One quick modification that I tend to do regularly is downsize my hooks. In the image, the hooks underneath the crankbait on top are the stocks hooks. I switched them out about two sizes smaller. You might be thinking, "Why would you do that? I hear all the time about pros switching stock hooks to bigger, beefier trebles." I'm not saying what they are doing is wrong. For the waters they fish and the situations they fish in--big money tournaments--it makes sense to do what they do. I mainly fish small local ponds, so below are some reasons why I tend to put smaller, thinner-wire hooks on my crankbaits.
Smaller hooks give crankbaits (especially smaller ones) more livelier action. In my mind, when I hit the lure against a rock or structure, it deflects more creating more reaction strikes.
Smaller hooks make the lure run shallower, which gives me more control when burning my crankbait in shallower waters along the bank and above the tops of grass near the surface.
You can get your crankbait through structure and pop it out of the grass easier with smaller hooks. And, if you get hung-up really bad, you can bend out thinner wire hooks and avoid loosing your $14.00 crankbait.
Believe it or not, you'll get better hooksets; that is, I tend to use ultra-light to medium light fiberglass baitcasting rods when pond fishing and it's a lot easier to punch through a thinner wire hook and get a solid hook set than a heavier gauge hook. In fact, if you don't match your hooks with the right type of line and rod action, you might be loosing a lot of fish that you could have landed (I'll write about this in more detail soon).
Last but not least, if you're using a very popular crankbait that everyone is using, the subtle difference in action may potentially lead to more strikes especially in highly pressured ponds.
If you're a tournament angler with money on the line and use thick line, heavy powered rods, and have lures to spare then up-sizing your trebles makes complete sense. However, if you fish small ponds like I do where 9 ft is considered "deep" and a 5 pounder is the baddest bass in the lake, downsizing your hooks might be a better bet to get more action.
