Uncle Josh #11 frogs

milehi · Post by **milehi** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 9:22 am

Been using these jig trailers since the mid 70s, no better cold water trailer comes close in my opinion. Seems the quality of these baits keep going downhill. You would get them sometimes where one in a jar would be all out of shape & the usual tricks won't fix it, didn't happen much so ok. A few years back the holes for the hooks started elongating(?) & they'd come off. Started putting a piece of tubing on, problem solved. Opened a new jar yesterday & had one come off right away. keeper still on. Noticed the meat part of another one I had on was slit, only hanging on by the skin. Sorry for the ramble, should I contact uncle josh for this? Others have this problem?

bmlum · Post by **bmlum** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 9:34 pm

I noticed the quality went down too. Maybe contact them

merc1997 · Post by **merc1997** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 8:26 am

it sure seems to me that their product quality has been going down for a long time. actually hard to get a bottle with one good trailer.

bo

still love to fish pork over plastic. just always seems to consistently catch big bass on pork over plastic.

milehi · Post by **milehi** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:34 am

I've been lucky lately with useable frogs, not much good if they come off

Oldschool · Post by **Oldschool** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:50 am

Try looking around for UJ #11 frogs that are older stock in local tackle shops, theyy have a very long shelf life.
What you look for; the pork should be floating on top of the jar up by the lid. The oldest UJ are glass jars.
Also look for Super Pork frogs, still some on shelves locally, make some phone calls.
Pork doesn't go bad unless the jar seal is broken and they dry out. If the pork has a strange odor you can wash it in warm water, then replace the salt solution with heavy salt water. To soften pork use a meat hammer. A few drops of pure anise oil in each jar adds a positive scent.
Heavy salt water is boil a cup of sea salt to a cup of water for about 15 minutes.
You can dye pork using RIT liquid dye mixed 50-50 with water over night.
Tom

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:04 am

Oldschool wrote:Try looking around for UJ #11 frogs that are older stock in local tackle shops, theyy have a very long shelf life.
What you look for; the pork should be floating on top of the jar up by the lid. The oldest UJ are glass jars.
Also look for Super Pork frogs, still some on shelves locally, make some phone calls.
Pork doesn't go bad unless the jar seal is broken and they dry out. If the pork has a strange odor you can wash it in warm water, then replace the salt solution with heavy salt water. To soften pork use a meat hammer. A few drops of pure anise oil in each jar adds a positive scent.
Heavy salt water is boil a cup of sea salt to a cup of water for about 15 minutes.
You can dye pork using RIT liquid dye mixed 50-50 with water over night.
Tom

Tom,
In the past, the argument for using pork, in winter in particular, was always that it remained soft and flexible in cold water, while plastic got stiffer in cold water.
Is that still a valid argument?

Oldschool · Post by **Oldschool** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:47 am

There are lots of misconceptions regarding why bass strike lures. It's a good thing bass can't read.
Pork trailers pre date soft plastic trailers and we caught bass year around using pork trailers.
I believe the fact that pork is messy, must be kept wet and only comes in a few colors limits it's use today.
Pork moves differently than soft plastic, it's a slow life like action not unlike a Senko. Today's bass anglers prefer the faster flapping action of a wide variety of plastic trailers like RagecTails or twin tail grubs and go to slower moving beavers etc.
It's a misconception that bass prefer slow movement in cold water and faster movement in warm water. Lots of times it's just the opposite, let the bass decide by changing trailers, depth and cadence.
I still fish pork trailers year around and soft plastics if pork doesn't get it done.
Tom

Caudawg · Post by **Caudawg** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 1:01 pm

Great topic!!

+1 for using pork over plastics on jigs especially in the winter and spring.

I makes several modifications to my #11 pork chunks. Most importantly, I make sure the fat is not overly thick where the hook hole is. I slice off any fat greater than about an 1/8th of an inch to just beyond the pre-cut hole. This helps ensure a better hook up ratio with less chance of poor hook penetration.

I also cut slices in the fat which can hold on to air bubbles and release them occasionally while working the jig along the bottom. These slices (even a waffle sliced pattern) will also allow for more undulation of the pork instead of being kind of stiff. Some chunks have too much fat so I sometimes slice some of it off. Otherwise, the "bite" of the hook could be compromised and the bass can throw the hook a bit easier.

If the hook hole is too big, you can use those "Bait Buttons" to help keep from losing the pork. Or if nothing else a small slice of a plastic worm can be used as a stopper.

One other thing...when I have a piece of pork that is stiff because it is old or has been left out in the sun too long and dried up a bit...I take a knife and scrape the pork (while holding it by the jig to get a good grip). This will soften it up and bring it back to life.

I have not learned how to revive a completely dried up piece of pork chunk but I wouldn't doubt that it can be done. I cant tell you how many pork chunks I have forgotten about that went for a boat ride all day because I discovered that the jerkbait bite was on. LOL!

Oldschool · Post by **Oldschool** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 2:16 pm

Most anglers who fish pork rind jig trailers learn a few tricks that helps increase strike to hook set ratios.
I always add a 3/4" length of finesse worm to the jig hook shank to prevent the nose hooked pork trailer from fouling the hook point by preventing the trailer sliding down the hook shank.
If you have too large a pre cut hole, cut off the trailer nose behind the pre cut hole, a 3/8" shorter trailer make little difference to how it works.
Trimming the fate, make a tapered slice using a fillet knife that starts away from the trailer nose and tapers down towards the nose end.
Pork should be soft enough so it swims as it falls on the jig down through the water column and very important....it should float upright. A block of wood and a meat tenderizing hammer works wonders to soften pork trailers.
Back in the day we had pig blankets, lure wraps with sponge inside to keep trailers wet. You can use a lure wrap with a sponge inside to hold more water, works good.
Dried stiff pork is a lost cause.
Tom

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:09 pm

Thanks to both of you for great answers!

milehi · Post by **milehi** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:49 pm

Tom & john, thanks for the replys, have discovered most of those tricks in almost 40 years of pork fishing.I'm in an area where there really no more mom & pop places to looh for the old stuff. My main concern, and it almost happened again today, is the frog splitting the meat in front & the skin so thin its starting to tear. Out of a jar of blue 3 did this. Sent them an e mail, we'll see what they if anything. Afraid because they are not in vogue anymore quality control not so great. That being said, best cold water trailer made, just stopped using them in the summer a couple of years ago. My 2 cents worth, think a lite baiting cold water northern bass holds on to them longer. thanks you guys