Pickled Pig Skin, with the hair still on, can be used for fishing bait and lures. Most sources I've seen have the hair removed and then many fishermen will painstakingly sew on thread to mimic hair. The hair, if left attached, can catch the current and provide more realistic movement of the bait particularly if you have the current flowing against the grain of the hair. The traditional use is called pork frogs, or pork skin frogs, where the skin has been cut into a vague silhouette shape of a frog.

If you are raising and butchering your own pigs you have a source of pig skin and can make your own fishing lures. A fresh skin can be cut from the underside (which is easier than cutting from the hair side) with a sharp knife, scalpel or craft knife if you want special shapes. If you just want, "caterpillars," or, "frogs," you can use a heavy bandage scissors. Cut them about 15% larger than the final product since there will be some shrinkage during the brining. Caterpillars can be cut as simple long rectangles. Frogs can be cut as W's. Long strips can resemble eels.

Most commercial places scrape all the fat off of the underside, but several fishermen have told me that it works better as a scent lure if you leave some of the fat on. Try it whichever way you feel works best.

After you have your shapes cut, submerse them in pickling brine and let them cure for a couple weeks. You could also use some fresh ones without brining. Some people prefer that. When not in use keep them stored submersed in brine. If you accidentally leave one out of the brine it will desiccate and harden. Sometimes replacing them into the brine will soften them up, and sometimes they will disintegrate.

Brine: 1 gallon white vinegar and 1 pound plain salt (non-iodized): You probably won't initially be able to get all the salt to dissolve, but over time, as the osmotic forces pull the water out of the skin, that will dilute the vinegar and force some of the undissolved salt into solution.