From ICAST: Company Cuts Cured Pork in Bait Shapes

One of the coolest things I saw at the recent ICAST fishing-industry trade show was also one of the simplest: Uncle Josh Meat.

This venerable maker of pork frogs and pork rinds is now also cutting cured pork fat in shapes such as minnows, leeches, and crawlers. These and more come in various colors, ready to put on a jig or a crawler harness.

The effect is somewhat like soft-plastic baits, but with some important differences. First, Uncle Josh Meat is a natural product and thus biodegradable, unlike most plastics. Second, and because the bait is pork fat, it floats. That means that when rigged on a jig, the free end will gradually float upward and wiggle.

So how durable is this stuff? I don’t know yet from personal experience, but I’m told it’s at least as durable as common soft-plastics. I take that to mean that it will last through 4 or 5 fish before being torn up beyond further use.

Soft. Wiggly. Bait-like shapes in assorted colors. Sounds good to me. But check it out on the Uncle Josh website and let me know what you think.