by Bruce Middleton, January 04, 2010

A workshop on understanding and using plastic tube baits…

Normally tube baits are not search lures, they don’t cover a lot of area in a short time and they don’t dive to different depths. We use them to get into every nook and cranny in cover a bass might hide in. They are made to dissect small parts of a stump field or a weed bed and they are especially good at catching large mouth bass that hide in really nasty weed choked shallows, under docks and on spawning flats. But they can be hooked up split shot style as a swim bait and for this use they excel as well.

Tube baits, (or Gitzit as they were once called) are one of the more effective bass lures and is one bait that requires absolute attention to detail and presentation. Tubes are not often used in a lot in major bodies of water and that alone makes them more attractive to bass. Color often makes a difference, the retrieve style makes a difference, the way it is hooked makes a difference and the size and girth can make a difference. When rigging a tube lure, like any other plastic lures, it is important; vital even that the tube be perfectly straight after the hook is inserted. Should it not be straight, it will have an unnatural look and fall to it and more often than not, the bass will reject the baits presentation. This applies if you rig it with an exposed hook like a jig head or with an embedded hook like when using a worm hook. Depending on the hook you use and the way you use it the hook point can be buried inside the tube or the end can be left exposed is usually determined by the amount or lack of vegetation you are fishing in. How it is hooked also controls where you can and cannot fish it. Also if the tube is not hooked up straight it will have a habit of snagging any bottom oriented wood whether that wood is a limb, branch or stump.

The colors black, blue, pumpkin, pumpkin seed, smoke/silver flakes, cotton candy, green and brown are good all around colors while shades of reds and orange are better when the water is really dingy. When the water is gin clear, try translucent colors. Many anglers use shades of red (bleeding bait series) most of the time in any clarity of water. This is of course a personal choice and considering the flood of colors available today, we have a wide choice of colors indeed. But then with all the new colors out there it is becoming almost impossible to say one color is better than another, so don’t take my word for it the afore mention4ed colors are the only or the very best to use. We all have our favorite colors and these are mine.

There are a variety of ways to fish tube baits. One way to use the tube is like a jig and hop it along the bottom either Texas or Carolina rigged. A second way is to combine a yo-yo swim technique where you swim the tube for a distance yo-yoing it up and down and then letting it sink to the bottom. This technique can be done with or without weights or a weighted hook. A wacky tube, like a wacky worm, is hooked in the middle and is exceptionally effective. This hook style is accomplished exactly like a wacky worm but when you retrieve it you do so in short jerky motions so the tentacles wave around like something alive. This adds tremendous amounts of action to the bait. Cast, twitch, sink, swim, twitch, sink, repeat, etc. This is a most deadly bait set up and will draw strikes from both active and inactive bass. And as mentioned you can rig them split shot style too.

You can use one type of tube when you first start out but tubes, like lures, require lots of experimenting. Tubes like Strike King™ 3X, Gulp™ and others have made advances by adding salt for taste and scent for attracting the bass to the lure. 3X is also the stretchiest material in the world, compared to most other makers. You can take a 4-inch worm and stretch it 2 times its length or more but more important you can put a hook into it and remove time and time again and it will reseal itself. This is an amazing product. It will out last other plastics 10 to 1, making them very inexpensive in the long run. Best of all this product line enjoys the largest selection of colors, sizes and shapes on the market today.

Tube plastics are very effective for several reasons: (1) they never fall exactly the same way twice as they spiral down, (2) the tentacles wave around during the fall like something alive, (3) air bubbles escape randomly from the tube body and tentacles adding noise and action, (4) they penetrate heavy cover well and (5) they have a large and realistic profile.

Tube girth affects the tube action. All tubes are not created for the same purpose or conditions. Lures come in all shapes, sizes and colors and if you look at a large selection of tubes you will find they also come in a wide selection of girth sizes, lengths and colors. Like other lures each color represents fish or forage but you have to look closely to notice that some tubes are skinny, some are fat and some are in-between. Some are as thick as a Cuban cigar and others are the size of a pencil. Different diameters tubes have different uses. Manufactures make these different tubes because they have different characteristics and work best for different things. Example; when fish are feeding on crawfish a Texas rigged thick-bodied tube is hard to beat. The key to the tube is its profile, the way it falls through the water, and what it looks like as it’s moving and sitting on the bottom. Most pros agree that the larger the lure the larger the bass you will catch. This includes tubes. And when finesse is called for, thinner, small tubes are used, like on bedding bass. How you fish the tube will dictate the diameter of tube to use. Thinner tubes spiral down as they fall (weightless) while fatter tubes fall vertically. Most pros use ¼ to 3/8 oz weights or weighted hooks (jig head) on tubes. Never over weight a tube unless you are jigging in extreme cover. A red exposed hook is the best color to use if you don’t have hooks that are close to the color of the tube. Also, using a weighted hook on a thin tube is great jerk bait. In extreme cover use a fat tube. Use a thin tube on a weightless rig because it will fall erratically and faster which is important to triggering a strike. Texas rig a medium tube for skipping under docks, pulling over matted grass and for bedding bass.

