TUBE FISHING 101
by Bryon Simmons

TUBE FISHING 101

I love tube fishing. The simple tube jig has delivered more fish for me over the years than any other technique. The reason for that is the incredible versatility in presentations that you can do with a tube. They can be fished horizontally and vertically in the water column; on the bottom, on the surface, and everywhere in-between.

I first discovered tube fishing in 1986. Back then, the only tube out there was the old Garland’s Gitzit. I can remember buying a sampler pack of Gitzits with a bunch of funny looking jigheads in a Plano storage box……I think I got it from Bass Pro Shop, but not sure of that anymore.

Anyway……..the first attempt at tube fishing was on a favorite farm pond back then, and in the first hour of tossing a tube, I had caught 16 fish, and missed a handful more, mostly because I was screwing up my hooksets. After making a few adjustments to the hookset process, my hook-up ratio increased dramatically from that point forward. I had a tendency to set the hook like a plastic worm….lots of shoulder action, and trying to “cross the eyes”…..it took a few (missed) fish to teach me to set the hook with a quick wrist snap.

A few years after that, I moved to Florida for a brief year, and took my tube fishing to the Harris Chain, Kissimmee river, and a few other great bodies of water. Most guys were worming down there, ( and still are, I suspect)…my tubes caught a lot of fish around boat docks, etc……and also caught a lot of slack from the locals. J

Anyway……..I spent a few years refining my tube fishing methods in local creeks, ponds and lakes here in my native West Michigan. I learned a few tricks along the way, and want to share them with you. I know that there are plenty of guys out there who are better tube fishermen than myself……….but I will share my knowledge in spite of that.

Lets go through a few presentations that will catch fish for you with this awesome lure.

DANCING

This is the original method that I learned how to fish tubes……back in the early days, this was the only presentation I used, and although there are a ton of different ways to fish a tube, this remains my “go-to”

Dancing is exactly that………dancing your tube both vertically and horizontally in the water column. This is best done on spinning tackle, and a 6 ½ to 7 foot medium to medium light action rod, spooled with 8-10 lb test.

For this approach, I use an exposed hook…in fact, most of my tube fishing, with the exception of flipping, is done with the hook exposed. You will get some hang-ups now and again, but your hookup percentage will be MUCH higher……so gain some confidence in your ability to work a tube through grass and timber…..the results are worth the effort.

Simply toss the tube to cover, and allow it to sink a bit….use lighter heads in calmer water….the idea is to use the lightest head you can in the conditions you are fishing. LIGHTER IS BETTER, at least in my experience. As the tube is descending, simply lift the rod tip up to about 10 o’clock, and let the jig drop back down.. As with any jig……….99% of your strikes come on the fall…..so let it fall as much as you can. Lift and drop……do not do it in a rhythm…do it erratically……..you will trigger more strikes that way. Jig it quick, and jig it slow….let the fish tell you what they want. Dancin a tube is a productive way to cover a lot of water, and catch some good numbers of fish.

Try stuffing a cottonball loaded with scent into the nose of your tube prior to rigging. Also, an old trick of mine………a chunk of Alka-Seltzer. (No kidding)

BOTTOM DRAGGING.

This technique is another effective way to catch deeper fish. Smallmouth are susceptible to getting caught using this method. Simply let the tube drop to the bottom, and drag it along, similar to fishing a skirted jig. I have found that a rattling tube head is very effective for getting some additional strikes using this presentation. Best if fished around rip-rap and other rocky cover. You are working to mimic a craw in this method…..work the tube in an erratic starts and stop motion.

FLIPPING

This is a relatively new twist on tubing…….done with flipping sticks, 3/8 to ½ oz bullet weights, rigged Texas style, and flipped to heavy cover, in the same manner as a flipping jig. I have seen this technique produce when jigs and other lures flipped to the same cover produce nothing.

TUBES ARE VERSATILE

They can be fished fast, slow and any speed in-between…….top, bottom, and any depth in the water column. Color is always a consideration for anglers…….although I think that it concerns the fishermen more than the fish. I will probably catch some slack here, but I would venture to say that color is secondary in importance to presentation. That said, my most productive color in any water is smoke/black/red flake. Why is unknown……I just know it works.

Get some tubes, and give them a try…….we offer a wide variety of tube jighead styles to match any conditions. www.daimonlures.com

Happy tubin’!!!!!

About the Author

Bryon is the owner of Daimon Lures, a manufacturer of custom, handcrafted fishing lures. With over 30 years of bass fishing experience, and over half a decade of doing business on the web, Bryon has a unique perspective on ecommerce, and how it relates to the fishing community.

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