Tubes, Tubes, Nothing but Tubes

[Jaderose]

Going out tomorrow and will be a single bait day.  Taking 2 rods.......one for nothing but tubes.  I haven't spent a lot of time with them and I think it's time I learned about them.  Will be Texas rigging them, throwing weightless, drop shot, etc.  And my frog rod.  Gotta take my frog rod.  Any tube pointers to throw my way?  I've watched Glenn's excellent tube videos and even bought some of the Shaw Grigsby Tube hooks because of it.  I really like those.

[A-Jay]

Don't forget the Drop Shot tube ~ a real fan favorite - especially for our host.

A-Jay

 

[Outdoor Zack]

Follow the frog up with the tube when you can, especially around docks

[EvanT123]

Many baits would work for the techniques you listed. I'm sure a tube works just as good or better for any of those techniques. You forgot to list what makes the tube a tube...dragging or bouncing it of the bottom with an internal jig head. 

[Megastink]

I love the Strike King 4.5" Flipping Tube Texas rigged. I choose a 4/0 ewg and at least a 3/8oz bullet weight, up to 5/8oz. Tubes tend to fall in a spiral, which is great in pitching situations. The vast majority of your bites will be in the first drop, so pitch, lift once: if there's no 'weight', reel in and make another pitch. 

I use my heavy duty pitching setup, which is a 7'7" H Duckett White Ice.  20-25lb Fluoro over braid because I use braid only for frogging and punching. 

Good luck!

[lakeannaangler]

Skip them under anything you can.  Also try fishing them with a soft jerkbait like retrieve

[d-camarena]

I love the stupid rig

[Molay1292]

The further back from the nose the line tie is the more they will spiral.

 

[Bankbeater]

I like to fish tubes in the same places I fish jigs. 

[scaleface]

I  texas rig everything .  I've told this before on here .I went fishing one day and forgot to bring along my soft plastics . I searched through my gear bag and found a new pack of  Black Fatz Gizzit's. I texas rigged them and didnt skip a beat .

[Jaderose]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

I  texas rig everything .  I've told this before on here .I went fishing one day and forgot to bring along my soft plastics . I searched through my gear bag and found a new pack of  Black Fatz Gizzit's. I texas rigged them and didnt skip a beat .

This is pretty much what I'm gonna do.  The little lake I fish doesn't lend itself very well to using a tube jig.  Waaaaay too many lay downs and stumps and structure.  Just gonna try some different methods.  Will Probably try to DS and Carolina rig them as well.  Will also play around with the Stupid rig

[*Hootie]

Tubes are one of my favorite baits. Tubes and Beavers....Beavers and Tubes. 

Hootie

 

[Glenn]

Here's the playlist of tube videos:

 

[Cgolf]

For me Tubes are the most versatile bait out there. I always have fished them weedless on a slider spider head. I fish them everywhere from docks to reeds. With the slider head they come though dense weed beds pretty well too. I try to carry a few craw colors for bottom bouncing or dragging retrieves and some preyfish imitations when fishing the tube like a jerkbait or doing a big lift and drop retrieve to imitate a dying baitfish. I did fish a stupid rig for the first time on the river yesterday and was impressed with the action, I am excited to try it on lakes soon. The reason I never used the internal heads before was due to the weeds, but the stupid rig covers that for me.

I have found water red to be a pretty versatile color. It seems to work both on bottom and up in the column too.

[Jaderose]

3 hours ago, Glenn said:

Here's the playlist of tube videos:

 

These are great videos, Glenn.  These are pretty much what got my going to spend some time with Tubes.  I've thrown them and caught a few but haven't really dove into them before now.

[bowhunter63]

I have been fishing them weightless T-Rigged with a jerk and pause to mimic shad. Been doing real well with them.

 

 

[Choporoz]

About six weeks ago, I gathered up all the tubes I have...2 inch to some 5 inch monsters...probably a dozen packs or so....and hid them all in the back of the closet so I wouldn't be tempted to take them out again.  I've watched and read and watched and read some more..but I cannot get bit on them.  Even on a river yielding dozens of smallies a day...nothing.  Trig, tube jig heads, weedless tube jig heads, weightless....doesn't matter.  I'm sure its largely a confidence thing now and I have little patience when I try them, but unless you count fat Ikas, I've caught exactly one bass on a tube....someday, I'll try them again, but not this year; I just get impatient and frustrated.

[Turkey sandwich]

I think tubes are amongst the most versatile tools in your box. Fishing for smallmouth, I almost always have one tied on.  I'll fish them on a jig most of the time, but there are a TON of T-rig variations that can change the action to match almost any condition.  Keel weighted hooks, stuffing them with broken Senkos, gluing rattles inside, Dip'n'Dye to add fluorescent colors, and even just C-rig or dropshot all provide completely different presentations and can allow them to mimic almost anything. 

Also, @Megastink is spot on about turning tubes (especially large 4"+) into pitching and punching baits.  I'm actually shocked we don't see it more.  They clear heavy cover well, collapse to allow a good hook set(even in heavy salad), and tend to be a lot more durable than most punching baits because there isn't just a single flappy appendage that gets torn off on the first fish/snag.  With a tube, you just turn it and hook it again.  

 

[crypt]

I use tubes for flipping and sometimes on a carolina rig,along with all the other uses.great all around bait.

[papajoe222]

I didn't see you list rigging backward (one of my favorites), or with an internal jig. I'm guessing you'll be fishing vegetation. If that is what you'll be fishing, don't count out punching with a tube.  I haven't used anything but a tube for punching since I first tried a tube. 

[Hot Rod Johnson]

I use 4" Berkley Havoc Ike's Smash Tubes in Black Red Flake/Chartreuse, Green Pumpkin White, Hawkeye and Hot Mess colors. They will fall and glide erratically on every cast, the flatter smashed body makes it easier for hook penetration and the fatter tentacles deliver increased water displacement. The effect of the line often dictates the action of a lure. That's why I use 1/8 oz. weight with 8 pound , 1/4 oz. weight with 12 pound fluorocarbon line.