how to fish a tube

[zbigbadaaron]

how do you do it

[Trevor in Burke]

you are replicating two things, dying/escaping shad/baitfish with certain rigs, and the STEAK DINNER for bass CRAWFISH

one word, MIZMO! http://www.mizmo.com/

I have fished many different tubes and nothing compares to the Mizmo big boy tube rigged with the 1/8 oz. insider ( a wide gap hook with a weight on it)

here are the best techniques, check out the rigging the insider tab http://www.mizmo.com/fishingluresinfo.html

however I only fish it two ways and trust me it produces, I ALWAYS throw the Green pumpkin (brown) Big boy (4") nothing beats it IMPO

http://www.mizmo.com/bigboycatalog.html half way down the page...

the only ways I fish these are rigged with the 1/8 oz. insider by hopping it off the bottom like a crawdad or dragging it slowly on the bottom. Or I sometimes use other tubes that are a tad smaller that aren't mizmo but I only do that when I'm using a small split shot 6 inches up from the hook and just darting it through the water like a baitfish, try it with a pearl or white, it's killer!

I love tube fishing, you can jerk it, jig it, pitch it, flip it, hop it, skip it, I've even caught fish with just a straight steady retrieve, GOOD LUCK and order some Mizmo Green pumpkin brown with and 1/8 oz. insider, red hooks if you can find 'em...

[brian_82]

how do you do it

To simply answer your question... ANY way you want in any area of the water column.

[Nick982]

What do the tubes look like when they are rigged, anyone have a pic?

[Trevor in Burke]

What do the tubes look like when they are rigged, anyone have a pic?

here's a link of how to rig the insider and what it looks like http://www.mizmo.com/rigginginsider.html

here's some other ways to do it

carolina rigs and texas rigs

and a weighted hook, i don't care for this, i don't see any reason to not fish something weedles when you can

[roadwarrior]

Another, which I use most often, is the standard T-rig, bullet or barrel weight, with a bead, unpegged and weedless (skin hooked).

http://www.bassresource.com/beginner/Texas_Rig.html

[foul hooked]

I love to fish tubes. I mainly skip to cover and let it drop looking for a reaction strike. I will twitch it back like a fluke sometimes. I've played with every conceivable way to rig it and have settled on rigging with an Owner Phantom tube hook. Open the link then scroll down some.

http://www.ownerhooks.com/pages/products/hooks/basshooks.htm

[Pond-Pro]

Use a bullet weight unpegged and a EWG hook.  Also I like to use it weight less and fish it over weads.  They work great!  

[G3-Basser]

My PB fish was caught on a tube (8.75 lbs) and I"ve caught several fish over 6.5 lbs on them.  I usually cast it to surface cover, twitch very quickly keeping it above the cover, then kill it and let it tumble down.  Unless I detect a strike on the fall, I will let the tube sit still for a while and then drag it a bit.  Sometimes the fish will bite it and you won't feel it until you try to move the tube.  If no fish, I'll then hop or drag it to the boat.  I used to use a lead head with a weed guard.  Those are a pain in the arse to rig, so I switched to fishing it texas rigged.  I'll usually use a very small weight, unless flipping or punching through weed mats.  The bigger tubes are fairly easy to cast even with a bait caster, just don't try anything heroic against the wind.

-J

[Gorgebassman]

I fish mine weighted and weightless texas rigged when I use a weight I peg it. I have even swam it that way as well. I mostly pitch and flip them though.

[TENNESSEE NEWSOME]

Trev and the other guys hit it on the head.  Look at the pictures in the links and you'll see how to rig it.  

There is no other bait, for me here in TN, that works better than a 3.5 in or 4 inch tube.  I t-rig it with a 1/8 oz weight identical to the t-rig pic that's linked in Trev's post above.  

I especially like throwing this bait into shallow water (3-5') and working it off steep rocky bluffs that drop to 20-25 feet.  Use the sharpest hook you can find.  I use a 3/0 for the 3.5 and a 4.0 for the 4 inch tubes.  With the T-rig, they won't hang on long, so you have to be quick to react when they bump it.  I use a garlic spray which seems to help; but I'm convinced there must be something that's even better given  what I've read here.

For me, if I don't feel structure when I'm fishing any plastic, I have little confidence.  Try to keep your bait on the bottom while at the same time on top of the rocks/structure.  If you're not getting hung up every now and then, there's a good chance the fish are somewhere else.

The only way to really learn your own technique with any bait is to just get out and do it.  But give it a chance.  Throw it a few dozen times in the same spots where you have caught bass already and you'll see why tubes are the go-to bait for a lot of fisherman.  Good luck!