I have been doing a little experimenting and I think I may have found a simple solution.

I pushed a 1/4 inch piece of 80lb mono through the belly near the bottom of the bait. It keeps the hook from just pulling through, but with minimal force the hook still comes through. It seems like a good way to control how much gap there is between the hook point and the top of the bait too.

I haven't tried it in the water yet and I guess that will be the ultimate test.