This is a great solution, but you might encounter unexpected problems if you're creating a category on CAShapeLayer where you don't immediately have the view.
See Setting correct frame of a newly created CAShapeLayer
Bottom line, get the bounds of the path then set the gradient mask's frame using the path bounds and translate as necessary. Good thing here is that by using the path's bounds rather than any other frame, the gradient will only fit within the path bounds (assuming that's what you want).
// Category on CAShapeLayer
CGRect pathBounds = CGPathGetBoundingBox(self.path);
CAShapeLayer *gradientMask = [CAShapeLayer layer];
gradientMask.fillColor = [[UIColor blackColor] CGColor];
gradientMask.frame = CGRectMake(0, 0, pathBounds.size.width, pathBounds.size.height);
gradientMask.path = self.path;
CAGradientLayer *gradientLayer = [CAGradientLayer layer];
gradientLayer.startPoint = CGPointMake(0.5,1.0);
gradientLayer.endPoint = CGPointMake(0.5,0.0);
gradientLayer.frame = CGRectMake(0, 0, pathBounds.size.width, pathBounds.size.height);
NSMutableArray *colors = [NSMutableArray array];
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
[colors addObject:(id)[[UIColor colorWithHue:(0.1 * i) saturation:1 brightness:.8 alpha:1] CGColor]];
}
gradientLayer.colors = colors;
[gradientLayer setMask:gradientMask];
[self addSublayer:gradientLayer];