Author Topic: mods .... or whatever floats your boat  (Read 9822 times)

Offline senkosam

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mods .... or whatever floats your boat
« on: 05/06/23 03:16 UTC »
The number of modifications that can change soft plastic baits is limitless. Why modify? For the H of it of course! Just kidding.
Lure design in general became money makers going back decades. Flies for fly fishing are nice but not versatile nor much fun when fish are deep. Lure design takes that and many more things into account such as lure properties that affect a fish's senses differently. For example: the use of metal blades (Mepps and other bladed lures) provides flash and a pulsating vibration that stimulates the lateral line.

Soft plastic modifications can be as simple as cutting off the curl tail from a curl tail grub. The action/profile is then totally different and surprisingly catches all fish species and fish sizes! Dipping plastic bodies for example in hot plastic also changes a lure's body mass and profile.
Attaching a part of one lure to another has the same effect: a change in the original fish's strike-trigger that may or may not improve catches. But hey, they're fun to do on days I can't fish and exciting when fish strike them consistently.

Here are a few what I call hybrid or Frankenstein lures (a label someone applied seeing as how my first name is Frank ;D).

Two grub bodies were melted together to not only increase body size after removing the curl tails, but create a mini stick that can be rigged the usual way but also wacky rigged with grub hook in the center.


I wanted to enlarge the Crappie Magnet body and joined the tail to a long one:

This very large white sucker decided to munch on one:

Magnet tail added to a hand-poured stick segment:

Here a thin tail from one grub was joined to a segment of Fry Fry stick:


This claw from a craw lure was added to a grub body and fish blasted it!


Finesse Fin tail was added to a French Fry segment:


A thin tail was added to a different color grub body and caught this decent perch:


« Last Edit: 03/28/24 08:33 UTC by senkosam »

Offline bigjim5589

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Re: mods .... or whatever floats your boat
« Reply #1 on: 05/08/23 12:31 UTC »
I enjoy your posts, even the long ones!   You always have some interesting mods that result in some really nice looking & obviously productive baits. Do It Molds could learn a thing or two about some of your designs.  ;D

Offline Do-It Corp.

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Re: mods .... or whatever floats your boat
« Reply #2 on: 05/08/23 15:36 UTC »
Some very creative shapes. 

Always appreciate the time you take to share with us your custom work.  Thank you.

Offline efishnc

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Re: mods .... or whatever floats your boat
« Reply #3 on: 05/08/23 21:31 UTC »
For all of the reasons you mention, one of my favorite bait molds Do-it has put out is the Tango Tube with the zig-zag spline... bulky, small, vibration, wiggle... it's a combo plate of fish catching uniqueness.

Offline senkosam

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Re: mods .... or whatever floats your boat
« Reply #4 on: 03/28/24 02:36 UTC »
Thanks fellow fanatics!

BTW, a candle flame was used to slightly melt each end to be joined and then a battery-powered soldering iron to smooth and strengthen the seam. Crazy glue is messy and doesn't always create a strong bond. I suppose it's possible to use a lighter, but with far less control.
« Last Edit: 09/05/24 05:20 UTC by senkosam »