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