Pulled a brand new pack of Gulps (about 4" pumpkin seed thingos with tails) this morning and they were all really soft and sticky. Half of them unusable and the rest only lasted a couple of casts each until they started pulling off the jighead.
I purchased them maybe 2 months ago and they have been in my plastics box since then. They might have got a bit warm on a couple of trips but that would be my only explanation why they were a write off.
I consistantly catch flatties on 4inch Gulp Minnows in Smelt. They look like little mullet and flatty's love em. As soon as I buy them I put them in the bar fridge in the shed. I keep them in a small air tight tuppaware container in the fridge when not in use. They are not as tough or stable or robust as other placcies but I definitely catch more fish with them. If you look after them they produce.
Funchy i use the same one, also in pilchard and pumpkinseed i must agree .. gun baits for flatties.
My favourite lately are the squidgey pro wrigglers in all colours.. i think theyre 80mm & 100mm. Great for flatties but also catch a LOT of little ones.
Mister twister double tails are an all time flatty fave for me. Ive tossed them in rigjt next to people using gulp and caught twice as many fish on numerous occasion. Using a bit of squidgy scent to sweeten them up helps, they're plenty tough enough amd don't burn a hole in you're back pocket (if you can find them)
While Gulp are really not soft plastics but more an artificial bait I made the transition from real bait to Gulp and caught a lot of fish on them.
I have since migrated from Gulp to soft plastics and prefer to use Squidgies (100mm Wrigglers and 70mm Fish) and Atomics (3" Prongs) which have been very successful for me. The Z man lures look good and I'm about to give them a go.
Gulp, while effective need a fair bit of maintenance and handling not associated with soft plastics. They require storage in the juice, can't be left rigged on a jighead for any length of time and even in the packets (which can be difficult to open) they are susceptible to damage from exposure to heat and sunlight. Most of them at their best have little action and can bend in the packet into shapes which render them useless to fish effectively.
I believe there are better alternatives to Gulp.