# Berkley Gulp shrimp vs DOA



## Cody_F

Prefer DOA , only because the gulp dry up when running distances or sitting to long and turn rock hard on my jig. Have caught equal fish with both though.


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## paint it black

gulp by FAR............

trust me, from someone who uses gulp over anything....

Gulp is my preferred lure of choice.
I have a big bag of D.O.A.'s cause my buddy is team D.O.A. so he keeps insisting I use it.
But Gulp has out fished D.O.A. for me by a ton!

3" Gulp New Penny Shrimp can't be beat.

from redfish, snook, even tarpon crush it. 
In Flamingo, nothing beats a new penny gulp shrimp.
I use it rigged weedless on an owner twist lock 4/0 hook.

It has worked for me anywhere I go and target reds.


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## tom_in_orl

I use the DOA shrimp for snook and pounding magroves more than anything else. Fishing DOA is truly fishing artificials. Gulps work but for a different reason. They are a heavily scented. IMO, they fish more like cut or live bait and if I am going to do that then I would rather get fresh bait. In many cases fresh cut bait is a lot cheaper or easy to pick up on the water. 

For reds in IRL and ML I prefer soft plastic jerk baits and top waters like a Skitterwalk but when the bite is on they will hit most anything.


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## Brett

In murky waters, like you find in the oyster creeks in my area,
the scented/flavored plastics like gulp or fishbites get the nod.
I prefer noisy top water plugs for the visible hits, but to ensure a happy kid
the new penny shrimp or watermelon shad get the job done.

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1293834578

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1307897858


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## BROWNS0410

I have caught fish with both but also prefer new penney gulp shrimp. Also starting to have success with the GLOW gulp shrimp as well. I like to use 1/16 oz jig head. Ill have to try those watermelon shad Brett seeing it looks like we fish the same water


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## jerm

Its looking like the Gulp shrimp is mainly what everyone likes the most. I have not used the Berkley's shad but sounds like I gotta pick some of those up. I'll keep some DOA's in the tackle box but I need to dedicate a day or two fishing just with Gulp. And Brett, thats awesome how interested your daughter stays in it. I hope both of mine get the sickness like all of us too. Thanks eveyone for your responses, they have been very helpful. Keep the postings coming!


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## Brett

Don't limit yourself to the gulps.
Fishbites has a line of flavored plastics that works well too.
They were developed in and for this area.

Southboundchicken has shown how effective they are time and time again.

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1278174596


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## Flyline

I perfer DOA lures over any gulp any day but I put Doa shrimp in a gulp juice jar......very effective and last longer than gulp. I use clear, rootbeer, and glow in the dark shrimp only for mangroves, docks, and sea wall in IRL and ML. I still perfer mirrorOlure Topwater dog, bonefish jigs, golden spoon, and plastic grub or jerkbait for IRL and ML Flats.

Those gulp lures is waste of money but save the juice in the jar for any plastic lures.


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## HighSide25

gulp shrimp new penny 3/0 offset wide gap hook- tailing or sightfishing reds only.

doa clear- blind casting, magroves, for snook. reds, trout, anything that swims.

exude jerk baits(rigged same as gulp) for sightfishing or blindcasting.

about all that i use


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## jerm

You will always find a gold spoon, top dog jr, or some soft plastic jerk bait in my tackle box. I have been using gold spoons ever since I could remember caught fish when nothing else worked. I love the explosive reaction from that unique "click" of the top dog that no other bait has. And I have been fishing soft plastic jerk baits since I started my saltwater adventures as a young pup. To me, other then live bait, these are the most essential baits to have with you every fishing trip. I definatly have some homework out on the water I need to do with Gulp, DOA, and I am even gonna mess with around with some Fishbites. All of you have been a huge help to me with tons of great advice you cant get any where else.  Thanks again everybody!


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## lemaymiami

I use both the Gulp tails and the DOA shrimp - but for different purposes... The Gulp stuff (either the 3" shrimp or the 4" mullet, shrimp in New Penny, mullet in pearl white) is used the same way Paint it Black uses it. By the way I haven't found a color of the shrimp they wouldn't eat...

I buy the DOA shrimp fifty at a time for night fishing exclusively. We do a lot of sightfishing for small tarpon and snook at night around the bridges and docklights between Miami and Miami Beach. Those DOA's get the nod if we're not using live shrimp (absolute beginners get live shrimp, anyone with the slightest skill gets the DOA...). At night the only color we use is clear with gold flecks in the quarter ounce size. The fish eat them like they're starved.....


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## paint it black

The only time I use DOA shrimp is on certain mangrove shorelines in the backcountry in the winter.
Glow DOA Weightless, it's like snook candy.
I'm sure gulps would work as well, but the way the DOA flutter as they sink so slowly it's perfect speed.


For anything else, it's New Penny Gulp all day!


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## Robert_Baltean

I agree with Brett. 3" Gulp Shrimp in New Penny or Natural and 5" Jerk Shad in watermelon or Nuclear Chicken. I swear by these baits in NE Florida. I'm sure its different in other areas.


