How many upgrades do you do to your lures?

[Capt. BassinLou]

I was just curious how many anglers take the time to upgrade the hardware of their lures. One example that comes to mind that we always hear about is the changing of stock hooks. What other upgrades do you do?

[Fun4me]

Hooks and split rings on treble hook baits. I think a lot of people overlook split rings, but they can be as garbage as the hooks on most baits.

I bend hooks on hollow body frogs.

I also play with different hooks sizes for fall rates etc.

[FD]

Got a tip from an MLF Pro yesterday...change your treble to red..always...sshhhhh

[topdsm0138]

I sometimes mod a few of my lures. IE: I have the Molix Lover. It's like a chatterbait except the blade is part of the body, like a crankbait. It has a crankbait type body with a single rear, free swinging hook w/spinnerbait hook. I took mine and took the single hook off in favor of a feathered treble hook. Now it's like a fat body crankbait.

Sent from undisclosed location. -Tiller Mafia

[Smallie_Stalker]

How I modify really depends on the type of the lure but I almost never fish a lure right out of the package,

All Trebles get changed out to Mustad Triple Grips, or Berkley Fusion 19 if I can't get the Mustads. I tie feather tails on a lot of different lures not just topwaters. More feathers = slower movement and less forward movement on a twitch and less feathers does the opposite.

I remove split rings from all line ties. I then either use a norman Speed Clip tied to my line or tie directly to the line tie eye. You'd be surprised how much of a difference that can make with something like a crank or jerkbait.

Prop baits I tune by bending and/or twisting the props to change how much water the spit and how far forward they move on a pull of the rod.

Buzzbaits get a lot of mods. remove the rear rivet and take off the blade. use a small file to carve a slot in the sides of the blade opening making it almost square. reattach the blade and rivet and cramp the rivet tight. Then on certain blades bend the middle of the blade upward. This causes the blade to spin erratically and makes more noise. Lastly, use a larger blade with 3 wings, or cup the blades on a regular size 2-wing more to use a slower retrieve.

I can go on and on but you all get the idea.

And dang it Lou, you stole one of my "Challenge" topics. 

[Capt. BassinLou]

Ooops sorry Smallie. Thank you for sharing your tips.

[bigjim5589]

I'll replace trebles on some lures, but some come with good trebles now. It just depends on the lure brand.  I will replace most split rings for the line tie on crankbaits and jerkbaits, and even some topwaters. Worth Manufacturing makes an oval split ring that I really like, as they're an alloy metal that is said to be stronger & lighter than similar size stainless split rings, and they don't deform like stainless. I've been using them now for many years and have never had one fail.

I'll also replace split rings for hooks, as Fun4me said, as some are not only weak, but sized wrong too. That's evident when the split ring out of the package is deformed and not closed completely. That happens when they're too small, they open them beyond what thy should and stretches them out of shape, and that will result in a failure eventually. Another thing I have started doing, is replacing stainless split rings with plated steel rings. Many of the old lures came with plated steel rings, such as Rapala, and they're significantly stronger than stainless for their size. The down side is that they'll rust, but if you're replacing trebles & split rings anyway, might as well use a stronger ring. 

A lot of you know that I make lures & tie flies, and tying trebles with feathers and some with other materials is something I've done a long time. On some lures, I'll add dressed single hooks too instead of using trebles and like FD mentioned, red trebles have their place. Like Smallie I'll add dressed hooks to other lures besides topwaters.

One other thing that no one has mentioned and being that I make a lot of my own, I prefer brass blades on spinnerbaits and other lures that use a spinner blade. Many now are stamped steel, and they can be OK, but IMO, brass blades, since they're slightly lighter, spin better than steel and they last longer since steel blades will eventually rust. That can also help in allowing spinnerbaits to run truer. Weight in the blades & other components has to be keeled by the weight of the body, and even a slight decrease in overall weight of the blades helps keep a spinner bait running true, and especially at higher retrieve speeds, and with bigger blades. 

[Oldfart9999]

It depends, many hard baits come with good hooks now a change from the old days. If I change out trebles it's for Triple Grips, I trim skirts, add or remove trailers, bend blades, add paint, add feathers, add blades, trim appendages, etc.
Rodney

[Larry Francis]

I replace most treble hooks depending on the manufacture. For some reason it seems that Gamagatsu Treble seem to grab my hands fingers and clothes better than any others which is of course a painful lesson but also why I use them.
I tune spinners and Buzzers of course but don't modify them that much.
I do modify a lot of my soft plastics looking for some different action. Trick worms I like to split the tail about 1 inch with scissors. speed worms get a cut in the tail opening the hook up more. curly tails get a 3 cut split and sometimes I remove the center piece that is left. I also do lots with dyes be it chartreuse, Orange, Red or Blue.
Does this help? Maybe only with confidence but that makes it worth it. 

