--Flounder

Docks--Flounder love to hunt for food around docks. A flounder's world revolves around the very bottom of the water column. These fish like to find a sandy or muddy place to lie and wait for their prey to come to them. Once they find a good spot to ambush prey they will cover themselves with sand or mud to conceal their positions.

You have to remember this when fishing for flounder around docks because their entire strike zone is within about 24 inches of the bottom. So if the water is 5 feet deep and you are using a top water lure to catch a flounder, then you are wasting your time. There is no way a flounder will leave its hiding place and swim up 5 feet to hit that lure.

The best lure to catch a flounder around a dock is the Gulp Swimming Mullet. I like the white ones with a red 1/8 ounce jig head. Just cast the bait to the dock or under it if you are a precision caster. Let it sink to the bottom and reel it back to you extremely slow.

I wrote another article that covers in detail how to catch a flounder. You can read that article by clicking right here.

If you are a bass fisherman, then you will understand how slowly to reel it back. Pretend it is a Texas Rigged worm. If you are not a bass fisherman reel it back maybe 10 feet per minute. The flounder will notice the bait and follow it for a while usually before hitting it.

Once they hit it give a 4 count in your head before setting the hook. A flounder will grab the bait and hold onto it for a few seconds before trying to swallow it. If you set your hook right when you feel the strike, then you will most of the time pull your lure from its mouth and not get a hook set.

If the bottom is gunky and keeps ruining your lure presentation, then you can add another lure 12 inches above the bottom one. You will tie a dropper loop to the line and this swimming mullet will just have a hook in it that is not weighted. That way the upper lure will have the proper presentation and stay out of the gunk on the bottom. If there is a whole school of flounder you might end up with a double hook up.

Keep in mind that just about all predatory fish will be facing into the current waiting for prey items to come to them. Your best lure presentation will come from up current to the dock. If you cast your lure down current, then you will often come up behind the flounder and spook it.

Oyster Bars/Mud Flats-- Another great place to hunt for flounder is the oyster bars and mud flats. I like to fish for them in a similar way to the redfish. My first priority is to find a tidal creek with oyster bars and mud flats on either side of it.

Then I am searching for a choke point that will funnel the fish through a deeper cut between oyster bars and mud flats. Once I find the right topography then I will stake out that spot and wait for the tide to bring the fish to me.

I most often use a white 3 inch Gulp shrimp with a red 1/8 ounce jig head for this scenario. Just cast it as far up current as you can and slowly work it back to you with the tide. Make sure to bounce it on the bottom the whole time and slow your retrieve if you are not getting any bites.

With some species of fish you will often speed up your retrieve if you are not getting bites. This is almost never the case when flounder fishing. Slower is better than faster when it comes to flounder.

Watch the video below and catch more flounder with this Gulf tandem rig.

Grass Flats-- Grass flats are another great spot to look for flounder. They love to lie in wait for prey to swim by in the sandy potholes within the grass flats and right along the drop offs on the outer rim of grass flats.

The Gulp swimming mullet and the Gulp shrimp work equally as well in this scenario. When fishing the sandy pot holes make sure to cast up current past the pot hole and slowly work ever foot of the pot hole before leaving to find another one.

If the pot hole is 10 feet across, a flounder will probably not swim from one side to the other to get your bait. You have to bring it right to them. With a 10 feet across pot hole I would probably cast every one or 2 feet before leaving.

If you have your leader just right, then you can use the rattle cork with the swimming mullet to great effect. The leader has to let the bait be about a foot above the sand to get a strike. Often you will not even have to reel it. Just let the tide take it over the pot hole covering the entire area.

There is always an end to a grass flat. AND it will have at least one boundary that is a deeper channel. That is a great place to hunt for flounder. If the channel is really deep, then go to a heavier jig head. It might take a 1/4 ounce or even a 1/2 ounce jig head to get your Gulp down to the bottom if it is deep and has a lot of current.

Both the Gulp shrimp and the Gulp swimming mullet will work great in this scenario. You may also want to try the tandem set up that I mentioned earlier. Just remember that the top bait is only a hook and not a weighted jig. This ensures that at least one of your baits will not get all gunked up.

Watch the video below and catch more flounder.