03-26-2003, 12:01 PM
[cool]They call me TubeDude. It ain't only 'cause I fish from a donut neither. I sling a mean piece of plastic too.
Seriously, I started using Bobby Garland's Fat Gitzits when they first came out, back in the early 80's. I was sold on them after watching Bobby himself pull fish after fish out of some trees in the back of Hall's Creek on Lake Powell. That was back in the days when there were still lots of largies to be had there.
I got a huge assortment, of every color made, and have since used them all over the country and in salt water too. If there ever was a universal bait, tubes would have to be closest to qualifying.
I suspect you are referring more to the smaller sized tubes...for stream fishing for trout...and other species. Same deal. Small tubes are killers. I started using the 1 1/2" and 2" "Minijigs" made by Canyon Lures of Southern Utah about the same time as the Fat Gitzits. Since then, many other manufacturers have gotten into the game and there is an even wider range of sizes and colors of plastic tubes.
I first started throwing mini tubes on Deer Creek. The two tone colors, in red/white, yellow/white and brown/white were good for perch and rainbows. I used chartreuse in cold or murky to good effect. But, my best color was a smoke sparkle mini that I custom colored by running a black line down the back and three vertical black bars, with a permanent marker. Fished on 1/32 oz. heads, after the perch spawn in the spring, these things not only got lots of perch, but a whole bunch of big browns too.
I also took tubes to Pineview, Willard Bay, Utah Lake and Yuba. They caught every species in the lakes...often better than anything else I could toss...including spinners and plastic twisters. I found tubes to be ideal for fishing low and slow, when the fish were affected by cold water or other conditions that put them in a neutral or inactive mode. They are especially good during late fall and early spring...and work great under the ice.
For stream fishing, tubes can be made to imitate anything from aquatic insects to small crawdads to minnows. With the range of exotic colors on the market now, and with a knowledge of the stream's forage base, you can do a fair job of representing anything you want.
The method of fishing ties in with what you want to imitate. Like any lures fished in moving water, you can cast upstream or quartering upstream, and just allow the properly weighted jig to bounce down through the runs and holes...waiting for the abrupt stop that signals success...or snag.
In eddies and holes, where there is not much current, you will often do well fishing minijigs like you were in a lake. Cast them out, and let them sink to the bottom. Then vary your retrieve to either hop them along over the bottom, or swim them steadily back at different depths, until the fish tell you how they want them served up. In the same stream, on the same day, you can find several different methods that will take fish. Or, as often happens, you will find that there is a "pattern" and you can't buy a bite unless you fish it just right.
Proper balance between the size of the tube and the sizes of the jig head and the hooks can be critical to your success...especially in stream fishing. If the head is too heavy and the hook too large, you will spend too much time playing with snags. If the head is too light, the current will sweep your jig over the heads of the big fish waiting for dinner to be served on their level. If the hooks are too small, for the tubes you are using, they will not rig or swim right, and you may sacrifice hooking ability.
Tube fishing, and jig fishing in general, is as much art as science. It works best after a lot of practice...after some qualified demonstrations upon the waters, from someone who is well experienced. I am grateful that I had some good fishing partners early in my angling career that got me properly started.
Hey, PH, I have emailed you a multi-page writeup I originally put together for Kent Jasperson, on jig fishing. It includes some more stuff on fishing tubes and minitubes. If anyone else would like a copy, email me at [url "mailto:pscouten@qwest.net"]pscouten@qwest.net[/url] and I'll fire it over. It is a large file...285 KB Word document...so be sure you have a server that will handle it. The BFT Private Message service will only allow up to 250 KB.
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Seriously, I started using Bobby Garland's Fat Gitzits when they first came out, back in the early 80's. I was sold on them after watching Bobby himself pull fish after fish out of some trees in the back of Hall's Creek on Lake Powell. That was back in the days when there were still lots of largies to be had there.
I got a huge assortment, of every color made, and have since used them all over the country and in salt water too. If there ever was a universal bait, tubes would have to be closest to qualifying.
I suspect you are referring more to the smaller sized tubes...for stream fishing for trout...and other species. Same deal. Small tubes are killers. I started using the 1 1/2" and 2" "Minijigs" made by Canyon Lures of Southern Utah about the same time as the Fat Gitzits. Since then, many other manufacturers have gotten into the game and there is an even wider range of sizes and colors of plastic tubes.
I first started throwing mini tubes on Deer Creek. The two tone colors, in red/white, yellow/white and brown/white were good for perch and rainbows. I used chartreuse in cold or murky to good effect. But, my best color was a smoke sparkle mini that I custom colored by running a black line down the back and three vertical black bars, with a permanent marker. Fished on 1/32 oz. heads, after the perch spawn in the spring, these things not only got lots of perch, but a whole bunch of big browns too.
I also took tubes to Pineview, Willard Bay, Utah Lake and Yuba. They caught every species in the lakes...often better than anything else I could toss...including spinners and plastic twisters. I found tubes to be ideal for fishing low and slow, when the fish were affected by cold water or other conditions that put them in a neutral or inactive mode. They are especially good during late fall and early spring...and work great under the ice.
For stream fishing, tubes can be made to imitate anything from aquatic insects to small crawdads to minnows. With the range of exotic colors on the market now, and with a knowledge of the stream's forage base, you can do a fair job of representing anything you want.
The method of fishing ties in with what you want to imitate. Like any lures fished in moving water, you can cast upstream or quartering upstream, and just allow the properly weighted jig to bounce down through the runs and holes...waiting for the abrupt stop that signals success...or snag.
In eddies and holes, where there is not much current, you will often do well fishing minijigs like you were in a lake. Cast them out, and let them sink to the bottom. Then vary your retrieve to either hop them along over the bottom, or swim them steadily back at different depths, until the fish tell you how they want them served up. In the same stream, on the same day, you can find several different methods that will take fish. Or, as often happens, you will find that there is a "pattern" and you can't buy a bite unless you fish it just right.
Proper balance between the size of the tube and the sizes of the jig head and the hooks can be critical to your success...especially in stream fishing. If the head is too heavy and the hook too large, you will spend too much time playing with snags. If the head is too light, the current will sweep your jig over the heads of the big fish waiting for dinner to be served on their level. If the hooks are too small, for the tubes you are using, they will not rig or swim right, and you may sacrifice hooking ability.
Tube fishing, and jig fishing in general, is as much art as science. It works best after a lot of practice...after some qualified demonstrations upon the waters, from someone who is well experienced. I am grateful that I had some good fishing partners early in my angling career that got me properly started.
Hey, PH, I have emailed you a multi-page writeup I originally put together for Kent Jasperson, on jig fishing. It includes some more stuff on fishing tubes and minitubes. If anyone else would like a copy, email me at [url "mailto:pscouten@qwest.net"]pscouten@qwest.net[/url] and I'll fire it over. It is a large file...285 KB Word document...so be sure you have a server that will handle it. The BFT Private Message service will only allow up to 250 KB.
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