Gimme some tube tips!

[5bass]

Been putting them off long enough,I have a few hundred tubes that have never gotten wet.Any tube pro's want to give up a little info?

Such as:

When?Where?Best Technique?Best type weight/hooks?And any other important info you want to give up.

Let's hear it.

[Rob G.]

Tubes are basically my go-to bait.  I fish them a lot.  Just texas rig with the smallest bullet weight you can get away with.  Like jigs, sometimes fish want a slow fall, sometimes a fast one.  I usually start without pegging the weight.  If in really heavy weeds I will peg it.  Rig your hook, I use a #4 EWG for 4 inch tube, tex-posed.  If you find that you are missing fish, inspect your weight.  If there are small superficial grooves in it, you are opening the fishes mouth upon hookset with the weight.  In that case I rig the but with the weight inside of it.  There are commercially made weights for this but a cheaper way to go is to get a bell sinker.  Insert the brass line eye into the top of the tube, then insert your hook, making sure to put the point of the hook through the sinkers eye.  Then rig texposed.  I also rig like this anytime I want a bit of a slower fall, or want to the tube to fall horizontally.  Sometimes this is what the fish want.  It is also very easy to skip a tube with the weight inside of it.  I can accomplish this with baitcasing reel, but is easier with a spinning rig.  When up north in clear lakes I use a jig head.  You can texas rig a jig head, but mostly I rig it with the hook exposed.  And lastly, tubes can be great surface baits, expecially across the top of slop.  Fishing tubes as surface baits does cause considerable line twist, but is very effective at times.  Hope this helps.  PM me if you have other questions, I am sure I forgot a rigging technique or two.  Just thought of one, sometimes I will insert a glass or metal rattle into the tube prior to texas rigging.  Is not always necessary, but does produce more fish sometimes.  I almost always rig with a rattle during tourneys as I know it does not hurt anything.

[CJ]

I fish a tube with a slide in jighead.I fish them deep on ledges,humps,and points.I usually go to this pattern after the spawn.Alot of smallmouth and largemouth become good bottom feeders during the post spawn and throughout the summer months.I present it slow and on the bottom,I just drag it.I know there are other ways to fish them they are very versitile but I have my best luck on them this way.

My favorite brands are:

                               Mizmos and BPS 3 1/2 in. tender tube

[Will]

Tubes have a great body for flipping and pitching thick stuff and weeds, they don't have any arms or flippers that are going to tangle on the way down. They also will glide all over if you don't kill the action with heavy weight. I really enjoy fishing them weightless like you would a fluke. A little trick for fishing texas rigged, is to make a 1/2" on the bottom of the tube where your hook comes around for a better hookset.

[nwgabassmaster]

Women wear tube.................tops that is. Not recommended for manly wear. :-/

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Cajun1977]

ive

seen guys who fish tubes on jigheads put superglue on the jig  to keep the tube from sliding off

seen people put alkaseltzer in the tube cavity to create a fizz to attract fish

also torn or  worn out tubes can be fished wacky rigged

[basser89]

Behind a spinnerbaits, tubes are my next in line confidence bait and always have one rigged up!

I like bulky tubes, BPS Magnum flippin tubes and Mizmo Big Boy tubes.

I fish them year round (mostly t-rigged) on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG with the lightest weight I can get away with (my most productive weight, wind permitting, is a 3/16oz). In cold water, I'll pitch into heavy cover or structure in deeper water, slowly shake it a few times and then very slowly drag it across the bottom. Once the water warms up and I see crawfish, I'll target laydowns and mimic their movements. When the grass gets thick, I usually flip and pitch into the pockets and let it fall to the bottom on slightly slack line, if it hits the bottom, I'll shake it in place for a little bit before I move to the next pocket. If the grass is very thick and matted, I'll up the weight (up to 1/2oz) and punch it through the thickest stuff I can find, hop it a few times before moving on. I usually peg my weight, but in some situations, I won't. When I don't, I add a red bead for added sound. Sometimes, I'll add a piece of cotton to the center and add scent. Hope this helps!

[5bass]

We have some good responses going here so far......I'm just mainly looking for some basic info about the tubes that may put a few fish in the boat.On my home lake it seems like a tube is not really necessary but yet probably not used as much as it could be.Plus,I'm more of a power-fisherman and throwing the tube kinda scares me. ;D

I will mainly be fishing them around laydowns and docks.Thanks for all the info so far.

