Gulp SR crawlers

[Jomat]

Got these some solid runtime last week so wanted to give a review for u guys that run blades/harnesses.  They def keep bycatch down.  IMO this is the biggest drawback of using real crawlers.  Sheep’s, White bass and yellow perch did not eat them….walleyes did.  In addition way more durable, caught several fish on the same one.  When ur done throw them back in the gulp nasty snot water and fish them again the next day.  Colors are awesome…highly recommend the “smelt”.  Much easier to rig on the boat in waves than a regular crawler and much more consistent presentation.  That flat/thin tail has a great action in the water.  In a head to head comparison the fish prolly still seemed to prefer real by a slight edge but I caught plenty of fish on them.  I think they’ll really shine for guys that burn willow harnesses behind divers in the summer.  Will give the 4”ers a spin on Onieda the week of the 4th on a mix of small harnesses and slow death….will let u know how those fish like them.

[greenhornet73]

I have done well with plastics on harnesses and use them more than real crawlers lately.  Definitely keeps the bycatch rate down but on some days I think they do want the real thing.  When running harnesses is the game plan I  start with the real thing and then throw in the plastics to see if they are reacting the same. My 2 biggest Lake O walleyes have come on harnesses with gulp crawlers, 9&10#.

Edited June 23, 2023 by greenhornet73

[Gill-T]

Interesting.  I imagine the max scent stuff might be even better. Keep the reports going. Thanks for posting!

[Jomat]

Actually I came away from the experiment thinking scent matters even less.  The fact that the yellow perch and white bass didn’t eat them to me says those bycatch species are keying on the worm.  The fact that the walleyes didn’t seem to know the difference to me says they’re keying on the blade.  This is confirmed I think by the fact that only a couple different blades were working….several blades wouldn’t get touched in what I would consider a “wide open” bite.  Of course these triggering factors can and do change….this pattern was consistent over a week.

[greenhornet73]

I agree that scent doesn’t hurt but not always necessary.  I have used old school curly tail bass worms without scent, Impulse plastics , Berkeley power worms and have caught fish on them all. In fact, I think I’ve caught less with the power worms that have the most scent.  There may have been other factors involved since I usually only use whatever ones I have in the boat or kayak at the time.