Got any tips for rigging pork frogs?

It all started with the plastic worm and has now mutated into a huge array of specialized offerings. Whose is the best and which one is your favorite? Come share your thoughts and opinions here.
Post Reply
Drakestar
Platinum Angler
Platinum Angler
Posts: 889
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:54 am

Got any tips for rigging pork frogs?

Post by Drakestar » Sun Jan 29, 2023 1:06 pm

Clearly not a plastic, but seems like the right forum: what tips do you have for rigging pork frogs onto your jig hooks? I'm always having issues getting the hook all the way through, or the bend of the hook makes the hole so wide that it slides around on the hook. Especially finding this with smaller/finesse jigs.

Tenderizing helps, but the chunks are still sliding around (and even turning) on my hook a bunch. I think there were special rubber bands available to keep it pinned, but I've never used them.

I'm fishing heavily stained cold water right now and the black pork trailer seems to help with bites. I'm not loving the rigging experience, tho.

User avatar
Randingo
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:31 am
Location: Central New Jersey

Re: Got any tips for rigging pork frogs?

Post by Randingo » Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:43 pm

I don't know what brand of pork rind you have, but the three main brands back in the day all had small hook slots to poke the hook through precut, so there was never an issue in putting them on. That “cut” was slightly longer than the width of the hook plus the barb of a large hook, (and most hooks had pretty big barbs compared to the majority used now), and it ran parallel to the front of the pork frog (or perpendicular to the direction you want it in when you're fishing). Putting the pork on the hook was a simple matter of turning the frog so the barb would fit through the slot. To remove the frog, you turned it the same way, and as you approached the barb, you pushed the side of the pork opposite to the barb, and then slid the pork up to remove it.

If your pork doesn't have this slot, find something like the awl on. Swiss Army Knife (I think it's about the proper size) and punch/cut it into all of your pork baits. It should go parallel to the front and about 1/8-3/16” back from the edge.

I don't know of any tricks to prevent pork from turning on the hook, but threading an inch or so of a plastic bait of some type along the shank of the hook will prevent it from sliding down the shank of the hook. It also gives the jig a little more body.

Drakestar
Platinum Angler
Platinum Angler
Posts: 889
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:54 am

Re: Got any tips for rigging pork frogs?

Post by Drakestar » Tue Jan 31, 2023 8:52 am

I'm just using the re-released Uncle Josh ones. I'm not rabid enough about this technique to pay tons of money on eBay for vintage supplies :) The new Uncle Josh fogs don't seem to have a tunnel to put on the bait, but pre-drilling one myself is a great idea I hadn't considered. I have a bunch of carp fishing tools I can use for that. Gonna try sliding a piece of worm at the end, too, I've heard that tip a few times now. (I used bait buttons, but they're small.)

User avatar
Randingo
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:31 am
Location: Central New Jersey

Re: Got any tips for rigging pork frogs?

Post by Randingo » Tue Jan 31, 2023 1:59 pm

In looking at pictures on Tackle Warehouse and even the drawings on the labels of the jar, it appears that Uncle Josh still cuts the small slit for the hook in their baits. It may be further forward than you think — it’s quite close to the front edge of the bait. As for the worm trick, it seems like a piece of a used chartreuse Senko is the most popular choice. I used to use part of the body of a cheap 4” grub — I’d just comb through bins at shows or whatever for something inexpensive and made of tough plastic and then precut them for that use.

User avatar
Randingo
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 346
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:31 am
Location: Central New Jersey

Re: Got any tips for rigging pork frogs?

Post by Randingo » Wed Feb 01, 2023 7:08 am

BTW, I didn’t mean to say you were wrong about the Uncle Josh pork—you have the product in your hand while I don’t—but since you’re new to pork, I thought it might not be where you expected to find it. I noticed in the comments on TW that people are saying it’s stiffer than the old stuff and are putting meat tenderizer in the brine and/or beating on it with a meat tenderizer mallet. Clearly, the product isn’t what it used to be, but it will certainly still catch fish.

Drakestar
Platinum Angler
Platinum Angler
Posts: 889
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:54 am

Re: Got any tips for rigging pork frogs?

Post by Drakestar » Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:37 pm

Yeah, I think I just don't know what I'm looking for. Will take another, closer look! Thanks for the tips.

Post Reply