How do you modify baits?

One thing I love about fishing is tweaking & modifying a bait to make it look a little bit different. Well, I was messing around from the bank the other day and saw some fish sucking and chasing at the surface. I tied on shad colored Cabin Creek tube and went to work. I had it texas rigged with a 1/8 oz slip sinker. I noticed that the bait was hugging the bottom and I wanted to get it off the bottom a little bit more.

Took a toothpick and pegged the sinker about 14" above the bait. Took about half of a packing peanut and plugged it up inside the tube. The packing peanut made the tube float up off the bottom. I ended up catching one dragging and twitching the bait.

What are some ways you like to modify a bait?

Nothing special here, but I always change to quality hooks.
Nice tip with the packing peanut.

Jigs are pretty much all that I modify out of the package. I trim the skirt to the back bend of the hook, trim the weedguard to where it is just above the hook point. The skirt trim is to make the bait a smaller compact bulkier bait and the weedguard trim is so the bait will still be weedless but less guard in place to compress when the fish takes the bait. The skirt trim also lets more of the trailer show thru which I think makes the jig look more like a crayfish with his pinchers up in a defensive position when dragged on bottom.

That packing peanut deal is cool, never thought of that one, thanks.
Topwater chuggers, Pop R's and the like. I file the bottom lip down to make them go side to side and spit more water.

Trim Jigs like Elwood said and also spread the weedguard out to for better hookset. That's an ole Lonnie Stanley trick.

Peg worms, and use alot of dye's to alter color.

Use Suspend dots to alter actions and bouyancy on cranks and jerkbaits, these are just a few that I do regularly.

if you have trouble finding packing peanuts you can also use foam ear plugs,i will borrow a few from work and keep in the box
also like coloring up crankbaits with sharpie colored markers.

On tube trick I do is fish it on a jig head rather than texas rig. It fishes much different on a jig head having better feel on rock and I can better swim it on a jig head. If you just straight up rig a tube on a jig head after fishing it a bit and catching a few fish and dragging it through the rocks it will tear and not stay up on the head. I take a piece of a worm - 3/8" or so and push it all the way up in the head of the tube and when rigged on a jig head it will stay on far better. I have had jigs rigged this way where I have fished all night on one tube catching dozens of fish.

kc

Like the other guys, I trim my jig skirts and change to quality treble hooks on my topwaters and crankbaits. Sometimes I add a rattle to jigs and soft plastics if the water is stained to muddy to help the fish find the bait better.

I have taken the holographic eyes out of swimbaits that can no longer be used and stuck them on the front of spinnerbait blades to make the blades appear more like shad.

Other than that, sometimes you can take parts off like arms or legs off plastics (like brush hogs, etc.) to give them a more subtle action when the fishing is tough. Basically I will try just about anything when the bite is tough and I'm not getting results.:cool: