Here is a breakdown of how I modify my body baits.
First off, I remove the front treble hook. Why do I do this? Maybe 1 time out of 10, the fish will get the front hook in their mouth; but 10 times out of 10, that hook is going to get caught up into the net. Three treble hooks stuck into a net are not a fun think to deal with, so I decided that I don't have too. Another reason is that the front and middle treble hook are constantly rubbing the paint and finish off of the lure. If you plan on having the bait for a while and want it to look as new as possible, take the front hook off. FYI, removing the front treble hook allows me to do the next modification.
The next modification your are going to see is that I change the remaining two treble hooks on the Rapala F11 body baits. Since I have had good success with the stock hooks on the Bomber Long A15's, I take the front hook off of the bombers, and use them on the Rapala F11's. As shown in the image above. This is done because I feel the stock, size 6, treble hooks on the F11's are too small for the king salmon that we are fishing for on lower Lake Huron, and I have never had any big problems with the extra bomber treble hooks lying around so why not put them to good use. Since I have more bombers that rapalas, I can do this; but if you don't I would recommend going to at least a size 4 treble hook on your F11's. The reason that the Rapalas come with relatively small size treble hooks is that, the bigger the hooks are add more weight to the lure. Which in turn affects the action of the bait. Since I am removing weight by not using the front hook, I can add weight back by using bigger hooks, and still get good lure action.
The last bit of advise that I can give you on body baits is, check them over good during the off season (especially the bombers). Where ever there is an eyelet for a hook, make sure it is not cracked or damaged in any way. Sometimes they can be fixed with a dab of super glue, otherwise you may have to throw them out or give them to your friends to use. I believe the bombers give the most problems because, when they are assembled, they are two pieces that are locked and sealed together.
In ending, I would like to share with you a story of the 3 lost body bait cases. Throughout the years of salmon fishing, we ended up collecting 3 body bait boxes. They were clear and each one was filled with between 25-30 body baits. Every color you could imagine. Well sometime around Febuary of 2002, these 3 boxes grew legs and walked off. They have been missing ever since. So if you have seen them, please let us know.