Uncle Josh closing its doors

[jigfreak]

Read a news item about the Uncle Josh company closing its doors after all these years. Damn that sucks. Bucktail with a pork trailer used to hang some big fish for us back in the day. Apparently pork is now as popular as the black bombers.

[bababooey]

They might have had a lot of competition over the years as well? Gulp is so popular now. Same with rubber grubs and shads. When the fish aren't biting most guys throw on a shad or gulp to see if anyone's home.

[nitestrikes]

Read that also. Too bad they were a great company.

[finchaser]

Where did you read this they were at the Folsum tackle show last week taking 2016 orders from shops

[jigfreak]

FHQ in LBI
"I recently got a very unfortunate phone call from Adam at Uncle Josh. He shared some really bad news. Uncle Josh Pork Rind, the product that northeast striped bass anglers have fished and loved for so many years is on its way out. Wait! What! How could they? Adam explained the whole situation and said the decision was made and there's no turning back. "Last week production stopped. Equipment has already moved out." Adam went on describing the situation, "It was not profitable due to the lengthy production process, inconsistent raw material and large amount of waste."

The one good thing is at the time of the phone call they had a lot of product in stock; however he expects all of the major wholesalers to put in their last order this week. The last of the product will ship out very soon and then that's it."

[cowherder]

There were a few older guys when I started fishing that I would always see using pork. The younger guys seem to like the rubber. I guess I fit in that category too lol. The thing is when the blues are around you get a lot of rubber chopped up. You can catch one blue usually on a grub, shad or gulp before you change it. How many blues can you catch on one piece of pork?:thumbsup:

[dogfish]

How many blues can you catch on one piece of pork?:thumbsup:

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? I'd say you could run one strip of pork on marauding bluefish for at least 50 hookups.

[buckethead]

Funny I should read this because that's what worked for me this morning. I will use a white or chartreuse grub when the water is dirty or stained. Otherwise sometimes it's the shorter profile of the porkrind that does the trick. Especially when whitebait or molecrabs are the forage. Very sad to see them close. I have been a good customer of theirs for decades and have a bunch stockpiled in my basement.

[J Barbosa]

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? I'd say you could run one strip of pork on marauding bluefish for at least 50 hookups.

Funny you say that I had this one piece of pork rind I fished with in the fall of 2014, used it in the spring of 2015 from the kayak and the fall of 2015 until I finally lost it.

Don't know how many fish I had on it overall but it was originally red / white and was only white by the time I lost it.

It was so soft and supple I had so much confidence in it.

I just picked up 4 more jars of the #70s...hopefully I can use them before they go bad on me.

I have had mix results buying pork rinds....some jars spoil much sooner than others and then some strips were so stiff they had no action at all.

Still prefer it over a rubber shad or curly tail on a bucktail.

Will have to give otter tails a try when I run out of pork or try making my own.

[hookedonbass]

Funny you say that I had this one piece of pork rind I fished with in the fall of 2014, used it in the spring of 2015 from the kayak and the fall of 2015 until I finally lost it.

Don't know how many fish I had on it overall but it was originally red / white and was only white by the time I lost it.




Over one year for one piece? must be some sort of record.

[Monty]

No more Pork?
Urghh!!!
I understand the quality issue, I had a few older jars where it ripped incredibly easy.
The newer jars seemed much better.
I fished UJ Pork more this year than ever and finally started feeling some confidence with them.

Would be the end of an era, some guys on here are solid bucktail and pork fisherman, they bang bass on them big time from the reports.

http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015_10_25_SB_4_10_AM.jpg?zoom=1.5&fit=810%2C810

[hookset]

Sad to read this. I'm not exclusive to bucktails/pork but do fish them a lot in early spring and late fall. I find when the fish are picky or in cold water the smaller profile of the pork rind and the flutter is better. You do have to work them and its becoming a lost art.

[rockhopper]

They're the bomb in Montauk. A self respecting striper fisherman always has a jar with him at all times. The only complaint I had was sometimes if you fell on the rocks the plastic container would crack and liquid would leak out. Otherwise great product and I wish they didn't have to close shop. Competition from gulp and rubber that was mentioned prob didn't help either. Will be stocking up.

[buckethead]

Would be the end of an era, some guys on here are solid bucktail and pork fisherman, they bang bass on them big time from the reports.

http://i1.wp.com/rocksimpson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015_10_25_SB_4_10_AM.jpg?zoom=1.5&fit=810%2C810


Sad to read this. I'm not exclusive to bucktails/pork but do fish them a lot in early spring and late fall. I find when the fish are picky or in cold water the smaller profile of the pork rind and the flutter is better. You do have to work them and its becoming a lost art.

Agree with both. The thing about using bucktails is it's not that easy to catch fish consistently if you are not a fisherman who likes to think about what you are doing. One reason for the popularity of SP minnows is they catch fish for you. Folks don't have to think. Same with pencil poppers in a blitz. Same with rubber shads. Toss out, retrieve, if there are fish you will attract one. Repeat as needed.

Bucktails take some finesse. I think they have fallen out of favor with NJ fishermen. More often I will see someone tossing a shad while I am bucktailing. Also agree that the trend is now with rubber and gulp at the top of the list. To all the fishermen who swear by gulp. just think of what we older folks had to do to catch fluke when there was no gulp. You had to use your skills and impart action to the line and what you were throwing. Of course sometimes you had to add a spearing or squid strip to the end as well.
Overall, the pork rind is one of the most versatile and adaptable things you can tip your bucktail with. When bluefish are around en masse and the water temperature is down, it's my only choice, other than metal. Why waste all that money on rubber that is going to get bitten in half? Pork is clearly superior in many situations. Glad that I have enough jars to last me until my hands will be too old to crank the reel handle any more.

