Lure Modifications

[BassBuster22]

Ok, we all tweak or baits change this change that. we'll lets share your modifications with everyone! also post good money savin tips.

[BucketmouthAngler13]

I switch rusty hooks as often as i can and sharpen dull ones. Also i swich out bent or rusty splitrings.

Thats about it as far as lure modifications go with me. Maybe some day i'll learn to use a airbrush.

[WhiteMike1018]

Most of my lures come ready out of the box. Only thing i can think of is trimming the bristles on my jigs.  :

[BassBuster22]

I have innumerable modifications, so i'll only name a few for now. I like to paint one side of my spinnerbait blades with red nail polish, to mimic a bleeding shad. I also like to get old .22 shells and stick a few bb's in it then insert it into my tube baits. it makes a nice rattle and adds a little weight.

[BucketmouthAngler13]

Oh, and for money saving tips:

soak rusty splitrings in a bottle cap full of WD-40 overnight. Next mouring clean with rag, and wa-laa! clean splitring. (you might need to take a wire brush at really bad ones)

the same goes for rusty spinner blades. No rust can stand up to WD40 and a wire brush!

[Guest the_muddy_man]

I tried puttin scorpion hooks ( like on the sure set DT) on Jitterbugs I didnt make a difference in the end I think Im gonna reitre the 4 bugs I still carry

[basspro48]

I make many mods to many different kinds of baits, here's a couple.

Jigs- I always trim the weedguard and I trim the skirt back so it is even with the shank of the hook. Also I either add or remove rattles depending on the conditions. And one other thing I do is, if the jig has eyes in the jighead I always pop them out.

Crankbaits- I swith-out the normal split rings with the oval split-rings and if the bait has cheap hooks I switch out the hooks. I try to sharpen all the hooks after several uses. And if I dont like the paintjob on the bait I either modify it with acrylic paint or I completely redo the bait with an airbrush.

Topwaters- Again I always switch out the split-rings and the cheap hooks. And I will also modify or completely redo the paint on a topwater. Also if the line tie of the bait doesnt have a split-ring I will add one.

Spinnerbaits- I sometimes drill several small holes in the blades to create a different vibration, and I will either trim the skirt or add another skirt depending on the conditions.

Buzzbaits- I always drill at least two 1/8in. holes in the blade to create a better bubble trail and to make it throw more water. I will also either trim the skirt or add another one on a buzzbait.

Brush Hawgs- The brush hawg is my favorite soft bait to mess with, several things I like to do to it are to cut the little arms on the top of the bait so they dangle in the water, split the big paddle tails down the middle, and I sometimes remove the two ribbontails.

[senko_77]

Jigs-    After trimming some of the fibers of my jig's weedgaurd, I will fan it out.  It makes it more weedless because it covers more angles of stuff getting past it, and the thinned out fibers are easy to penetrate when setting the hook.  I will also tie marabou or bucktail on the shank of my jig for some situations.  Most of the time I fish my jigs without a rattle.  

Buzzbaits-  I sometimes replace the skirts on my buzzbaits with staflash skirts.  There translucent and it makes the fish focus more on the head of the bait.  This is really good in clear water.  

Spinnerbaits-  Of course, always have a trailer hook and the same for buzzbaits to.  I will switch the blades on my willow spinnerbaits to smaller willow blades to allow me to reel it in faster without it rolling over.  If I want to add more speed I bend the whole spinner arm in towards the head to make it more compact and I do the opposite to make it slower.  I will sometimes tie marabou or bucktail or flashabou to the shank of the hook.  I have even glued rattles to the back of colorado blades.

Poppers-  I always have a split ring.  I always have a feathered treble on the back and a red treble on the front.  I will paint the bottom gill of the bait with red nail polish if there isnt already red there.  Sometimes I will replace the front hook with a lighter wire hook so that it sits higher in the water.  If the lip is to cupped I will shave it down with a dremel to make it walk easier.

[lovecranking]

BassBuster the only money saving tip I can give you is....I don't have any. Everything I do seems to cost. On my cranks I like to change the front treble to a Lucky Craft red treble. For the rear treble, I like to use a feathered treble, either a chart feathered treble from Barlow's Tackle or a Matzuo firetiger feathered treble from Northern Bass Supply. I've had the best results with these 2 colors.

[basspro48]

lovecranking, if you wanna save money on feathered trebles then instead of buying expensive bucktail or flashabou hooks just buy a small pack of marobou and CDC feathers. Get some kind of thread and take a small pinch of marabou and 2 or 3 CDC feathers and tie them on to the rear treble. This saves money and doesn't require much skill to do.

[Catt]

There's nothing that gets me more PO'd than spinner bait or jig skirts that will not stay put so a couple years ago I found the solution. I bought some small zip ties that are 1/8 in width and 4 long but what makes them really nice is the tag end lays flat against the bait instead of sticking up.

Now the bass can't pull my skirt down   :-[

[GAMEOVER]

I never sharpen hooks but just buy new ones when needed. Sharpening them removes the rust retardant coating and will just leave you with a rusted ugly looking lure. For my Rapala crankbaits I replaced all the stock VMC hooks to VMC Sure Sets. On some Lucky Craft/MegaBass lures I will stay with VMC hooks but up the size on certain baits for better hook ups because VMC hooks can have some size/hookup issues at times but are perfectly balanced allowing the lure to perform/manuver to its full ability. For other cranks I have I slap on VMC Barbarians, these hooks are extremely nice and perform similar to a Sure Set hook as far as weeds go. The outer placed barbs allow most weeds to freely get threw them as the barb on the Barbarians wont hold them back. Im a firm believer in VMC hooks. After every trip ill run each lure I used under tap water and hand dry it really quick before I store it. Before the year starts (early spring) and/or after it ends (winter) I will look at every single lure I own and make adjustments to them if needed to make sure they run and perform at the maximum. This involves changing out O rings if needed, replacing hooks, straighting out the metal eye lids on lures, and trying to prolong its life in any way I can before I must replace it.

[BassBuster22]

the same goes for rusty spinner blades. !

Great!!!!!! I Hate it when my blades get all rusty!!!!

[MALTESE FALCON]

I ADD TRAILER HOOKS TO MY SPINNERBAITS AND BUZZBAITS AND REPLACE FRONT TREBLES WITH RED ON CRANK/JERKBAITS. I'VE ALSO ADDED DRESSED TREBLES TO THE BACK OF SOME OF MY ZARA SPOOKS.