Monday, May 19, 2014

Berkley Gulp BatWing Frog Review (semi-retired)

BatWing (Gulp)   Semi-Retired 
 Colors: 4   Size: 4"   Style: Swim   Scent: Gulp  Pack Qty: 4


Intro:

I know of at least one angler that was sad to see these frogs go, but that angler is not me. The Berkley BatWing GULP frog is an oddly designed frog that is super light weight with a flat belly and odd legs. It moves surprisingly well over pads, and fish seem to eat it.. I'm not sure what made Berkley think that a GULP frog was needed but they were very wrong

Overall Rating: 5.6/10
Each frog is rated on the following criteria: Quality, Castability, Presentation, Hook-up Ratio Available Options, Product Availability & Price

Quality: 2.5/5

Berkley has been making quality baits for years, and when looking at the Gulp BatWing frog it is not so much the quality of the product as it is the quality of the presentation. The material used does not stand up well to the abuse a bait goes through when landing multiple fish, and of course being a GULP product there is also the chance of it drying out on you.. It is the same over simplified body design as the standard Bat-Wing and I'm kinda happy they are both now retired


Castability: 2.5/5

This is a very, very light weigh bait and it takes to getting use to when casting. The aerodynamic design works in it's favour but overall it can be a nightmare to cast in windy conditions or without setting your drag to loose. The flat bottom helps with skipping, but overall the GULP version of this frog is not fun to cast

Presentation: 2.5/5

There may be some that will argue with my review, but I found this Frog lacked presentation altogether. The legs give off a faint soft flutter but the body imparts little action and even less when paused.

The original BatWing frog is a much better pad frog then open water frog, but the stickiness of the Gulp version hinders it here as well.. If you put the BatWing through a bumpy ride it will flip on you, and good luck getting it to turn back over.





Hook-Up Ratio: 3.5/5

The thin body is one of the best things about the BatWing frog, it allows you to use standard and EWG hooks and still have room to slam the hook home. This is the one area in which the GULP version of the BatWing out performs the original version.

Availability: 2.5

Good luck finding a BatWing Gulp nowadays, your local shop may have a few packs laying around, and some smaller out "outlet" style retailers have some stock (limited options)

Options & Price: 2.5

It is hard to judge this product on it's current options since the base is all but discontinued. Most retailers that shill have stock have anywhere between 1-4 colours choices and the price ranges from full pop at $5.99 all the way down to $2.49.. which is still to much in my opinion 


Where to Find:
Anglers World On-Line ($4.99)

Equipment:

This is a light weight frog so you may want to put away those ultra beefy rods. I fish the BatWing with a Dobyns 735c and the 805CBRM. As with other light weight frogs the 805's extra length helps fling the frog over greater distances. You wont need much more then 40lb braid and could get away with lighter if you have casting difficulties.

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