GEAR
TUBES
( DON’ T FORGET ABOUT) TUBES FOR TEXAS RIGGING
THIS CLASSIC BAIT STILL HAS A PLACE FOR SHALLOW-WATER, POWER-FISHING TACTICS
By Matt Williams
LURE PHOTOS BY MATT PACE
Of all the lures we use to catch bass around shallow cover, tubes might have the richest, winningest history … among baits that you just don’ t hear much about anymore, that is.
Once considered a power-fishing staple around shallow matted grass, flooded bushes and logjams, and equally adaptable for skipping docks and general use, tubes seem to have lost some of their thunder to new-wave creatures and craws.
Nowadays they see more use in the fabled smallmouth havens of the North, yet FLW pros Austin Felix, Josh Douglas and Drew Boggs believe that tubes are valuable for more than just targeting smallmouths around big-water boulders. They have their place alongside the newer options for flipping and pitching. And, at times, nothing gets the job done quite like a tube.
Downsides of Tubes
One of the most common sentiments shared by the pros we talked to is that, much like a shaky head or Yamamoto Senko, tubes sometimes draw bites when other baits don’ t. For that reason, they’ re worth considering.
However, like any soft-plastic bait style, the tube has some drawbacks that need to be addressed. Its hollow body requires a little more exactitude when rigging than some other plastics. It doesn’ t mate very well with the heavy-duty, straight-shank hooks that so many pros consider to be the modern rage for flipping. And the bait has a reputation for balling on the hook and losing fish – probably its biggest issue as a Texas-rigged bait.
“ Tubes were really popular before my time. Then beaverstyle baits like the [ Missile Baits ] D Bomb came out and sort of took over,” says Douglas, of Isle, Minn.“ I think a lot of guys may have gotten away from tubes because of their reputation for losing fish. But I still use them a lot. It’ s one of those baits like the ribbon-tail worm that has remained effective over time. It just gets bit.”
Boggs is a two-time T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League All-American qualifier and a frequent contender in regional tournaments near his Lebanon, Tenn., home. He says nearly 90 percent of the checks he’ s cashed the last few seasons have come as a result of flipping tubes around rocks, bluff walls and wood cover on Kentucky Lake, Pickwick and Old Hickory.
He agrees that one of the main reasons many anglers have stopped flipping tubes is hookup problems caused by the bulky plastic in the head of some big tube baits – particularly the larger tubes so often used for flipping. To him, it’ s a problem that can be solved with careful bait selection.
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FLWFISHING. COM I APRIL 2018