Tubes shine when it comes to working in, around and through grass and weeds. A tube hook has a 60 to 90-degree bend just behind the eye. Use a size where the bend and tip just fit inside the body of the tube. The eye of the hook should extend out the bottom of the tube head, so when you hook up a tube insert the hook tip just back of the center. Texas and Carolina rigs are the most common ways to hook up a tube.

Plastic tubes work especially well on neutral and inactive bass. Rig it on a plain lead jig head and drag-hop it along the bottom. The retrieve is extra, extra slow in cold water and medium-slow in warm water. The best selling summer tube colors are white, black, grape, pumpkin seed, June bug, cotton candy and green/pumpkin. White tubes are used as a jerk bait on or near the surface and should seldom be used like a normal tube on the bottom.

When fishing fairly active bass, use a tube. A 4-inch fat tube should float to be fished best. The best selling floating tube colors are shad gray; bone, mullet blue, pale green and all having sparkly skirts for the scale life-like look. Yellow foam ear plugs inserted into the hollow of the tube body is an excellent way to get a tube to float and is very inexpensive. Some bass anglers use pieces of Alka-selser tablets stuffed inside the tube body to produce bubbles, which they claim really draws bass to it since they make a lot of noise. A combination of a tablet and scent would indeed saturate a small area with that scent and the bubbles would seem a great idea although I have never tried that combination yet. You might give it a try some day especially on a day where strikes are hard to come by.

Tubes are excellent in clear water or on inactive bass. This lure is used on structure when targeting bass. It’s designed to be a drop bait and not a swim bait. Its best used in water less than ten feet deep, its also best fished with a 1/16 to 1/8 ounce lead head jig or the same weight sinker and a 90 degree off set hook. Spinning gear is best because of the lightweight involved. The tube is cast out and left to spiral down slowly on a slack line for proper presentation. If it makes it to the bottom let it set there for a minute or so. If nothing happens, reel it up and cast it again. A popular rigging method is to put the weight inside the tube body. Tubes are an ideal bait for pitching and flipping in heavy cover and they are a great lure to fish with in, around and under docks. As with any lure the idea is to make as little splash as possible when entering the water. The best colors for springtime are black, black/blue, black/red flake, purple, green, green/pumpkin, green with cinnamon tail and watermelon.

While a tube bait is usually hopped along the bottom, swimming this bait is an effective way to use it. It can be swum with a Texas rig, wacky rig, slit-shot or weightless. A fish colored thin tube is the best profile for this type of approach. That way it looks like a small fish swimming in the water. It actually makes a great plastic soft swim bait and is quite effective.

Adding plastic peanuts or ear plugs you can stuff your tube baits to make them float. You can also add marshmallow as they float too. You can also add scent to the inside of the tube body by adding a cotton ball and then soaking it with scent and then holding it upside down, push in the plastic or other items into the tube. This will hold a goody amount of scent in the tube and release it slowly. This is a great way to saturate a brush pile with scent using a tube. It also will draw bass from distance.

Never throw away broken or beat up plastic bait, especially if it is of the floating variety. Casting a weightless tube into grassy cover is hard on a windy day. So take apiece of used worm and stuff into the body cavity of a tube for added weight. This will make it easier to cast farther with less strain and the added buoyancy of the worm piece will help keep the action of the tube livelier. If the worm is left full length hanging out of the tube, this is called a Cap and Gown and is often used like a jig. Depending on the characteristics of the worm you add you can make the float, sink or become neutral buoyant. A little experimenting is involved but well worth the time.

A great way to fish a tube weedless in heavy cover is to super glue a 1/8 to 3/16-bullet sinker inside the tube just short of the end (leave room for the hook tip to pass by). Take a extra wide gap hook, insert the tip into the tube, pull out the tip about ½ inch past the tip, missing the sinker and pull the hook through until the bend at the eye is inside the tube head. Twist the hook around and reinsert the hook tip into the lower end of the tube and bury the tip so it’s weedless. This gives you a weighted, weedless tube with no unsightly terminal tackle showing. . Super gluing sinkers into the bodies of plastics has been around for a long time.

With a tube the rate of fall is the most important factor. The slower the fall the better. When pitching and flipping you must be very close to your target, so go slow and quietly.

Casting a weightless tube is almost impossible but if you stuff an old broken sinking or floating worm piece into it (depending on the application) you will add extra weight to the tube without sacrificing any action of the tube. A tube is hollow anyway and you’re using an extra wide gap hook, so there is no problem adding soft plastic to the inside of the tube. You will be able to cast it farther and you can control the sinking characteristics of it by how much and what kind of plastic you put inside. Experiment with different approaches like this can land you some great bass. All you have to do is to exercise your imagination and then keep on fishing with a positive attitude.

A weightless tube is a great lure in heavy slop and lily pads from post spawn till mid summer. Dragging it through slop allows the head to push the slop aside while the tentacles vibrate letting bass know that something is on the surface. In thick grass and lily pads it can sometimes be pulled along from hole to hole and then let slowly drift while the tentacles slowly wave, giving it a live motion most bass strike at. They don’t just bite it, they inhale it.

The key to swimming a tube is to keep the rod tip high so the tube stays high in the water column. Remember you are going after active bass here that are ready to feed. You move the tube fast enough so the bass doesn’t get too good a look at it but slow enough so that catching it is easy. Active bass will be deeper than the bait and will pop up and smack the bait then return to the deeper depths. Keep an eye on the depth finder at all times to monitor any bait in the area and the bass below them. Swim the bait at the same level or just below the baitfish. A good 10-pound fluorocarbon test line is a good choice here. A tube rattle is also helpful but you might experiment and see if you do better with or without one. In a case like this too you can add a whole or a piece of an earplug into the body of the tube. It adds a little weight but it will never sink either and on a surface presentation that is imperative.

When fishing with a tube it’s often better (but not always) to drag it along the bottom than to hop it. You do have to shift gears down to low in your mindset. Some people move it with the rod tip and other use the reel. Either way works. The whole idea is to drag it along extra slow without ever getting it off the bottom and that means you really do have to go slow. A soft quiver of the rod tip imparts a better action to a tube than a jerking motion of the rod. Be subtle, as subtle movements are often better than big jerks that can scare a bass away. One of the best ways to fish a tube around a dock is cast it out right next to the dock, let it sink and then do nothing. If you don’t get a strike after a full minute, reel it in and recast. Good fall colors are pumpkin, pumpkin/green flake, smoke/red flake, green, brown, watermelon and watermelon seed. Again use those colors that are your favorites first but always try new colors if the seem to be failing you for whatever reason.

Pitching and flipping can be used in deep water as well as the traditional shallows. It is perfect for following the bends and curves of a channel or a deep rock pile. This pinpoint positioning of your lure can be a great use around deep structure and should not be overlooked. Another use for pitching and flipping is isolated cover, like a single log along a long shoreline or a large rock sticking out of the water. There are many other excellent places to dissect using this delivery system. Old duck blinds, beaver huts, a single stump or a lone clump of reeds are also favorite casting targets.

When flipping tubes, or any plastic, along the edge of a reed bed or heavy grass line, there is one really great trick to remember. Aim and toss the tube over a bent reed or stick so you can use it as a fulcrum to bob the tube up and down on. Most bass, you will find are suspended just under the reed tops and not near the bottom. This is a great way to keep the tube near the top without using a float or bobber. Also because almost all bites come on the fall, this will allow you optimum contact with the tube at all times. And with the fulcrum you can easily fish any depth you choose, and by teasing the tube like a drop shot you will get more strikes. A standard Texas rig is the usual starting point. This is also a great idea to use when you find a half submerged log or a tree limb sticking out of the water.

Many pros prefer a tube bait for pitching and flipping because of its slow vertical fall. Additionally, its compact body eliminates the misses associated with short striking bass. It is as great tool for sight fishing bedding bass. Increasingly, the tube bait is being used as a drop shot bait for suspended bass. Lastly it is a lure that can be used year round and that’s a rare claim for any lure to make. Tubes are considered go-to bait when things are really tough and you find yourself in what’s referred to as a ‘tough bite’.

The slow spiraling fall of a tube is ideal when sight fishing for bedding bass and bass that are sluggish because of a cold front that has moved in or just passed. After a cold front has passed and the sun comes out but the bass are still cold and are still holding tight to cover, its time to bring out smaller lures if pitching and flipping don’t work. Shifting to shorter tubes, those 3-inches long instead of the 4-inch ones work best. Some people call these ‘sissy baits’, but they are really finesse baits. By scaling back you catch more fish that would normally ignore a larger tube that they would see from other fishermen. Throwing something different will usually give you an edge.

Try putting a 6-inch worm into the hollow of a tube body of the same color. You can also mix and match colors. What this gives you, is an inexpensive creature bait and a way to use those worms that were chewed up so badly that you were considering throwing them away. Recycle! You can do the same with a plastic crawfish and a tube.

The Cyberflex™ Zulu, Z2 and Zero are unique plastic baits. When fishing a Zulu, remember that the water temperature determines how deep to fish this bait. When the water is cool to cold, odds are the bass are deeper and you will have to add weight to it to get it down to the right depth. In warm and hot water fish it weightless and faster near the surface. This is a twitch bait and it should be twitched more than it is reeled forward. A Zero is a blunt, cigar shaped worm that’s super soft, salt impregnated that falls about a foot and a half a second. Mostly they are Texas rigged and fished weightless because the fall rate is just fast enough by itself. It falls horizontally with a flexing action, which is the key to its attraction.

So when other lures are just not drawing strikes, get out the tube baits and change your luck. Enjoy!

Bruce Middleton
bpmiddleton@peoplepc.com
Word count 3503