The sissy tube

[Chris]

For years that is exactly how people viewed this bait because it meant light line and a finesse touch. Well, things have changed that's for sure and people are using this sissy bait in many different configurations to win more and more tournaments each year. The tube was mainly used to fish deep clear lakes much like the drop shot is used today. Years ago it wasn't a bait that every angler used because it didn't have anything to it. People would just stick it on a jig head and drop it down to fish hanging on deep clear water structure. Mainly people just fished it vertically. The Gitzit tube made popular by Guido was made by hand cutting the tails which close up when it falls to trap air and slows the fall and the spiral as it falls. If you ever seen a stunned baitfish it has a similar fall to this bait. After each cast squeeze out the water inside the tube to recreate that same fall. Guido also made popular a technique of skipping a tube under docks or over hanging tree's. This put a baitfish imitator in places few lures at the time could go. Shaw Grigsby came up with the perfect tube hook called the HP hook that had a safety pin attached to it. This enabled you to rig a tube weedless and attached an internal weight. Now you have a compact bait that is even easier to skip. This opened doors to new possibilities. The tube also when skipped mimics a fleeing baitfish which is another new door that other lures cannot do at the time. Sight fishing was born out of a need to catch fish with something that looked and acted real and at the time a tube was as close as it got. I am not talking about bed fishing I am talking about I see a fish and I cast and catch the fish I see. These days the senko is the lure of choice because of the fall. Back then and for some even today a tube spiral fall is deadly. You can rig it with a belly weight and achieve the same senko fall. These days the fat Ika has replaced the belly weight. Remember clear water fish feed by sight another way to catch them is to just swim the bait. A tube doesn't have a swimming action built in but because it is the right size and color of bait fish it still works. Fishing this bait Texas rig on the bottom mimics a crawfish perfectly. Hank Parker years ago used a tube on a Carolina rig which opened a new door of possibilities. Weightless with just a hook was the first soft jerkbait in case you didn't know. The slug-go came soon after. Carolina rigging this bait some people pushed some foam in the bait to make it float others would take the top part of a tube and cut it off and push it into the back of another tube to create an air pocket. There are tubes on the market today that have a wider umbrella skirt that helps the bait fall slow vertically. This style tube works great for displacing water and flipping in stained water. Larger flipping tubes made it posable to fish deep in grass and other places that the sissy tube had never gone before. Now the same bait that was known as a sissy bait became a power fishermen's dream. That same pocket that years ago was used to trap air was now being used for splitshot weight, cotton for scent, rattles, and all kinds of other things. Some guys even fill it with foam and use it as a topwater bait like a spook. This is also a great bait for rat fishing on slop. Like I said before that sissy bait has a lot of possibilities

[flechero]

Chris,

Thanks for taking the time to post this!  Your post answered several questions I had about tubes and was a good read to boot!!

-keith

[Raul]

Chris you 're giving away confidential information  , by the time you hit the water next year all your hunny holes will be crowded with guyz tossing in tubes.  :

[Panamoka_Bassin]

Nice article, Chris, it says what I've known for a while now...Tubes are deadly.  All this past summer, it was my "go-to" bait, either an olive green or neon black t-rigged or weightless.  I think that they also look alot like tadpoles sometimes, and by skipping them from just off the shore into lillies or other vegetation made for some explosive hits.  Also, I have had more fish come up out of the water to bite it just before it hits the water.  The only negative I can say about tubes is that they can be tough to rig "weedless", as there's so much rubber the fish can't always push the hook through for a clean set.  My advice for when this happens is to let the bass take the bait for a few moments (as long as 2 or 3 seconds) before setting the hook, kinda like using a weedless frog.

[Guest River_stumps]

The Gitzit was and still is a good bait. I used it alot when it first came out. I bought a bunch of them and fished them with a weed gard 2.0 lead head burried inside the tube. I used it as a Jig and caught lots of fish on it.  But some how I stopped using it for a number of years..But last year we were in some lillie pads and I tied one of those things on that had been in my boat for about 12 years. And now I keep one tied on all the time.  Now there are so many different ways that you can rig them and fish them. It is one good bait. I don't theink the tube baits today are as good as the Gitizs. If you haven't tried one, you ought too.

[CBedo]

The tube with an internal weight makes a great drop shot weight as well.

[Nick_Barr]

Nice article Chris, You Should be Writing articles for Bassresource's tips and tactics page.

[Guest avid]

Chris rocks  8)

[justtrying]

chris, i really appreciate the time & effort that went into your post.

i was in a position last week that i just "knew" that i had something like a tube, i could have caught lots more fish.  i have never fished a tube more than a few minutes, then, i'd tie on something else. now, i intend to spend some time learning the magic of the TUBE.   Thanks for the information (AND, for the willingness to share it - Where else could you go & find as much useful info?????   nowhere that i know!)

[Jeff P.]

I just want to add my appreciation for your writing, Chris.  I really enjoy reading your articles, and appreciate your willingness to share information in a manner that is easy to read and understand.

[BASSMAN1301599783]

Chris rocks 8)

Well said sir.

[Rattlinrogue]

Nice post,Chris.Tubes are my #1 flipping/pitching bait.

[stratoscaster]

You have my thanks as well Chris.  Your information is both educational and motivational.   What time of year do you recommend tubes or do you fish tubes year round?

[mobassattack]

I believe with articles like this it gives us anglers or at least myself more confidence with this and other paticular baits thank man.

[basser89]

Hey Chris,

Thanks for giving me a little more confidence in one of my confidence baits!

[MichiganBass]

I fish tubes 95% of the time, and I truly mean 95%.

All summer and right through late fall. It is without a doubt my #1, nothings close.

Just caught my 24 inch 6 lb Largie this morning on one.

[Chris]

Thanks guys for the replies I really do appreciate them

[Chris]

I fish them year round as the opportunity presents itself and when the conditions are right. Like all lures each one has its place and when it is the right tool for the job I use it.

[Guest avid]

I'm new at tubin' but  I became a believer last week when it was the only lure that got bit.  Even beat out jigs and senkos.  Awesome.  Funny but I haven't thrown it since.  We get stuck in out ways, but I'm determined to learn how to fish it well, so I will be rigging it everyday for a while.

[zimmy]

i also use the tube bait alot. the one thing i found is if you squirt in some liquid fish attractant the bass seem to bite on the tube more aggressively and tend to hold on harder . just a little tip that works for me

[phisher_d]

Posts like that are what make this site the best.

Awesome job Chris

[stratoscaster]

Would a tube be a good choice in crystal clear water, probably around sixty degrees, full of weeds, avg depth around 8 to 12 ft?  If so what color and technique?  Going in the morning would like to work on fishing a tube some.

[fireandice]

Anyone have good luck with the tube bite in fall?  I've been hitting pretty good with senko's but I have some tubes that I haven't caught any fish on yet.  I'd like to land some just to remind myself that it's possible.  I'm gonna try it again.  It just seems sort of heavy for the shallow ponds that I fish.  I've been catching good fish this fall, but it seems to have a lot to do with a slow fall, like a weightless senko.  Maybe I'll hit the local lake and try the tube among the riprap and submerged trees.

[Bass Hammer]

Thanks Chris,

Great job.

[Chris]

Slow fall can be achieved by using a strike king flipping tube that has a solid head and just rig it Texas rigged or just use a fat ika. You can also fill the tube with a piece of plastic worm shoved inside of it then use a lead nail or a finishing nail cut off and insert it into the worm. You can use a floating worm as your insert and then weight it to counter balance it to adjust the fall rate. You can also just rig it on a grub jig head. Fall I use white or clear with some flake in it to make it look like a shad. Sometimes when I am bed fishing I use a tube jig head insert that has some feathers tied to the hook shank this way if I just move it slightly the feathers really move. In clear water under fall conditions is where the tube shines as a shad imitator. If I am fishing it on the bottom then I go with crawfish colors and in summer I like watermelon.