Hey, just bought my first Uncle Josh pork rind baits, in pork frog. Just wanted to know if you guys cut the area that divides the feet, so the feet are more free to wiggle, or do you just leave it as is? I already know I have to keep them moist because Ive heard they dry out pretty quickly, but is there any other tips I need to know about using these baits? Any good ways of making them have more action?

Here

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1194145124

This thread is very recent and has many tips on handling and dealing with Uncle Josh pork frogs.

Pork Frogs always need a little "tunning" right out of the jar, the legs are always bent out of shape

To tune your frog 's legs all you need to do it is to remove it out of the jar and place it on a flat surface with the fat looking up, then you grab a knife and with the BLUNT side of the knife you slam the frog 's legs like if you are chopping starting from the chunk and all the way down to the tip of the legs, do it several times, that will straighten up the legs and make them a whole lotta more pliable and lively.

Done that for years and no need to slice up anything.

By blunt side of the knife you mean the handle? or the opposite side of the blade? And if you do start chopping with the opposite side of the blade, that wont do any damage to the legs? I heard somewhere a hammer?, will that work?

One more thing I'd like to add is, every time I see a jig rigged with a pork trailer, it is always rigged with the hook just going straight through the pork, like in this pic http://www.fishingwithbobj.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/scale.jpg, I prefer to thread the trailer up the hook rather than just hooking it right through the middle and letting it dangle like that. Can I fish the pork by threading it up the hook? Or is it better to hook it through the middle, and let it hang like that?

;D

Clearly you've never dealt with pork frogs before.

Most all Pork style baits are on the hook the way they are due to the pre-punched hole that was cut into the bait from the factory.

Try "threading" a pork chunk onto a hook, go ahead....

now try and get if off the bait.  

                 blunt side of the knife you mean the handle? or the opposite side of the blade? And if you do start chopping with the opposite side of the blade, that wont do any damage to the legs? I heard somewhere a hammer?, will that work?

One more thing I'd like to add is, every time I see a jig rigged with a pork trailer, it is always rigged with the hook just going straight through the pork, like in this pic http://www.fishingwithbobj.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/scale.jpg, I prefer to thread the trailer up the hook rather than just hooking it right through the middle and letting it dangle like that. Can I fish the pork by threading it up the hook? Or is it better to hook it through the middle, and let it hang like that?              

Several of the guys I fish with will use a meat tenderizer hammer on a pork trailer to soften it up.

;D

Clearly you've never dealt with pork frogs before.

Most all Pork style baits are on the hook the way they are due to the pre-punched hole that was cut into the bait from the factory.

Try "threading" a pork chunk onto a hook, go ahead....

now try and get if off the bait.  

A razor blade will get it off... ;D

BTW - I love them pig skins!! I have gotten a few jars that were not punched, had to do it myself. Bad QC?

Ronnie

So your telling me, if I thread the pork frog on the jig, it won't come off without me damaging the frog?

A little primer on pork baits. 'Uncle Josh' Pork baits are made from the skin of pigs which is a type of leather. It is made soft and supple by soaking it in a brine solution which is the juice in the jar it comes in. However it is still leather. Imagine pushing a hook through your wallet or the sole of your boot. The pork skin is so tough that 'Uncle Josh' punches a hole in it for your hook to pass through, so you can get it on and off the hook.

The theory is, (and my experience backs it up ) that because the pork bait is "real flesh" from something that was once alive, the texture will cause a fish to hold onto it just a second longer, and that's the magic. Pork baits are a hassle to use and care for. You must keep them moist and preserved, but if you are careful with them, they last forever. I have pork baits that are twenty+ years old and they are still good. If you let them lay on the deck of a boat in the sun for an hour or two with out getting them wet, they are ruined. They are more work to use than plastic trailers, but I (and a lot of fishermen) use them still. The 3 largest bass I have caught to date were hooked on a jig with a pork trailer, so I will keep fishing them. I hope this is helpful to you. JMHE

Ronnie

Hmm, I don't think there is any hole punched through the pork frogs I bought. Can I still rig them right through the center, and be able to remove them from the hook after using?

QC on the hole punching is an iffy thing in my experience. As Alpster said, I've had a few jars that apparently never got punched.  Sometimes the hole is right at the very front of the bait and is clearly visible and other times it's back a little bit and harder to find.  In any case, you can just push (force) the hook through the hide and it'll work fine.  Getting it back off the hook will be a chore though.  They actually make a tool for removing hard to remove hooks from pork chunks.  

One more question I got is, Ive heard people say they put a peice of a rubber worm on the hook shank when rigging a pork chunk on the jig. They say the rubberworm peice, keeps the pork chunk from sliding down the hook, do you do this? And another thing do you hook it through the fatty side, so the skin side is on the top? or do you hook it where the hook goes through the skin first, and the fatty side is on top?

Most food bass eat is dark colored on top & light colored on the bottom so look at the pork chunk