[Guest avid]

I'm not a big tube user, but I do rig one up on occasion.  there is basically one way I fish it.  I t-rig a 4/0 owner riggin hook (heavy wire huge EWG) lightly skin hooked on the far side.  Then i pich a 1/32 oz bullshot right up against the nose.  I pitch it like a jig and it will very slowly spiral down into the cover.  I do this in late spring/early summer when the weeds are up, but not too dense.

[uiubassmaster]

When it comes to fishing plastics, I'm more of a worm and lizard guy, but I do fish tubes when I want to throw sumthing into the thick, matted grass and the jig bight is off.  I usually use a 1/2 bullet weight, pegged and inch above the tube.  A thick-guage 3/o or 4/o wide gap mustad ultra point is usually my hook of choice.  As far as color goes, I like to use black & blue, pumkinseed, watermelonseed, and orange and brown.  I live in northeast Iowa, so I am also blessed with the ability to fish some four to five pound smallmouth in the rivers around my house.  When I do, a 2 3/4" fat gitzit in the color of either watermelon seed or pumpkinseed is nearly unstoppable.  I rig them with a 3/16 or 1/4 oz bullet weight (weather depending) and a 1/o straight shank hook.  I hope this can be of some help to you, and if not, then I hope you at least enjoyed reading it...  

[jorilo]

Tubes are a great bait.  I fish the Nichols Satly mother tubes.  I use just a few colors: watermelon w/ black flakes, pumpkin, black w/ gold flakes.  As far as rigging goes, the only way for me is with an insert jig head.  I've found if I use a 60 degree jig head snaggs are much less of a problem.  With the 60 degree head the bait seems to glide over the bottem and not get stuck.  I always have a tube tied on.  As for the retrieve, most hits come as the bait is falling, so watch your line.  After the bait touches down, I typically start by dragging the tube.  I let the drift of the boat move the bait and give it a small twitch every once in a while.  If the drag does not produce then i start hopping it and varying my retrieves until successful, but most of the time the drag does it for me.  As for weight of the jig head, most of the time i'm fishing it on an 1/8th oz head, but do go with different sizes as conditions dictate.

The tube is also a great follow up bait for missed fish on top water and a spinnerbait.  While fishing team tournaments I've got lots of fish throwing tubes to fish that my team mate missed. Hope this helps.

[Garnet]

You need to separate swimming presentations from drop presentaions.

The internal wieghts will make the tube swim. I only fish t-rigs tubes between 1/8 and 1 oz it's what you need to accomplish.

If you fish the tube on a standard tube jig and want a little more swimming action just move the eye back a little bit. If you are fishing deep go with a ball head or sight fishing use a ball head and the tube will go straight down on the nest.

And  skipping wieghtless tubes to docks.  Some of the heavy salt tubes will float just put a small hole near the head.

Theres lots more tubes and senkos are just about the same as long as you hit water they will work.

Garnet

[roadwarrior]

I fish tubes as a deep water lure. For smallmouth I throw 3 1/2" Mizmo, babydiaper yellow (Kent's Classic) on a traditional inserted jig head. For largemouth, 4 1/2" Micro Munch Tackle and Mizmo (black neon), T-rigged and weedless, with a bead, unpegged. Both methods are effective.

Smallmouth

I target structure in relatively open water, rocky main points, bluffs, drop-offs (ledges) and old creek beds. All of the bites come on the drop or retrieve, not resting on the bottom. I fish a traditional inserted jig head on a 3 1/2" tube. An exposed hook is still going to hang, but not as often as you might expect. The procedure is a long cast, letting the Gitzit free fall to the bottom on slack or semi-slack line. Once the lure reaches the bottom, I yo-yo the bait back to the boat. It's that simple. Smallmouth are very agressive and this is a method that will allow you to catch suspending fish.

Largemouth

The technique to fish for largemouth is significantly different. Although largemouth relate to structure, they prefer cover which in my opinion precludes using an exposed hook. I T-rig a 4 1/2" tube on a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG hook. The procedure here can be a long cast, but more often a targeted cast or pitch. Again, I allow the bait to free fall, but in cover this is where the strike often occurs, so be prepared. If the lure reaches the bottom, I let it sit for at least thirty seconds and then move it like I fish a Senko: With a 6-12" horizontal sweep, move the lure like you might imagine a crawdad to move- short and slow. Allow the lure to then drop on slack line so that it falls without moving forward. I generally let the tube sit for a time between every movement. Largemouth bass will often pick the bait up off the bottom or even buried in weeds or rock. This is a much more deliberate presentation that you would use fishing for smallmouth.

