modified lures.

for some reason, I enjoy futzing with lures and rigs.  most mods are lame and worthless, but some seem to be good (usually the ones somebody else thought up).

here's a megabait live jig with one of those gamakatzu nose hooks (barb on the outside of the loop so line doesn't catch on it), and a big single
on the tail. I don't think the big single is an improvement other than as an anti-snag for the non-Arts of the world, but the nose hook hooked a lot of fish.

and here's a 7" fishtrap with a trap-rigged rear hook.  30lb braid attaching the rear hook should also prevent the tail from being bitten and pulled off, and maybe also help stop the bait sliding down the shaft of the hook.

both got good hits yesterday from lings. The tail hook on the fishtrap got some fun rockfish.

Very smart modifications.....

Is the braid from the tail hook of the swimbait attached to the jighead eye or hook?

I have thought of doing the same thing with swim baits as well. However I never spent anytime trying to add the extra hook.
Jason

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA. SO MANY TAILS I HAVE LOST IN BIG SUR TO HOARDS OF JOHNNY BASS AND BLACKS. CHEF

Nice setup on the Mega Bait.  I find them too expensive for my taste.  

I have done some mods myself.  And it has proven effective.
Taking a cheap imitation Diamond Jig and tieing the line to the swivel.  Then adding a treble hook on the bottom.  The treble hook has bent in the past, which is a good thing when you are caught in the rocks.

I have caught fish on the single hook, caught fish on the treble, and sometimes caught 2 blues one on each hook.  IMO this is a deadly setup.

Chuck,

tied line to the hook. got idea from big hammer web page. they trap rig 3" swimbaits when trolling for trout.

basically:

1. pretie length of braid with a loop.

2. use bait needle to pull loop through swimbait. compress tail section so you can get the loop over the hook.

3. straighten.

4. cackle at the thought a fish trying to bite the tail off your $2.00 plastic.

I actually did not do the loop trick, I just threaded and tied a knot; it is a pain trying to keep the length right.

action on lure is still pretty good, but smaller trap hook, better action.

potto, yeah, that megabait is expensive and the stupid nose hook cost $1, cause it was all pre-tied.  But it did get smacked. And it does look beautiful. Almost like you caught a fish just hooking the lure on...

chuck,  one more thing.  

a good size rockfish on the trap hook bent the main hook. twisted it to
the side. these are the select jig heads with the owner hooks. the hook
is sharp but I think it is a little less strong, not sure.

That might be an argument for attaching to the eye, but I will keep
attaching to the hook for now.

Jmairey... Thanks for the tips.  Using a bait needle is a good idea.

I do a hair-tied treble tails on my rattle traps, rebels, etc,. Seems to work pretty darn good for those stripers (thanks to ChuckE for setting me on this with his x-rap)

I tie the treble in the following manner:

1)  using crimson thread, 3-4 strips of crystal flashabou on each "junction" of the treble
2) 8-10 strips of white bucktail (sometimes i use superhair) on each junction
3) wrap "head" of crimson thread
4) finish with head cement (or sometimes i use glitter nail polish)
5) trim the tail to about 1" or so, straight cut.