[lostatsea]

Around since 1922, what a long run. Shame to see them leave. Wish there was someone else who could step in.

"Kurt Kellogg, owner of Hard and Soft Fishing, felt that because Uncle Josh has been around since 1922 and had such a strong brand identity tied to pork baits, many consumers and retailers may have overlooked the full family of brands previously held under the Uncle Josh name including: Kalin's, Beaver Dam, Little Stinker, Bead, Bombshell, Atom, and recently acquired Acme Tackle Company. "The name, Uncle Josh, is an icon in the industry because of its legendary roots in pork baits and because of this, we think it's time to allow that brand to stand on its own again," said Kellogg.
"Bringing it under one parent name, along with our other brands, allowed us to do that. We felt the corporate name change to Hard and Soft Fishing made sense."

http://fishingtackleretailer.com/uncle-josh-owners-rebrand-corporate-name-to-become-hard-and-soft-fishing/

[finchaser]

They called there major distributors today

[Monty]

They called there major distributors today

I am relatively new to fishing with "pork".
But there is one area I fish where it is the "go to" artificial.
Depending on the current there its pork on a 1 1/2 oz to 5 oz bucktail.

I'm thinking its a real game changer for a bunch of real Striper fisherman.
Makes you shake your head when such a long time traditional old school fishing "tool" I guess you would call it, is just discontinued.

I guess who needs pork when you can drop off a bunker chunk 200 yards off a beach or in a channel with a drone......
In my perfect world we would have pork and drones would be shoved up their owners @ss....:idea:

[finchaser]

New breed GULP

[Monty]

They called there major distributors today

Are all the Uncle Josh products going to be discontinued (these)?

19931

[basshunter]

New breed GULP

Thats for sure, you can catch more fish by sticking to the basics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuYmp4qi2FM

[hookset]

Are all the Uncle Josh products going to be discontinued (these)?

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19931&stc=1


Not sure but from the way I read it seems so. Time to stock up.

[seamonkey]

From otw.com
"There is still Uncle josh available for purchase on their website, and at tackle retailers throughout the Northeast. Once it's gone, it's gone."
http://www.onthewater.com/after-93-y...ng-pork-rinds/ (http://www.onthewater.com/after-93-years-uncle-josh-to-stop-producing-pork-rinds/)

[J Barbosa]

I am relatively new to fishing with "pork".
But there is one area I fish where it is the "go to" artificial.
Depending on the current there its pork on a 1 1/2 oz to 5 oz bucktail.

I'm thinking its a real game changer for a bunch of real Striper fisherman.
Makes you shake your head when such a long time traditional old school fishing "tool" I guess you would call it, is just discontinued.

I guess who needs pork when you can drop off a bunker chunk 200 yards off a beach or in a channel with a drone......
In my perfect world we would have pork and drones would be shoved up their owners @ss....:idea:

We have to be willing to embrace change otherwise most of us would still be fishing like a caveman and hand lining.

I'm sure all the guys fishing Dacron in 1938 said monofilament sucked...50 years later and nobody was fishing with Dacron anymore?

I like gulp but its too soft/expensive for stripers. I can get a hit with buck/pork and be confident that that fish will hit it again. I don't have to worry...did my soft grub get pulled down the shank?

[finchaser]

Distributors are getting lots should not feel the effect for 2 years. Liquid clouds after a year but Rhine is still good we have some on the boat that is over 4 years old and is still fine

[hookset]

I like gulp but its too soft/expensive for stripers. I can get a hit with buck/pork and be confident that that fish will hit it again.

Good point. Also gulp won't work as well when the water is real cold. Sometimes there is nothing as effective as tipping with pork, or if you can get them, sand worms. Used to be deadly for weakies.

[J Barbosa]

Distributors are getting lots should not feel the effect for 2 years. Liquid clouds after a year but Rhine is still good we have some on the boat that is over 4 years old and is still fine

Its weird because I have pork that rotted away in the brine from fall to spring and then I have other jars of pork that are several years old.

I saw Uncle Josh stated they had at least one years supply on hand to fulfill orders.

At this point I can't help but to think that this was some sort of marketing scheme to get people to buy pork "before its gone"....like the car dealers. Buy now before they are all gone!!!

Howard Schultz at one point removed the ring around Starbucks long time logo. It was a big fuss about such a meaningless change. Later on in an interview when asked why he did it he said something along the lines of...It got people talking about Starbucks and gave us a ton of free publicity.

Will Uncle Josh a year from now announce that thanks to high demand they are making pork again and now selling then at a higher price point? That's my guess :HappyWave:

The one question I have is if making Pork rinds is not profitable why pre-make a 1-2 year supply of them before closing that line of business down?

[finchaser]

Old stuff seemed better maybe better raw material

They ran all their raw material. used up all packaging. the company is staying in business. only the uncle Josh part will cease to exist . Acme cast master and other parts of the business will move forward

[DarkSkies]

Will Uncle Josh a year from now announce that thanks to high demand they are making pork again and now selling then at a higher price point? That's my guess :HappyWave:

The one question I have is if making Pork rinds is not profitable why pre-make a 1-2 year supply of them before closing that line of business down?

I'll be glad to store some pork backs in a semi-refrigerated state for ya for a few years. :upck:
Maybe that will toughen em up and you'll launch a new business venture, just like that ground chum I gave ya in the summer....let me know. :laugh: :HappyWave:




Old stuff seemed better maybe better raw material


I think that applies to you old farts as well. Seems like God just made you guys out of tougher mettle. Built to roll with the punches. Wish we could turn back the hands of time sometimes. ;) :thumbsup: