Tubes for LMB in ponds

[Sifuedition]

I frequently fish a pond where subtlety seems to do better, most of the time. Most moving baits have been worthless on this pond. Most jigs/worms have been worthless, too, unless they were small, and even then, they've never gotten hot, just a single fish here or there. I've caught quite a few on LCB, but, I'm catching them more consistently now that I am using more Keitech's and flukes. I rarely run into anyone else fishing there, but today, I did. He said he's had luck with tube jigs along the bottom. I've never fished tube jigs for bass, only crappie. My local Academy doesn't even carry anything but the crappie sizes (Oklahoma).

 

I will need to be able to rig it weedless, because this pond has a TON of moss and salad on the bottom everywhere. Anywhere it's deeper, the salad starts about 3' deep. 

 

So, can anyone tell me the size I should be looking for and suggest good terminal tackle to rig it weedless? Thanks in advance.

[Mobasser]

Tubes can catch bass anywhere. I'm thinking hes talking about 3"- 4" size tubes. I don't think their as popular now as they were years ago, but don't let that deter you. If they would hit a tube, I would think a smaller craw or creature bait might work too. I would fish tubes with a Texas rig. For some good info on tube fishing, look up Guido Hibdon. One of the best at tube fishing

[Sifuedition]

1 hour ago, Mobasser said:

I'm thinking hes talking about 3"- 4" size tubes.

Thanks. On tacklewarehouse, 4" seemed pretty common, so that was what I assumed, but, there are some other sizes. Saw a good bassresource youtube on tube jigs, but tacklewarehouse doesn't have the weedless jig heads he uses. They do have some of the hooks like he demonstrated for the t-rig, but, the only brand they have in them is Eagle, and I'm not much of a fan of their stuff. Also, they have them in like 1-4/0 and I'm not sure which would fit the best in a 4".

1 hour ago, Mobasser said:

I would think a smaller craw or creature bait might work too.

I would, too. Unfortunately, they really haven't. I've tried some mini-jigs, with a few catches to show for it, but not many. I've also tried 2.8" Keitech Crazy Flapper, but nothing to show for it.

[Porkrind]

What part of Oklahoma are you in?

[Sifuedition]

2 minutes ago, Porkrind said:

What part of Oklahoma are you in?

Yukon. Need to find more places to fish, but, Overholser and Hefner are not great from the banks, so I stay close with a pond. I know of a couple, but I still pretty much with the one that has been the best, so far.

[Porkrind]

Yeah I live like two miles from Lake Thunderbird and must say the only lake that seems to have much access from the bank in our area is Lake Stanley Draper. I am not from the area of the state and got tired of not being able to do much good from the bank so I bought a kayak and have done extremely well and love it. It gets me around great and it’s peaceful, I love how close I can get into tight areas. 

[Sifuedition]

6 minutes ago, Porkrind said:

so I bought a kayak

I've considered that. Problem is, I had a stroke 5 years ago. Big surprise at 35, lol. Point being, my balance can be sketchy and my left hand is somewhat uncoordinated. 'Yak doesn't seem like a great idea.

[webertime]

Fat Ika...  you're welcome 

[fishwizzard]

Look up Rock River Custom Baits.  They sell a product called "Solid Head Finesse Tube" and a "Crawler Head Jig".   I would link them but their site is just awful and it's hard to get links to work sometimes.  Confidence Baits also sells that style of head as a "Draggin" head. 

 

In any case, I use small tubes rigged on a "Crawler" or "Draggin" or "Sled" heads all the time and they work great in every kind of water I have tired them in.  There isn't a good supplier for the jigheads however, just a few small vendors who all charge a ton for them.  But, they work well for a ton of different small plastic presentations in addition to tubes.  I love them with solid head tubes though, they give great plastic life and you can swap out colors and tube sizes very quickly without ripping up your plastics.  The hookgap is perfect for soft tubes and they are very weedless and great for fishing through light/soft cover that most weedless tubeheads will snag on.  

[The Fisher]

Here’s the hook in the you tube vid from bass resource It’s at TW Lazer Trokar Tournament Tube Hook Heres the link to The Bass Resource YouTube video on rigging tubes  

 

[FryDog62]

For weedless tube fishing I personally don’t like Texas rigging.  You get more of a nose-dive action which I don’t think is typical of imitating crayfish. Plus the point of the sinker can get snagged in cover.

 

There are two ways I rig tubes, both are Owner products:

 

•Phantom Tube hook: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Phantom_Weighted_Tube_Hooks_4pk/descpage-OWTH.html

 

•Owner Twistlock Light:

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Weighted_Twistlock_Light_3pk/descpage-OWTL.html

 

I really prefer the fall rate/action of either the above.  To me it’s more realistic (falls slower, more horizontal, dying action) and gets more reaction bites. 

 

If you want to try a smaller 3 inch tube, I like the BassPro Tender Tube, or if you prefer the larger 4 inch take a look at Berkley Power Tubes. 

[Sifuedition]

4 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

Phantom Tube

Does that ball actually stay pinned in there well? Seems like it would pop out easy after you push it in.

 

4 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

Owner Twistlock Light

The smallest they sell is a 4/0. Is that small enough?

[FryDog62]

1 hour ago, Sifuedition said:

Does that ball actually stay pinned in there well? Seems like it would pop out easy after you push it in.

 

The smallest they sell is a 4/0. Is that small enough?

The Phantom hook stays pinned well, watch the video on the TW page where Justin Lucas shows how to rig it.  

 

The 4/0 Twistlock hook would probably work best with a 4 inch tube, although I have used it on both a 3.5 inch and 4.5 inch Power Tube before. Might have to stretch the 3.5 a bit. 

 

Of the two hooks, if you are rigging a small Tender Tube for instance, I would use the 3/0 Phantom Hook. 

[BassinCNY]

I often fish a texas rigged green pumpkin 3.5" tender tube. If I run  out of tender tubes I'll use a 3.5" power tube. I like those two because they're soft enough to compress easily and give a good hook set when texas rigged as opposed to a tube jig with an exposed hook. I use a 3/0 gamakatsu light wire ewg hook and usually a 1/8 ounce bullet weight pegged just a little above the bait to give it good action.

[Smalls]

I love tubes. Especially in a pond, they don’t see them as often as everything else. For me, they’re a pain to rig straight, so I’ll rig a few at home if I know I’ll be throwing em.