Tubes are one of my most productive baits. I'm sure they will work for you fished shallow, too, but I prefer weightless Fat Ika and Senkos shallow. Many fishermen rip them through weeds, for example, but I don't. T-rigged tubes are an excellent alternative for jigs in nasty cover. That's where the big girls live.

[RoLo]

RW,

I enjoyed reading your tubing technique but I have a couple questions.

I'd be interested in the weight that you normally use with the bigmouth tube

and what form of weight (bullet sinker, bull shot, etc).

The other question is how come there's only 1/2" difference between

your smallmouth tube and largemouth tube. I know that you like a 7" senko

and was wondering why you like just a 4" tube. Thanks In Advance.

Roger

[justtrying]

i keep a spinning outfit w/a tube (usually a gitzit) attached in my boat at all times.

i was at santee cooper thursday afternoon & just before leaving, i threw a jerkbait beside a cyprus tree & a bass swirled at it & missed.  ..i immediately put the baitcaster w/jerkbait down, picked up the spinning outfit, threw the gitzit into the swirl & it never stopped.  Bass Love Tubes!

[Minuteman]

Used a tube bait last year for the first time myself after sitting in my tackle bag for months. I pulled over by an old reservoir on my way home from a trip and caught 2 bass on my first 2 casts from the bank. They where from a 4Pak of GitZits. Needless to say I have a whole stock of different type now and bought a spiining setup to use with them. Although, I plan T-Rig'n them more with a baitcaster this year.

[roadwarrior]

RoLo,

I use 1/4 oz barrel or bullet weights for 4 1/2" tubes. I tried some bigger and fatter tubes and didn't have much luck with them. Now, "too big" doesn't usually come into play for me, but maybe the action of bigger tubes is just not as appealing as the 4 1/2" tubes, I don't really know, I don't have a good reason or explanation.

BTW, I have gone back to the 6" Senko. I didn't catch more or bigger bass on the 7" version and frankly, it's a little too heavy for casting on a medium rod.

[justtrying]

roadwarrior,

i have to agree w/the 4 inch tube theory.  i've tried longer, fatter, etc., but almost always, after a short trial, i'm back to the 4 incher, because it Catches Fish.

as far as weight, i usually fish weightless, will sometimes go to 1/8 oz barrel, but, personally, i just LOVE the weight & hook of the gitzit.  they just seem to work when Nothing else will.

btw, i saw an episode of in-fisherman this morning where they were fishing the gitzit tube, but rigging it with a small octopus hook, hooked about 1/4 in from the top of tube.  no weight,,& they were catching Lots of smallmouth & a few LARGE smallmouth.

[RoLo]

RoLo,

I use 1/4 oz barrel or bullet weights for 4 1/2" tubes. I tried some bigger and fatter tubes and didn't have much luck with them. Now, "too big" doesn't usually come into play for me, but maybe the action of bigger tubes is just not as appealing as the 4" tubes, I don't really know, I don't have a good reason or explanation.

Thanx RW,

I know what you mean about big tubes.

It also seems that the hook-up ratio is better with smaller tubes.

Roger

[ARCHER]

I use the BPS internal tube weights. The lightest I can use and still get it down.

I have tried Flippin the big tubes, with meager success. I guess I'll downsize.

Lots of people use white jigs. Does anybody throw white tubes?

Archer

[RoLo]

Lots of people use white jigs. Does anybody throw white tubes?

I like white tubes, especially in clear water (white or chartreuse)

Even in dingy water I normally use "alewife" (yum vibra-king), which is white & herring blue,

(satisfies dark & light shades for changing light conditions).

Roger

[roadwarrior]

RoLo,

I corrected my previous posts. Although I do fish Mizmo 4" tubes for largemouth, my preference is the Micro Munch El Gordo which is 4 1/2".

[RoLo]

RoLo,

I corrected my previous posts. Although I do fish Mizmo 4" tubes for largemouth, my preference is the Micro Munch El Gordo which is 4 1/2".

I'm glad to hear that. My got-to tube has been the Yum Vibra-King (4.25"),

which coincidentally is a compromise between 4" and 4.5"

However, I generally use lighter weight than you (~1/8oz),

but you're probably fishing deeper water than me (TN vs. FL).

Roger