Traditional Jig & Pig

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Does anyone still use pork trailers? You almost never here about them since the rise of plastics. I've been thinking I'd try some and maybe show the bass something they haven't seen in a while. Any thoughts or tips?

[J Francho]

Yep.  A lot still use them, they just don't fess up to it

[Raul]

Some food for thought about pork trailers.

1.- Durable: in theory they are more durable than plastic, true to a certain point, they don 't tear, however put that "durable" pork trailer in my hands and it ain 't gonna be exactly durable, a jig seldomly returns to my tackle box when I tie it because I loose it, the most trips I 've been able to squeeze out of a jig are a couple of trips, ask me how many jigs I loose on the firts couple of casts and you 'll be amazed. Oh yeah, that durable pork trailer is gonna take a while to rot completely.

2.- Expensive: 4 baits to a jar, go back to thought number 1

3.- When you live in a hot climate like me you have to baby sit pork trailers, leave them unattended for a while and they turn into a crispy on the outside chewy on the inside deformed mass of pork skin that it 's nearly impossible to remove from the hook and once they turn in to that they are as good as trash.

4.- Pork trailers used to be packed in thise cute little jars in brine, with time the brine corrodes the plastic lid and the jar gets sealed like ---> forever !, more modern pork jars are no longer sealed with a metallic lid but a plastic lid, the plastic lid has a liner to seal the coantainer, but that liner is not indestructible, with time the compression flatens the liner and it no longer seals the container, brine seeps through and into your box/bag and corrodes any metal it touches ---> your hooks.

5.- Some pork trailers are colored, the brine is also colored, you do something stoopid like kicking an open jar and the brine is going to spill on something like that very nice carpet on your 20 + K bass boat and the stain is going to be there like ---> forever.

6.- The color availability is limited and normally the colors are just plain fugly.

Those are some thoughts about pork trailer baits. I used to fish with pork trailers, no sir no more, pastic trailer for me.

[skillet]

 When I first started using jigs, I used them. They worked GREAT! Started using plastics, like Raul said, WAY TOO MUCH TROUBLE for me . Still got 2 or 3 bottles (metal caps) somewhere in the attic of my shop. There's no way you could open them. Hopefully they don't corrode the tops :'(...

skillet

[Bankbeater]

I used pork many years ago.  Now I just use plastic.

[roadwarrior]

I use Uncle Josh Pork occasionally. When fishing is slow, I think

it out fishes plastic. Still, I use plastic trailers the majority of the

time.

p.s. "variety of colors?" Uncle Josh come in both blue and black!

[I Love BassResource]

I pretty much use pork exclusively in the colder months Dec - Feb.  I personally feel its a better choice than plastic...

[tnbassfisher]

I have new even tried them.

[Skinnyh2ofishin]

I too still have a few jars of them that might as well just be specimen jars on display since I can't open them!  I've always liked them though when I wanted a slower fall to my jig as I felt it slowed the jig down a little better than plastic.  Now though, with plastic craw baits seemingly growing bigger and more enticing claws with each new variation, I haven't thrown pork in years and haven't missed them.  Like Raul said, they seem to be more a hassle to carry around than craws, or any other plastic I use for trailers, that I can use for other things, t-rigs/c-rigs, as well.

One Pork bait I do miss is the old pork eel, I think Strike King made.  I loved the action of the eel by itself on a weedless hook.  

[Raul]

Well, that makes 3 of us who have experienced pork rind jar sealing like forever.

Another thought:

Only once in my time of fishing with pork I 've pulled out a bait that was straight, the rest were all crooked, had to "doctor" them, doctoring is a process that requires practice or you 'll end up chopping the bait ( a frog ain 't good without them legs  ), been there done that.  :

[Teal101]

Yep I had one jar of mine crack and leak.  Had hard pork after that.  One other jar still opens but the pork is so nasty its impossible to get it on the hook.  The others are sealed shut.  I use plastics now.

[TrippyJai]

I have 2 jars of Uncle Josh pork which I bought after watching some dude on TV catching fish after fish on jig and pig's. Well... 14 years later. I can't open them either. The d**n lid is glued shut. I even tried for an hour to open them before I decided to toss them. My hands couldn't take anymore.

[CWB]

I still use pork quite a bit. I transfer the baits from the old glass bottles to smaller tupperware containers. I think Uncle Josh has solved the lid welding problem by going to plastic containers.

[fathom]

make that 5 for pork jars sealed forever in a bill dance death grip.

[Blue Streak]

I agree with Raul. I went through all of that  they are just not worth it, no time, no way.

[flippin]

I use pork in early spring when the water is still cold