tube baits

[Chet C]

i never really fished tube baits for bass, just looking for some info on the size that will work best here in the northeast PA area in the Susquehanna river, water temps are just at 38deg, i have been hearing the the tube baits are working in the river, i see there are a few different lengths, what are the preferred sizes. and colors 

 

 

chet

[Bluebasser86]

For water temps that cold, I'd stick with natural colors and tubes in the 2.5-3.5 inch range. The Strike King Bitsy and Coffee tubes are 2 of my favorites. 

[thediscochef]

I just recently got some tubes and some 1/16 and 1/8oz heads. Still figuring out what motions and such work...really trying to develop some skills on other baits cause I'm a bit of a single lure user and I need to have something I can throw elsewhere that will catch. Haven't caught anything on them yet, I think I need to just go out and only take the tubes. Same with the texas rig but that's for a different thread. 

[smalljaw67]

I like 3.5" but when the water temp dips below 40 degrees I go with a 2.75" tube.  Right now smoke/purple is the color you want.

[A-Jay]

Tubes are a solid, tried & true producer. 

 Such a simple & super versatile bait.  One that's been catching fat brown bass for me for a long time.  A bait that has perhaps fallen a little out of favor recently, something I've been guilty of the past two seasons myself.  Looking backing, that was probably a mistake.  A TUBE really is perhaps The One Brown Bass bait that I should almost always have tied on.  

  There's been a lot written about it and with good reason frankly: there's a lot to say.  

 It's common knowledge in many brown bass angling circles, just how many different ways & places a tube can be presented effectively, and how easy it is to fish.  Some may say that there is no wrong way to fish it.  Long before the 'stick bait' came along, the tube way was same deal for me:  Just whacking'em !  

   First - a tube for me is almost always a hard(er) or at least semi-clean(er) bottom deal.  

  While a couple of inches of eelgrass is OK (and sometimes exactly what the doctor ordered) anything more than that, I'm usually presenting something else that will fish through (or over) any bottom cover a bit more effectively.

  And while Texas rigs are good & Tex-pose is popular - by & large, I prefer to fish tubes on the plain old tried & true, lead head, open jig.   I fish the standard 3.5 inch size the most but will do 4" and even 2.75 inch is some instances.  The SK Coffee tubes have been great.  And before that - and still, quite a bit now - the Provider Tackle 3.5 inch "Performance Series" tubes are one of my all-time favorites.  Great colors for clear water and super durable.  As for jig head weights - 3/8's get most of my fish but lighter & heavier have their place when fishing shallow & deep.  

 What a tube 'imitates' is anybody's guess - crayfish, little bottom bait - now the goby.  May not matter.  Pick one and go with it.  This one's easy to have confidence in. 

   What may not be a surprise, I fishing tubes in places & at times when brown bass are relating to the bottom.  For me - the clearer the water (better vis) the better.  Tubes can & do work when fished with a variety of "retrieves" - hop it, drag it, pop-it; whatever.  When the brown bass are looking to eat, these will all get bit.  

  I usually fish 1/2 oz & less on Medium spinning gear - 10-15 lb braid mainline and a 8-10lb  Fluorocarbon leader (AbrazX). Heavier than 1/2 oz, I'll either pump up my spinning gear (rod & line) or go to casting gear that will present, hook & land a spirited Smallie.  3/4 oz heads are reserved for deep (more than 20-25 ft) and or big wind & waves.  This size can & does get "thrown" on the jump by bass more than the lighter heads - so that's something to be aware of. 

  My standard 'way' to fish tubes is the same regardless of depth - I fish them like a jerkbait.

Meaning there's a couple of twitches & a pause.  How many twitches & how long a pause can be dictated by the water temp and the mood of the fish.  As mentioned previously, I believe smallies like to chase - so I like to offer them that opportunity - if they're willing.  I might keep a tube moving along with a series of twitches where the bait travels 2-3 inches, pauses for a split second and then moves another 2-3 inches - I may continue this for 4-5 feet and then pause . . . . . . for like 10 seconds . . . . . . and then do it again. One may need to 'practice' this in shallow water where you can watch your bait.  There's a tendency to 'move' it too far on each twitch, which seems to nullify its effectiveness.  So it's a good Idea to check first - it requires a small movement, especially with braid.  Using Fluorocarbon can make it a little easier to get the small movements, but I lose so much hook setting power on the long casts I like to make, that I don't use it; Zona swears by the Flouro for this - I can't do it.  So I stick mostly to the braid.

 So that's just an example of ONE way - there's no limit to the number of different ways to fish it - just like the jerkbait.  

 

  Of course, the old stand-by of 'drag & stop' can be all one needs to do to get a savage take. 

There's also what's often referred to as "Snapping a Tube", where a heavier head is used and the bait is literally 'snapped' 3-5 feet off the bottom and then allowed to fall back on a slack line.  The tube will spiral back down to the bottom - which is where the vast majority of the strikes will come from.  Can be deadly but will also twist the heck out of your line - I'll often use a small swivel between my braid & leader to help with that when doing this.

