FISH LOVE PORK
Most of us out there love a good pork BBQ. Well, fish love pork, too. It’s something the Uncle Josh bait company discovered back in the 1920s on the lakes and rivers of Wisconsin. It’s also something they keep improving on, freshwater or salt, on everything from bass and crappies to stripers and kingfish. Uncle Josh pork products are offered in a broad range of styles, colors and sizes; and they work, due to the taste, texture and irresistible natural wiggle.
Uncle Josh’s Meat baits are the closest thing you can get to live bait. It’s a totally new type of pork bait that’s made from pork fat, without the hide attached. The result is a bait that is easy to put on and take off the hook, with an unbelievably lifelike action and natural chewy texture. All of Uncle Josh’s Meat baits are impregnated with genuine live-bait scents, so they look, act, smell and taste just like the real thing. The legendary durability of natural pork means that each bait will catch multiple fish, plus it’s 100% biodegradable, so they won’t harm the environment. Uncle Josh Meat products require no refrigeration or special handling to keep them fresh. Once opened, simply store any unused Meat baits in the original bag in a cool and dry place; just avoid keeping them in direct sunlight. The tough natural pork will last on your hook for several fish and the natural scent is easily recharged by returning the used Meat to its original storage bag.
MEAT BAIT VARIETIES
The Uncle Josh folks sent me some product samples so I could get a “hands-on” feel for it before I sat down to write this review. From the Meat Eel and Meat Belly strips that I tested on south shore fluke and blues, I can tell you from firsthand experience that they work as advertised.
Meat Eels are the closest thing to real sand eels that you can buy in a bag. They swim like an eel, smell like an eel and catch fish like the real thing. The tough, natural pork stays on the hook and swims with a natural undulating action. Fish it exactly like you would a live eel, hooked through the mouth, with an offset circle hook. You can also jig it, cast it or troll it. It’s perfect for surf, inshore or offshore fishing. You can use the Meat Eel on the classic three-way rig with a sinker and a three- to four-foot length of 40- to 50-pound mono leader, or employ a live eel rig with a three-foot section of 40-pound mono attached to a barrel swivel on one side and a sliding egg sinker on the other. Available in black, chartreuse/white and other colors, the MSRP is $6.99 per five-pack.
Meat Belly Strips are available in both five- and seven-inch sizes and have a 100% natural pork body with a tapered profile to simulate a fluke or bluefish belly strip while oozing natural scent to attract the wariest of fish. Meat Belly Strips are the ultimate bait for fluke, sea bass and other saltwater fish. You can fish these Meat Belly Strips the same way you would for more conventional baits, either tipping a bucktail with a five- or seven-inch strip, or using the classic two-hook stinger rig favored by many fluke masters on a mono leader. MSRP is $6.99 per five-pack, offered in white, silver, pink/white and natural.
Some of the freshwater Meat baits will also work in saltwater. While oozing 100% natural scent extracted from real night crawlers, the Meat Night Crawler swims with a realistic “fish tail” swimming action, just like the real thing. Lifelike and flexible, it wiggles and twitches with the slightest vibration, yet stays on the hook and lasts through multiple fish. Measuring seven inches in length, the Meat Night Crawler is available in four colors at $6.49 per eight-pack. The Uncle Josh Meat Minnow is impregnated with natural scent extracted from real minnows, with a realistic wriggling and darting action. Each Meat Minnow has a three-inch body with a lifelike floating tail that twitches and flutters, even when at rest. Available in six colors, the MSRP is $6.49 per eight-pack. Other freshwater baits include the Meat Frog, Meat Leech, Meat Craw and Meat Beaver.
Founded in 1922 by Alan Jones and Urban Schreiner, the Uncle Josh Bait Company has been under new ownership since 2002, when Kurt Kellogg and Patrick McDevitt purchased the business and vowed to continue the proud Uncle Josh tradition, which has been expanded somewhat to include Atom Lures, Bass Stalker, Bead Tackle and a few other related tackle companies.
