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Pork rind availability?

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RudyH2O

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Hello,

 

I'm finding it difficult to buy pork rind like the Uncle Josh products that have been assosiated with bucktail fishing. Is there a seasonality to the availability? Is it such a niche product that most people have come to prefer soft plastics instead? In the absence of pork rind, is there a good substitute?

 

Thank you!

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There are a couple of companies that make synthetic versions that many people find just as good (Fat Cow Jig Strips/Otter Tails).  There is also a company that is now making pork rinds but they are pricey. Some guys are making pork themselves and  puppet also just posted an a really interesting thread on making trailers from chamois. 

 

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Wow I guess you didn't get the memo. So some options, Gulp. otter tails, fat cow, rubber worms, cure your own pork or cure your own squid. I do squid myself and plastic curly worms.

If you aren't fishing on the edge, you are probably blocking the channel.

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12 hours ago, jesgord said:

There are a couple of companies that make synthetic versions that many people find just as good (Fat Cow Jig Strips/Otter Tails).  There is also a company that is now making pork rinds but they are pricey. Some guys are making pork themselves and  puppet also just posted an a really interesting thread on making trailers from chamois. 

 

I guess a lot of people miss the pork rinds (and I can sympathize, you have something that works you don't want to change it).  I don't - I've found the synthetics to work just as well, and I can leave them on my jigs without having to worry about them drying up or making a mess everywhere.  A little pricey, but Uncle Josh's were creeping up in cost their towards the end.

Edited by The Fishing Nerd
The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.
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7 hours ago, reelfire said:

Wow I guess you didn't get the memo. So some options, Gulp. otter tails, fat cow, rubber worms, cure your own pork or cure your own squid. I do squid myself and plastic curly worms.

That’s interesting. How do you cure the squid and how does it turn out? 

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Turns out great. Just put in water with kosher salt in a tuperwear and leave it in the refrigerator for a few weeks. Theres threads on here about doing it.

If you aren't fishing on the edge, you are probably blocking the channel.

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8 mins ago, reelfire said:

Turns out great. Just put in water with kosher salt in a tuperwear and leave it in the refrigerator for a few weeks. Theres threads on here about doing it.

Sounds like something worth trying. I always liked the action of squid strips plus the fish really like them too. 

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rathrbefishn replied to Wire For Fire's topic in Main Forum

...I haven't usedporkrinds in a while but used to use them in various shapes and thicknesses including some thin ones that I think were called ripplerinds- thin and curly tail kind of action Do you just scrape them more or do you need to find the thin sections of rind?

Follow this thread and see the final results with the DIY pork rinds.

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Well, that explains a lot! I had no idea that Uncle Josh was out of business. I should have known that something was up a couple of years ago when I was looking for jig trailers to fish for jig and pig bass fishing. I couldn't find them then either, I just used plastic instead.

 

The attraction of pork for me in saltwater fishing is the durability. Can you tell me whether Fat Cow or one of the others is durable when bait stealers are a problem? I avoid soft plastics, especially curly tails, because the bait stealers here just rip them up immediately in a lot of situations. Do the Fat Cows need to be kept moist, or can you hook them up and let them dry out to fish later?

 

If chamois is a working option, maybe rabbit fur strips used by fly tyers would work too. It makes me wonder whether soaking the chamois in that Berkely Gulp juice would help.

 

One bait fishing trick that I learned on the west coast is that Berkely Gulp blood worms can be put on a hook and then allowed to dry for a couple of days before your fishing trip. It makes them tougher so the bait stealers can't get them as easily and they still work just fine. Target specie there is surf perch, which are small fish 10 or 12 inches long. I don't know if the concept extends to tipping jigs for larger fish.

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31 mins ago, RudyH2O said:

If chamois is a working option, maybe rabbit fur strips used by fly tyers would work too. It makes me wonder whether soaking the chamois in that Berkely Gulp juice would help.

 

One bait fishing trick that I learned on the west coast is that Berkely Gulp blood worms can be put on a hook and then allowed to dry for a couple of days before your fishing trip. It makes them tougher so the bait stealers can't get them as easily and they still work just fine. Target specie there is surf perch, which are small fish 10 or 12 inches long. I don't know if the concept extends to tipping jigs for larger fish.

I dig that pic in your avatar. that is awesome.

 

Surf perch will eat anything.   I targeted them for a while then only targeted halibut.

Halibut is similar to striped bass in that they are an ambush predator. 

Where surf perch school around like bluegills and will strike anything that might be food.

 

I feel that most gulp products to be way too weak to stand up to multiple fish. 

They would need to be thinner to have the same action as pork,

but as you might know they make only them thicker so they can be more durable. 

Small curly tail mullets will rip apart on one fish. 

Sort of a perfect pyramid scheme...."we don't want our product to be too durable"

 

The chamois I note in that thread is synthetic and much cheaper than other substitutes. 

Rabbit strips would work nicely, but I wonder what the saltwater would do with them

Edited by puppet
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9 mins ago, puppet said:

I dig that pic in your avatar. that is awesome.

...

The chamois I note in that thread is synthetic and much cheaper than other substitutes. 

Rabbit strips would work nicely, but I wonder what the saltwater would do with them

I like the pic too. It is not my own photo. I found it on the internet, and fell in love with it.

 

I was using Gulp baits for a while, but the durability problem was a double-edged sword. The ones I've used, and still use occasionally, are the Gulp Shrimp (for Florida fishing). They are more durable than the natural bait shrimp, which is a big advantage at times because they do work very well when tipping a jig with them. But they are not as durable as some of the soft plastics.

 

This year, I am experimenting with 1/8 to 1/4 inch buck tails and some flies tied with rabbit fur. The task is to test their durability. I've used both materials in the past, but never really raked them over the coals in salt water. My guess is that raspy mouthed fish will tear them up quickly but not as quickly as the plastics, and that I'll be able to re-tie them with fresh fur at home.

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5 mins ago, RudyH2O said:

I like the pic too. It is not my own photo. I found it on the internet, and fell in love with it.

 

I was using Gulp baits for a while, but the durability problem was a double-edged sword. The ones I've used, and still use occasionally, are the Gulp Shrimp (for Florida fishing). They are more durable than the natural bait shrimp, which is a big advantage at times because they do work very well when tipping a jig with them. But they are not as durable as some of the soft plastics.

 

This year, I am experimenting with 1/8 to 1/4 inch buck tails and some flies tied with rabbit fur. The task is to test their durability. I've used both materials in the past, but never really raked them over the coals in salt water. My guess is that raspy mouthed fish will tear them up quickly but not as quickly as the plastics, and that I'll be able to re-tie them with fresh fur at home.

what species are you targeting???

 

Yes...we would use gulp shrimp too for halibut.  Its not that they had much action..the scent slick seemed to be the enticer....we would drop shot them.

 

If you have not done it...dropshotting gulp and soft plastics in the salt can be deadly.

The biggest advantage is working the presentation in place on structure instead of moving past it.

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I have about 5 things of Uncle Joshs pork rind left, stocked up when I heard the news, I actually still see them in some tackle shops near me sometimes, I myself prefer the plastic strips, hence the reason why I still have a bunch of Uncle Josh's. They don't dry out, they don't rip, tare or get bitten off, they provide the same action, fish can't tell the difference. Have to adapt or make your own. Definitely give them a shot though.

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