[RangerAndBass]

Ok I'll be that guy....
I do not change anything, i assume the lure maker knows what they are doing.
I buy quality baits so I expect quality parts.
I've never lost a treble hook because of a split right. And never broke off a hook unless it was on a rock.
I have replaced treble hooks due to age, and maybe quality if they've bent.
I don't expect I know better then the maker.
Do I like feathered trebles yes? Do they catch more than non feathered? Not in my book. Tho one might work better one day, but not the next.
Ok I take it back... I spread out the brush weed hairs on jigs. When I remember to.
Love reading the replies though.
Thanks Lou

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[FlatsNBay]

Most get used straight out of the package but there are a few like a Devil's Horse or Boy Howdy that I will immediately upgrade the hooks.



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[coldfront]

Ok I'll be that guy....
I do not change anything, i assume the lure maker knows what they are doing.
I buy quality baits so I expect quality parts.
I've never lost a treble hook because of a split right. And never broke off a hook unless it was on a rock.
I have replaced treble hooks due to age, and maybe quality if they've bent.
I don't expect I know better then the maker.
Do I like feathered trebles yes? Do they catch more than non feathered? Not in my book. Tho one might work better one day, but not the next.
Ok I take it back... I spread out the brush weed hairs on jigs. When I remember to.
Love reading the replies though.
Thanks Lou

DITTO!  I'll join you in 'the madness'


vee out my brush guards.  gives them better lateral stability when coming through heavy cover...  plus I prefer medium stiffness bristles... so this helps get a bit softer weedguard while not making them less snagproof...

I WILL add a chartreuse tail-feather/treble to my Rebel POPr (1/4 oz; silver/blue - think it better mimics the threadfin/yellowtails here)... the others I fish 'stock'... and those are mostly KVD
splash...

okay... i will add a spot of chartreuse on the tails of my swimbaits...  so I guess I make THREE mods, but only on very specific lures and very specific applications.

I don't trim my frog skirts.  I don't bend my hooks 'out'...  for some reason, I've never needed to...

[big g]

Very few changes, but I am going to try hair jigs for peacocks when I get the boat back out it the glades.  So I'm not just fishing top water for them.

Yeats ago I took a broken back Rapala floater, took the back half off, removed all trebles,  and replaces it with EWG hook, with the point facing up.  Texas rigged a small grub on the hook.  You can throw it in the thickest cover without hang ups, just let it sit, and when pulled you get a wide wobble.  Caught a bunch of different fish on it, and still use it at Loxahatchee sometimes.  Fun to watch, lots of action.

[chrisD46]

Most will replace the hook out first and then the split rings second . Then some like to drill into crank baits to add / delete rattles , BB's , etc. to make louder , different , weigh more  or become even silent . About all that's left to do is to do a custom paint finish .

[ike8120]

I only change out the stock hooks when necessary. On some of my BFS lures I will change from a treble to single hook.

[Capt. BassinLou]

I only change out the stock hooks when necessary. On some of my BFS lures I will change from a treble to single hook.

Ike, how do you like the single hook method? Are your hook up ratios the same or better?

[BASSCATLILDAVE]

I piddle with a lot of lures. Color some change out hooks and blades. I love fooling around with all of it.

[Dink Dawg]

I change treble hooks on most baits.  Some top waters get a feathered rear hook.  Line ties are changed to Owner oval or pear shape.  Bites are hard to come by so I want my lure back with the fish still attached.

[Carolina_Thump]

Hey man, I'm new to the club & this is my first post. I upgrade all my hooks with Mustad Ultra-Points and on my cranks, especially my deep divers or anything with a significant lip, I slap on a split ring. Not because it changes the action terribly much but because it's easier to tie on and cut line from IMO at least. Other than that I sometimes scuff up my jerk baits a bit before fishing them, fish are getting a good look at em and chicks dig scars, especially fat green ones.

[Mike Cork]

chicks dig scars, especially fat green ones.

Love this 

[Smallie_Stalker]

Hey man, I'm new to the club & this is my first post. I upgrade all my hooks with Mustad Ultra-Points and on my cranks, especially my deep divers or anything with a significant lip, I slap on a split ring. Not because it changes the action terribly much but because it's easier to tie on and cut line from IMO at least. Other than that I sometimes scuff up my jerk baits a bit before fishing them, fish are getting a good look at em and chicks dig scars, especially fat green ones.

Welcome aboard. Great post to start things off.

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[Bud Kennedy]

I have often commented that the more beat up a lure looks the better it is at catching fish.

[chrisD46]

Hooks and split rings on treble hook baits. I think a lot of people overlook split rings, but they can be as garbage as the hooks on most baits.

I bend hooks on hollow body frogs.

I also play with different hooks sizes for fall rates etc.

*Great suggestions - I agree 100% !

[jwkelley51]

I've got a little box of tools, hooks, spit rings and I fix what gets broken, jerk baits and top water. I haven't noticed the aftermarket hooks being as sticky or sharper than the originals. I buy cheaper than what comes on my baits which are owner and gamakatsu for the most part. I think Ima and Spro are owned by Owner and Gamakatsu respectively.