  

 I'm throwing tubes up & down drops - all around and up on top of humps, off the tip and both sides of points, along the bottom of deep weedlines and across a promising deepwater flat.  There's also a few times where I found some fat brown bass cruising up shallow and I'll use an 1/8 oz head and fish the tube like a stick bait (before I knew what a stick bait was).  So I'm dead sticking it more than I'm moving it.  This is in 2-5 feet of super clear water - fish can be very skittish and easily spooked.  So I'm well back from the fish, making as long a cast as I can and sort of letting the fish 'swim into the bait'.   I try to not to move the bait too far, too fast because the 'strike zone' is right there.   So the less I do with it- the longer it's there in their face.   Less is more in this instance.

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

A-Jay

[Jig Man]

Tubes used to be my go to bait.  I make my own.  Green pumpkin, smoke, and black neon were the best three colors.  White was a very good producer in the winter.  Lately I haven’t been able to get a bite on them so have about quit using them.

[padon]

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

For water temps that cold, I'd stick with natural colors and tubes in the 2.5-3.5 inch range. The Strike King Bitsy and Coffee tubes are 2 of my favorites. 

i fish the river as well. coffee tubes in 2.75 are good  and readily available. my favorite tube is river rock baits 2.75. smoke purple and penmelon flash are my favorites. go to stc tackle and get yourself some of their weedless heads. they just have a single cable guard but are pretty weedless. they are a local company and have the right stuff for the river.

[MickD]

If I had to choose just one tube it would be Strike King coffee pro in watermelon candy.  A couple commments to add to the pretty complete article by A-Jay.  Smallmouths can be very picky at times, so picky that one thinks they are not there.  But sometimes they just want something different than what you are offering.  So little changes like the jig weight, which affects fall rate when doing a lift and fall can be a game changer.  Color too.  Size too-once they wanted smaller tubes and I didn't have them with me, but caught a few by cutting my longer ones down.  So don't think that because something worked yesterday it will work today.  Be creative and try some changes to your tube offering.

[PaulVE64]

Set The Hook tubes in "juvenile goby" and "smokey melon" in 2.5" or 4"

 

[FryDog62]

I fish river smallies quite a bit. Switch between 2.5 and 3.5 inch depending

on conditions. Cold water I tend to go with an open hook 2.5. But if any cover is around, I much prefer to rig a 3.5 weedless, but not Texas-rig which just nose-dives the lure (gets hung up more and less natural action IMHO). Center weighted keeps it from snagging as you drag along the bottom like an actual crayfish. By far, best hook/weight system for me has been 1/16-1/8 oz Owner Phantom Tube rig.  It’s a go-to for die-hard “Tubers.”
 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Phantom_Weighted_Tube_Hooks_4pk/descpage-OWTH.html

 

 

[Chet C]

my son and his buddy here caught this small mouth, not sure on the length, but it weighed 5lb 7oz on a tube, i meant to asked him what tube but  went on to another spot, my son caught a small bass and 2 walleyes they are shore fisherman

 

chet

this is the smallmouth my son's buddy caught the other day

 

chet

[Glenn]

Tubes, tubes, TUBES!  One of my favorite baits. I've been fishing them hard since the mid-80's.  So I made a bunch of videos on them.  I won't list them all here, but here's a few to get you started:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

I don’t fish rivers, don’t have any to fish. I’ve been catching fish in a few different ponds in water in the low 40s. I love the 3.5 inch strike coffee tube. Only tube I throw.

[gim]

I use a variety of tubes for both green bass and brown ones. I prefer to use a smaller version for brown bass. The bigger tubes are reserved for greenies. I like to use them with a tube jig but sometimes it’s just too weedy so I use a gamagatsu skip gap hook pegged with a bullet sinker.

 

By the way if you didn’t know, Berkley just introduced a max scent tube a couple months ago. I bought some in October but I won’t be using them until May.

[Chet C]

14 hours ago, gimruis said:

I use a variety of tubes for both green bass and brown ones. I prefer to use a smaller version for brown bass. The bigger tubes are reserved for greenies. I like to use them with a tube jig but sometimes it’s just too weedy so I use a gamagatsu skip gap hook pegged with a bullet sinker.

 

By the way if you didn’t know, Berkley just introduced a max scent tube a couple months ago. I bought some in October but I won’t be using them until May.

HI Gimirus

 

  gonna go out today and check a few stores for the max scent tube, hope they have it something close to the coffee color

 

chet

 

ps got the booster shot on monday, knocked me for a loop all day yesterday chills no appetite, everyone told me no issues, but i had to be the one, better today

 

 

[gim]

1 hour ago, Chet C said:

HI Gimirus

 

  gonna go out today and check a few stores for the max scent tube, hope they have it something close to the coffee color

 

chet

 

ps got the booster shot on monday, knocked me for a loop all day yesterday chills no appetite, everyone told me no issues, but i had to be the one, better today

 

 

I have to imagine that the max scent tube is gonna be tough to find. If it’s anywhere as popular as the max scent flat worm, it will be in high demand.

 

Everyone has a different reaction to injections. Or a virus for that matter. Good luck with the tubes and side effects.