Berkley Gulp! Rebates - What Should I Stock Up On?

So with the Berkley Gulp! rebate system going on, I figured now would be a great time to stock up on any plastics I need.

• What do you guys recommend for lings, cabbies, and rockfish?
• What size jig head should I be using?
• What length plastics should I be using?
• Should I generally be using a certain size jig head with a certain length plastic?

Currently own three 1 oz. and four 3/4 oz. jig heads. I have a couple packages of some Big Hammer swim baits also. I'm pretty familiar with my lighter tackle for surf perch fishing with Gulp! sandworms and shrimp, but these ground fish are new to me.

Keep in mind, I'll be building my setup from basically nothing. Is this a good resource to go off of?

http://www.berkley-fishing.com/Berkley-ae-rigging-guide.html

I would go with 5" or 6" grub or shad and 2oz to 4oz jig heads. Need heavier jig head in fast currents and to get down deep quickly.

You can check out thread on jig heads for sale below to get idea of what ppl are using.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=71844.0

Thanks! I'll see if I can order a few from this member! Do you have a color preference for your plastics?

I have about 10 jars of different gulps I got when they were on clearance sale for .97 from a original $20 at Sports Authority.
I don't care for them.  I like Big Hammers better.  I think the BH have better action.  The crawfish imitations for LMB works just as good for a fraction of the price of gulp.  Here's a picture of Ling I pulled out of the kelp with 3/4 weedless jig head.

I have about 10 jars of different gulps I got when they were on clearance sale for .97 from a original $20 at Sports Authority.
I don't care for them.  I like Big Hammers better.  I think the BH have better action.  The crawfish imitations for LMB works just as good for a fraction of the price of gulp.  Here's a picture of Ling I pulled out of the kelp with 3/4 weedless jig head.

I figured the other Gulp brands would work well because the sand worms work wonders for surf perch. I can't believe you got multiple jars for $0.97! That's an insanely good deal!

I like the Big Hammers I have, but they are the smaller versions, not a full 6". I think they are 4".

So you pulled that ling with a 3/4 oz. jig head and how long of a plastic?

I have about 10 jars of different gulps I got when they were on clearance sale for .97 from a original $20 at Sports Authority.
I don't care for them.  I like Big Hammers better.  I think the BH have better action.  The crawfish imitations for LMB works just as good for a fraction of the price of gulp.  Here's a picture of Ling I pulled out of the kelp with 3/4 weedless jig head.

I figured the other Gulp brands would work well because the sand worms work wonders for surf perch. I can't believe you got multiple jars for $0.97! That's an insanely good deal!

I like the Big Hammers I have, but they are the smaller versions, not a full 6". I think they are 4".

So you pulled that ling with a 3/4 oz. jig head and how long of a plastic?

4.5 inches, they're branded as Sweet Beavers.  The 4 inch BH work great too.  Add a strip of squid for flavor.

I have about 10 jars of different gulps I got when they were on clearance sale for .97 from a original $20 at Sports Authority.
I don't care for them.  I like Big Hammers better.  I think the BH have better action.  The crawfish imitations for LMB works just as good for a fraction of the price of gulp.  Here's a picture of Ling I pulled out of the kelp with 3/4 weedless jig head.

I have about 8 jars of 5" an 7" jerk shads left from that deal. Mel, let me know if you have any jerk shads you want to get rid of, especially any white or new penny colors (cabs love this color). I rig them weedless on big EWG hooks to keep the little ones off and use them as teasers above a 6.5" big hammer to throw some scent. Sometimes carolina rig and plunk kelp holes and bounce the bottom, like bass fishing basically (thanks Bink!)

I don't use Gulp baits for rockfish anymore because of the expense and their lack of durability.  There's a plethora of cheaper, more durable baits on the market that work extremely well when fishing from a kayak.  Take a stroll through any saltwater fishing section of an outdoor store, and all the plastic swimbaits, curlytail grubs, and flukes you see from 1" all the way to 10" will work on bottomfish.  For the best all-around lengths, I'd go for the 3" to 8" baits.  And pick up a few jigging spoons like Crippled Herrings in the 2 to 6 ounce range, as these can kick serious butt on both bottomfish and salmon (good reason to switch out the treble to a single barbless hook!).

That being said, the Gulp baits can work great in pressured waters or when the rockfish are off the bite.  Before I got into kayak fishing, I used to fish the saltwater flukes off jetty rocks like I was bass fishing, either Texas-rigged or drop shot.  Jetties tend to get fished pretty hard, and the fish can get surprisingly picky at times.  If it was one of those days where the fish were being tight-lipped, I'd bust out the Gulp baits and would almost always score some fish.  So if you have rebates on them and you'll be fishing pressured waters, it wouldn't hurt to throw a pack or two in your bag for those days when the bite seems to be off.

I was banging the rock cod two weeks ago on the 6" Saltwater Grub in the Xmass tree color, Green/Red. I was using a 1-1/2 and 2oz jig heads with 4/0 hooks. I think you could even go heavier to get past the blues that wouldn't stay off of it! Next best thing to the Atomic Punk Big Hammer.