I've been a member for a while but haven't posted much. I'm an older guy fishing some of the same places I fished 50 years ago as a kid. I shore fish (mostly) a 900 acre lake, shallow, eutrophic, and with a major algae bloom, visibility typically less than 1 foot and a much smaller 50 acre lake also with stained water.
When I was a kid the water was not as stained and a Pinkie Jig was the way to go. Then for many years I used a chartreuse or orange 1/32 jig with a chartreuse or chartreuse flake or some kind of green 1" curly-tail.
Somewhere back in time (20 years?) I bought a single tube of stuff called Chum'n'Rub. It came in a blue chapstick tube and the stuff I got had silver flake. It worked well, definitely out-fishing a plain jig and seemed to me to be particularly effective in colder water. It also went a long way. I still have it in an old tackle box around here somewhere, with a smidge of the original stuff left. It was made with minnows, according to the label, and had a chapstick like consistency that stuck to plastic jigs pretty well, but the flakes got all over the place. By the time I was running low, I couldn't find any more.
The last couple of years I've really relied on Gulp Alive 1" minnows. I did a little search and saw at least one member thought they were more effective than live minnows. I remembered my first experience with Gulp minnows when I read that.
I was fishing in a small harbor full of slip docks alongside a guy I see around fishing all the time. We were both fishing jigs under bobbers around the slip docks, and he was out catching me about 3-1. I was using my usual 1/32 oz orange jig and 1" chartreuse/flake curly-tail tipped with a minnow. Mike showed me the Gulp Alive minnow he was using, Emerald Shiner. He gave me one to try and directly I began matching him, fish for fish. So at least in some situations, I think they do out-fish live minnows. In any case I went right out and bought some, and I've been using them ever since. Chartreuse is my favorite, but I've used Black Shad, Emerald Shiner, Smelt, Lumaglow and Pumpkinseed too and they all seem to work, perhaps just as well. It seems to me they are more effective than curly-tails, even tipped with a minnow, in colder water. In warmer water when the crappie are on the bite the difference isn't as great.
I've also found I get a lot more hits from bigger fish using Gulp Alive minnows than a plain jig or even a jig and minnow ever attracted. I've changed the way I set up my gear to account for the now very real possibility that I will get bit by a largemouth, a wiper, or even a catfish. The local bluegill who often ignore baits that don't have a beemoth or bit of worm on the hook will definitely bite them. When they get too chewed up to stay on the hook for crappie fishing I put them in an old jar and use the bits and pieces for bluegill bait.
For some reason it seems Cabela's and Bass Pro around here (NW IN) consider these exclusively ice fishing baits and don't really try to stock them in warmer weather. They're out of stock now. We've learned to stock up.
I've also learned the hard way about the leaking bottles. I tried a Plano Bait Locker with a hinged lid and a gasket, but it leaked. I've had better luck carefully cutting out the foil top around the inside edge of the jar, leaving the original sealing surface intact. I can fit them standing up in a side pocket on my tackle bag now dedicated (anointed?) to them and if I'm careful I can keep them standing up.
I just ordered a small bottle of Pro Cure Super Gel Crappie and Panfish, recommended by a member here although he had shrimp flavor. Has anyone tried this stuff? Anyone have some experience with other baits that work?
