Tricks, Tips, and Modifications

[Bass XL]

Trust me guys, I know there has been several threads about modifing your lures, but I cant seem to find a link to any of them. But basically, I am writing somthing about modifing your lures and need some input on some tips and tricks. Thanks a ton!

[The_Natural]

This is something I do frequently.  I'm assuming you are talking about crankaits.  I modify probably 1/4 of all cranks I fish with, not including changing the hooks).  Don't be afraid...sometimes you will end up with a bait that just kills.  I've been shaving bills on crankbaits for some time.  I won't post all the picks of the bass I caught on the slender pointer I modified, but I will show you the mod I did for the slender pointer (I posted all the keepers I cuaght last week on my modded bait on Bass Pro's website).  To keep the action of the bait, make sure you duplicate the curve or shape of the lip/coffin bill/etc.; otherwise you will ruin a bait.  

The shell white bait is just up for comparison...I don't own any flashminnows or I wouldn't have taken these measures, but it slayed the fish.  The Slender Pointer is THE jerkbait IMHO....here is the one I modified versus a stock bill.

[T-rig]

So it's not only me that does that with the slender pointer 8-)

[.dsaavedra.]

you guys got balls (or a big wallet) to be tampering with lucky crafts! lol ;D

this is so ironic that you started this thread because before i got on today i modded my frog to get better hookups and was gonna make a thread of it. well i guess i'll post it here.

this is a snagproof tournement frog...known for a bad reputation of hookups. i removed the double hook and put on a single hook, hoping for better hook up ratios...i'll let you guys know how it does when summer rolls around :

[Bass XL]

Thanks guys! This is just what I want, Keep them coming!!  Tell me any modifications to ANY lures you do. Thanks agian.

---if you guys dont mind, I might use the pic's too.

[.dsaavedra.]

thats cool with me. what exactly are you writing though?

[Tin]

 Put BB's in the frog so it is "butt heavy". I noticed a lot of times in shallow water when the fish comes for it, the wake of the fish will push the bait infront of it, thus, a lot of the time a fish misses it. I have noticed a I get a lot more hook-ups and frog fishing doesnt get as frustrating.

[.dsaavedra.]

thats a good tip rite there mike!

im gonna go put two lead pellets in mine

[Tin]

Not so much thats it sinks, but ya know, heavier. So dont overload it.

[.dsaavedra.]

yea i gotcha.

i figure two lead pellets is better than half a dozen copper bb's

[Bass XL]

great idea with the bb's....Well, I'm writing an article that i can submit to a local newspaper...and maybe some websites...I wrote a few a while ago, and i figured that I would start writing again. So, the more tips i get, the more I can write....Thanks agian

[.dsaavedra.]

i have a tip that doesnt quite apply to lures:

if you take a brown sharpie marker, and make little 1/2" marks spaced about 1/2" apart on the first few feet of line or so, it makes the line alot less visible, especialy on moving baits. it breaks up the profile of the line and camoflages it.

[Tin]

Doubles split ring trick? 360*'s of rotation instead of 180* on trebles

[.dsaavedra.]

shall i disclose the senko trick? ;D

[.dsaavedra.]

heres one:

take a finesse worm (any long skinny straight worm will work) and then take a razor and slice the back half of the worm in half length wise. then rotate the worm 90° and slice it lengthwise again...so you end up with 4 "tentacles". use it on a dropshot or shakey head and the tentacles will go wild and trigger strikes.

[Tin]

shall i disclose the senko trick? ;D

Remember I know where you live.    lol

[.dsaavedra.]

got it  

[luckyinkentucky]

1)  You can attach a willow leaf blade to the end of the wire that hold the 'buzz' on your buzz baits, and this will add more flash to your presentation.  

2)  You can  turn a bullet weight backwards when you T-Rig your worms or crawdads.  This stirs up more bottom debris and mimics a crawdad digging.  

3)  You can use a 10 penny nail cut in half and insert it into your tubes.  This adds weight that will allow it to fall horizontally.

4)  Breaking off toothpicks or pulling through rubber bands offer a cheaper solution for weight pegs than paying $5 for 10.  

5)  In a pinch you can burn the head end of a worm back together if you run out of a color on the water.  I've done this plenty of times.  Use a bag of a particular color in a days time, and at the end of the day I have 8 worms on the bottom of the boat with ripped heads.  If I need another before I go in I just do this to save me the frustration of using another color.

That's all the 'Free' advice I can give for one night.   ;D

[.dsaavedra.]

custom baits w/ woodburning tool:

get a woodburning tool (8 bucks at walmart...might as well get some wood too and try your hand at artwork...its pretty) and a bunch of torn up plastics. you can mend plastics together by melting the two surfaces and sticking em together, then once it cools, melt the seams closed. an example of what you can do is make a lizard by adding 4 tiny curly tail grubs to a ribbon tail worm like legs. also (ive done this) melt together multiple worm bodies and one tail at the end for a long worm for big bass.

[.dsaavedra.]

get a topwater popper and remove the rear trebble. tie about 2 feet of line and a hook at the end. wacky rig a senko and work the popper like normal. either the popping action will trigger a strike, or it will get the bass' attention and then the wacky worm scootin' by behid it will trigger them.

[.dsaavedra.]

remove the rear trebble of any crankbait and add on a small spinnerbait blade for some flash.

[.dsaavedra.]

to prevent trebble hooks on crankbaits from tangling on each other/the line, take a small o-ring and take the hook off, slide the o-ring on the shank, put the hook back on, slide the o-ring up so it covers the split ring...this will prevent the hooks from swinging around so easily and tanglinng.

[.dsaavedra.]

a thin coat of clear nailpolish will get rid of tooth scratches on your hardbaits.

[Bass XL]

Thanks a ton guys, this is really going to help me out!

[Gatorbassman]

As many of you know I'm an x-ray tech. So, yes I have x-rays of several of my cranks. I use these so I won't mess up a good bait when modifying the sound and weight of the lure. It's amazing what a silent Rat-l-trap will catch.