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## MATT

I use Gulp and hook them from the tail with no weight and get a nice long cast that way. DOA for short under the dock or tree type fishing and Miordine Green backs for the grass flats. White jerk baits on Capt Bob Lemay's jig heads for every thing else or to blind cast to see whats around.


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## TomFL

Gulp feeds the pinfish, too expensive. Too messy. Better off with live shrimp if you wanna do that. 

Been fishing the DOA stuff since the inception, and there are times the shrimp is an awesome lure. Here's some tips. 

Take the standard size shrimp (I prefer the 3" model only) in clear/red glitter or near clear. Stick a glass rattle up it's butt and superglue it in place. You can also replace the hook with the same size/style from Gamakatsu or Owner if you like. 

I prefer to super glue the hooks in place, it keeps them from sliding down the hook shank.

Toss it in front of rolling tarpon, keep contact with your lure as it sinks, and VERY lightly tap it once every few seconds to make the rattle do it's thing. Retrieve it S-L-O-W-L-Y! You'll have great success with this on tarpon of ANY size. For some reason the larger/smaller sizes don't work for me on tarpon. 

Under the mangroves, same thing. Put a rattle in it. Also, you can fashion a weed guard out of a short length of #1 Malin wire. If you're interested I can post a pic tomorrow of how to do this, and it's very easy. They will skip very well under the mangroves. 

Skip it under the docks, same as above. 

The thing to remember when you make the cast under the structure is _don't pull it out_! The fish are under the dock/mangroves, so let it settle under there like a natural shrimp. Then just twitch it nice and easy. Keep contact with the lure, no slack line. Feel the take. Braided line is your friend with this lure. 

The WHOLE trick to the DOA shrimp is to fish it SLOW. REAL SLOW. Like a shrimp paddling along. Better yet, don't retrieve it at all. Pitch it under the cover, just settle and twitch a few times. Reel it slowly out, pitch again to a new spot. 

On the flats, toss it, reel it slowly and let it settle in the grass occasionally. Twitch it every once in a while to make it pop up out of the grass like a surprised shrimp and with the rattle it'll sound like a natural shrimp when he "flicks". 

It's not a "search" lure. You'd put this on in areas you know fish are. Use a Cal head with a jerk bait or paddle tail to find the fish. 

Inshore you'll catch anything that swims with them. I wouldn't believe it either but it happened to me:









Offshore, not much will pass them up. Tripletail and dolphin will *absolutely crush them* if you put one in front of them.

My opinion of Mark's lures are that they are extremely simple lures. At times, if they are not working for me it's because I'm impatient and am not fishing them properly to imitate a live shrimp's actions. He does some very informative seminars at all the fishing shows, you might want to stop and check him out. 

He can't ride a MTB worth a darn, but he can fish and make some great lures so we'll let it slide  

BTW, I have no affiliation at all with DOA. I live close to Mark and the factory, and see him on the water and on the trails though. I just like his lures. 

-T


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## lemaymiami

One other point about those DOA shrimp that I use at night (and we'll be using them tonight...). Unlike many that fish these lures, I only use them in a current that shrimp are actually using.... In other words they're worked with the current towards places (shadow lines under bridges, docklights, etc) where fish are holding and looking to feed on what the tide is bringing. The way we go about it is either to find a fish at the surface in the shadows and pitch one up current then bring it to him... or fish up current and across then swim the lure in the light just in front of the shadows where there might be an audience.... Nothing beats this technique for fish feeding on shrimp at night....


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## jerm

Great posts everyone! These are the kinda posts that poeple who dont really know a whole lot about certain baits and how to use them need. I'll tell ya, I have been useing gulp a whole lot lately and this what it produced. This is my wife's first redfish ever and it just so happen to be 32 inches. S-L-O-W retrieve, it works but it does feed the little guys.


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## TomFL

> Great posts everyone! These are the kinda posts that poeple who dont really know a whole lot about certain baits and how to use them need. I'll tell ya, I have been useing gulp a whole lot lately and this what it produced. This is my wife's first redfish ever and it just so happen to be 32 inches. S-L-O-W retrieve, it works but it does feed the little guys.


Nice catch! 

The fish ain't bad either! 



-T


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## jerm

She is the trophy catch of my life........hope she reads this!


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## Golden-Arm

DOA is all i use for softbaits. they are all i carry, because they outfish anything else i've tried. i have hundreds of assorted sizes and colors. they catch even when the novelty scented baits dont.


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## jboriol

Pregulp I used doa in the marsh of La and SWFL I now use gulp more than any other bait. You might also consider this, a 4" swimming mullet in pearl white with a hookup jig head or Texas weedless rig. I also use under popping cork which hammers redfish in my area of the country. Same bait works great with redfish magic spinner setup. The tail action of the curly tail gets attention and has helped me catch 75% of the redfish I've caught in the past two years.
The also make in glow color, I would bet that snook fishing under the docks lights would produce with gulp swimming mullet also.
Good luck


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