FORT ATKINSON, Wis. — December 2015 was a dismal month for pork futures.
That’s the view from the tackle shop counter, not the trading pit at the Chicago Board of Trade, as the former Uncle Josh Bait Company – now Hard And Soft Fishing – made official a long-brewing decision to discontinue manufacture and sale of pork baits.
Supply issues forced the decision, according to the company.
“We couldn’t get enough of the right raw product to keep up,” explained Matt Bichanich, national sales manager for the Fort Atkinson, Wis.-based tackle manufacturer. “The quality of pork fat we require for our products has been in short supply for more than five years. It got to the point where 90 percent of the pork we purchased to make product went to waste.”
Founded in 1922 by Urban Schreiner and Allen P. Jones, two anglers who had created an artificial lure to imitate the live frogs they used to catch largemouth bass on Wisconsin’s Jordan Lake, Uncle Josh became one of the most venerable names in the tackle industry. Its pork rind jig trailers, packed in brine-filled jars, brought the term “jig-and-pig” into the angler’s lexicon.
At this writing, its #11 Pork Frog remains the brand’s top-selling product.
Company owner Kurt Kellogg purchased Uncle Josh in 2002 and has directed its diversification into soft plastics, terminal tackle, ice fishing tackle, and wire baits.
The company had witnessed gradual decline in market share and pork bait popularity over the course of three decades. However, Uncle Josh sales have been on the upswing, thanks in large part to the “Meat” line of skinless pork fat baits in resealable plastic packaging.
The company, which changed its name to Hard & Soft Fishing in October 2013, will sell its remaining inventory through 2016.
“We will focus on our other product lines,” said Bichanich. “Our Kalin’s soft plastic line, Little Stinker catfish products, Beaver Dam tip-ups and Acme family of spoons are all selling well and should do even better with the added attention we can give them now.”
Other brands in the Hard and Soft Fishing stable are Atom, Bead, and Hang on Tackle.
