How To Rig Berkley Gulp Saltwater Shrimp For More Bites [Product Review]

Thanks for leaving a comment. Yes, the weighted hooks are fantastic for rigging Gulp shrimp weedless. Plus, they allow for better skipping performance when fishing under mangrove overhangs. Fish On!

Hey Jason, thanks for leaving a great comment. I’m glad to see that you’re give these Gulp shrimp a try. I think your last sentence hit the nail on the head… fishing in the wrong places is by far the biggest cause of not catching quality inshore fish. For help in finding new spots, be sure to read our Inshore Fishing Manfiesto… here’s a link to how you can download it for free – http://v2.saltstrong.com/articles/inshore-fishing-manifesto-overview/.

Hey Dave, thanks for making time to ask the great question. Although I believe that soft plastics like the Gulp shrimp can be effective for the fish you mentioned, please know that I have not tried them offshore which is what you appear to be doing on your upcoming trip. If I were going offshore, I’d grab some 3″ Gulp shrimp as shown in this video (or 3 to 4 inch Gulp Pogys and have variety of different jig head sizes to match the depth you’ll be fishing in. For instance, a 1/2 oz or greater jig head would be needed to bounce it along the bottom in ~50 ft of water for sea bass, but a lighter one would be good if sight fishing jacks or cobia up near the surface. Hopefully this helps. Please keep me posted to your results out there.

Hey Donna, great question! The answer depends on the depth of water your target fish are feeding… I recommend a 1/8th oz jig head for covering depths up to 5 ft, and add another 1/8th lb every 5 ft after that for simplistic gauge when fishing with Gulp shrimp. However, if fishing in a spot with heavy current, you’ll likely need to go up a notch or two in weight to account for the drag of your line in the current.

Hey John, thanks so much for leaving the helpful comment. Glad to see that you’re a Gulp shrimp fan as well… Fish On!

Hey David, my absolute favorite Gulp jig for catching snook on the beach is a white Gulp Pogy rigged on a red jig head (1/8th oz or 1/4th oz depending on depth, wave size, current speed)… I do well with it when the water is chalked up and when it’s crystal clear for sight-fishing. This pogy is better for the beach in my opinion because it’s tail gives off more action than the shrimp… here’s a link to a similar post about rigging the pogy:

http://www.saltstrong.com/articles/how-to-rig-a-gulp-pogy.

Note: Snook will most often be right next to shore, so I typically stand at least a few feet back from the water and cast up-current along the beach (not directly out).

Please keep us posted to your results… Fish On!

Hey Ken, I’m sorry that the Amazon link came off as offensive. In many cases, it’s the independent retailers that sell their products through Amazon in order to get more online visibility, and I strongly encourage all independent tackle retailers to focus on growing their online presence because the efficiencies that the internet brings in terms of delivering education, innovation, and products is only going to increase going forward.

The reason we put a link to Amazon is because our audience spans the country (along with a surprisingly high amount of folks from across the world which was unexpected), so an independent brick and mortar only shop would exclude too many readers… plus it was the best deal for Gulp shrimp that I was able to find.

Anyhow, thanks for reading the Gulp shrimp tips article, and let us know if we can help in any way… Fish On!

Hey Curtis, thanks for making time to leave a comment. The new penny Gulp shrimp actually are made with the lighter color side being the top of the shrimp (not sure why, but he eyes of the shrimp are clearly seen on the lighter shade at the 1:50 mark of the rigging video and then the shrimp legs can be seen on the darker shade at the 2:33 mark).

That being said, I’ll often switch sides after the bait starts getting too lose on the jig from fish tearing it up and it works just as good… so rigging them either way can certainly catch some fish.

Great question! Unfortunately there is no one-size-fits all answer to it. For pier fishing, I would not recommend the light twistlock because you’ll be fishing from an elevated platform so you’ll need more weight to help get the bait down into the strike zone (unless you’re wanting some topwater action).

If you’re looking for just one jig head size that can fit most situations, then I’d say 1/4th oz would be the way to go.

But if you want the long answer, then it all depends on how deep you’ll be fishing along with how strong the current is… I like 1/8 oz jig heads for water in the 2-4 ft range ft depth range, and then I go up another 1/8 oz every couple feet of increased depth.

And if heavy current, then add a bit more weight to offset the drag of the line in the water.

Hopefully this info is helpful… Fish On!

Hey Harold, the jig head used in this Gulp rigging video was made by Berkley specifically for Gulps. I like their jig heads as well as some made by DOA with short and sturdy hooks.

When working the jigs, I prefer to bounce it along the bottom (dragging will work, but it’ll also snag a bunch of weeds/debris on the bottom).

For detailed tutorials on how to rig a use a variety of lures to consistently catch quality redfish, snook, and big trout, be sure to check out our Inshore Slammer course: http://v2.saltstrong.com/inshore-slammer-7-day-special.

Hey Chris, no need to apologize… we all had to start at some point. I was using 10 lb braid with 30 lb fluoro. Reel was a 2500 series from Shimano and the rod is a 7’6″ M made by TFO.

More importantly, we offer an online course that covers everything you possibly need to know (knots, equipment, lures, how to rig/use the lures, how to find fish, etc.) that will save you tons of time and money by not having to learn everything the hard way… it’s currently offered for just $7 for a full week of access. Here’s a link: http://v2.saltstrong.com/inshore-slammer-7-day-special

I give specific directions on how to get to the hidden lake (along with many other areas along the Gulp coast) in our private Insider Report platform where I share my exploration trips with the group showing exactly where I’m seeing/catching the most redfish, snook, and trout.

Here’s a link in case interested: http://shop.saltstrong.com/products/12-month-access-to-inshore-plus

Thanks for leaving the tip Chuck. Fish On!

Yes, I’m planning to head down there this fall and I can’t wait because it’s one of my favorite places to fish.

I typically get the ones with the smaller hooks because they are less prone to getting snagged onto structure. And red is the color that I have the most confidence in.

This “New Penny” color pattern for Gulp Shrimp have the light side on the top and the dark side as the bottom as seen by the respective placement of the eyes and feet of the shrimp. I have caught most fish using it like this, but rigging it upside down with the dark side up can certainly be effective too (color isn’t nearly as important as the action of the lure and the size of the lure).

Hey Bob, sorry to have taken so long to respond to your comment… I somehow missed it when it was posted. The new penny color pattern actually does have the dark side on the bottom (eyes are on the light side and the feet are on the dark side), so that’s how I rig it. But I have switched it around and it works the other way too… the color pattern does not matter nearly as much as the action in the water.

Hey Harry, sorry for not responding sooner… I somehow missed your comment when it came in. May I ask why you are trying to rig a gulp shrimp onto a circle hook? The only reason I can think of is for deadsticking it, and if that’s the case, then the rigging method doesn’t matter all that much. Otherwise, I recommend using jigs or j-hooks because you’ll lose a lot of strikes using circle hooks with lures.

Gulp shrimp can certainly catch all of those species (sheepshead is the toughest of them all). The key is to get it as close to the bottom as possible without getting snagged (I’d use a weedless jighead to be able to bounce it along the rocks without getting stuck too frequently).

Here’s a post that explains this color pattern from Gulp called New Penny: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/gulp-shrimp-rig-upside-down/

Gulp scent stays in the bait for a very long time given that it’s material is water-based which results in the juice being throughout the bait. I generally keep mine on for as long as I’m using it and just replace whenever it’s too torn up too fish with any longer or until I will not be fishing with it so that it won’t dry up on my jig/hook.

We recommend using mono or FC leaders. Here’s a post showing the details: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/how-to-tie-a-fishing-leader-for-snook-redfish-seatrout/