Tube Flies anyone?

[enolaeagle]

I was wondering if anyone here ties them or fishes with them... I was watching a video series by Tim Cammissa on how to tie them and thought it was pretty neat but If any of you have pictures of different patterns, I'd like to see them.

 

[s fontinalis]

toyed with the idea of tying them last winter, but it being another pit to sink my money into, i decided against it....

 

[enolaeagle]

It's amazing how many angles this sport can put you in Chapter 11...

 

[Ard]

I know that jaybo41 ties some superb tube renditions, I tinker with them and have had outstanding results fishing them. In my case I was attracted by the positive aspects of using a properly rigged tube. if you have the correct knot securing your hook, if or when the hook were to become snagged then when the knot breaks you should be able to retrieve the tube. This is done via a knot called 'the jam knot' it allows that when the hook breaks away a portion of the knot lodges into the remaining tube and stops the tube from sliding off the hook. I have had this happen on 2 occasions but on a recent trip I got a beautiful Wilkinson Sunray snagged and when I gave it the make it or break it pull my perfection loop on the leader broke. The result was that I lost the tippet and fly both. naturally I was in a state of shock, this was the best of the lot. By that I mean that I had tied 7 of that pattern and the one lost was the one I intended to catch a monster steelhead on. After the loss I went to a log and sat for a while to allow the grief to pass and then tied on another and kept fishing.

The tubes are a neat way to explore new tying and fishing options. I'm pasting a few below but the various ties you can make are endless.

Wilkinson Sunray's;


Willie Gunn's;


Winters Hope;


This is a tube style Thor;

 

[enolaeagle]

That's cool looking stuff! Never thought about the additional knot that would save the tube...

So far, I see a lot of streamers but do you make small nymphs for trout?

I'd like to find a place to buy some to try out

 

[jaybo41]

Thanks for the kind words Ard! I have made progress, but still see many many great tiers of the tubes putting out much better stuff than me. I'd say you more than tinker with them, you have made some really beautiful flies. Watching your interest in them and progression at the bench has been a real treat.

I have seen some folks tie nymphs and even dries on tubes, but I am not one of them. When I tie on tubes, it's going to be a streamer pattern.

 

[enolaeagle]

Dangit... I was just out in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago and could've picked some of those up :yikes:

 

[ia_trouter]

Jaybo those are incredible tubes. :thumbsup:

 

[fredaevans]

That's cool looking stuff! Never thought about the additional knot that would save the tube...

So far, I see a lot of streamers but do you make small nymphs for trout?

I'd like to find a place to buy some to try out

As to the first there are 'limitations' on how small is practical with a tube. For me that's a #8 hook on the back end; tube can be as little as 1/2 inch long. You need to start 'longer' at the vice then just cut off the extra tube. As to where to "just buy" check out flyfishusa, Mark usually has a good stock on hand. Only 'down side' is they might all be Steelhead size?

Remember back in the day before specific tube fly 'equipment' was available. We used nails for mandrels, aquarium tubing for the bodies or hollow aluminum tubing (model airplane stuff). Good thing about 'tubes' is they really allow you to 'tie in the round.' Which is how the majority of Intruders are constructed.

 

[dee mac]

I fish them m8 in big waters on a short piece of line 4or5ft the heavyer they are the HARDER TOCAST but they have there days when they work

 

[GrtLksMarlin]

I'm not familiar with these, would anyone care to explain the point of them so I can understand their use better?

B.E.F.

 

[enolaeagle]

Looks that you use a piece of line with loop connection and hook at the end. That will get you changing flies quicker and when you hook one, the flie won't interfere and like Ard said, you can tie a safety knot so when you hit a snag... the hook will go but the fly will most likely stay.

 

[jaybo41]

You know how when you are hunting big fish like steelhead or salmon and you have to put your forceps on the fly to pop it out of the fish's mouth? Slide that tube up your leader and pop the bare hook without damaging the fly. One huge advantage is that they often last longer than those tied on traditional irons. Another is what Ard mentioned. You can rig these so that if you get hooked up on the fallen timber you will often find in those Western Michigan salmon rivers, you lose only the hook and not the entire fly.

I'd really like to hear Fred's thoughts on this since these flies have roots and have really caught on in his neck of the woods.

 

[enolaeagle]

Here's the video's I was watching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ONqhZMssWc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYfKze9FKLQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yetp7bhrgcE

 

[dee mac]

hi with the tube flies the river can be big water a bit coloured and very cold ats when I fish them in alloy or copper brass now there out in tungsten steel there super heavy but there hard to cast you roll cast them back to the top

 

[Ard]

I'm not familiar with these, would anyone care to explain the point of them so I can understand their use better?

B.E.F.

Trying to explain the benefits of their use is always difficult from my perspective. They catch fish very well but when I am using a tube fly or a big fat Sculpin I'm always left wondering, 'would the same fish have taken a traditional fly such as a little Dee pattern'. Because I can only have one fly tied to my leader at a time I never know the answer to the mystery.

A few things I can cite are as follows: they allow for a really large fly (if you so choose) to be used with a relatively small hook. You can tie a fly / lure in equal proportions around the round tube as can be seen in Jason's pictures. Taking this approach puts an end to the problem of whether or not your fly is 'riding' correctly as it is being presented. When the fly is tied 'in the round' there is no top or bottom, no right or left, they are a balanced lure which presents the same look & profile regardless of how the fly is viewed by a curious fish.

When I entered into tying them which was just a little over a year ago this presented something new to me when I sat down to tie flies. Not that I had become bored by the traditional fly but this was a new twist and it captured my interest which is a good thing. Getting into this style of tying isn't for anyone who will be stung by the couple of hundred dollars it seems to cost in order to build up a good inventory of components. Another hurdle you encounter is that you may find much of your tying materials a bit short when you start toying with flies that can often reach 3 to 3.5 inches in length. Little by little one seems to gravitate toward patterns that are suitable for where you use them and to certain species as well. This 'specialization' in your tying tends to streamline your materials inventory into a 'Tubes Section' and once you are there you are hooked.

Do these type flies out preform what you currently are using? I cannot answer that in the affirmative. Does this type of tying widen and enhance your overall skills and experiences at fly crafting? Definitely, in my own case I've derived great pleasure from both creating them as well as fishing with them. I'm guessing that Jason may agree with this assessment as well as any other tube aficionados who may be browsing the thread here.

At this time that's my story,

Ard

 

[jaybo41]

Well said Ard. I think there are a couple of advantages that I mentioned in my previous comments but one that you touched on that I overlooked is that tying in the round eliminates the question of: "is my fly riding right?" Thanks for brining that up.

Like you, tubes were something I gained interest in because I was looking for something different at the vise. I enjoy fishing streamers and tubes are an ideal match for tying them. What I like about tying in the round is that there are no rules per say. It's just sort of free style for me. The inspiration of the second fly I showed was my adaptation of Ard's Nine Three. Looking at his pattern, I just used colors to match as best I could imagine and it turned out as you see it.

You can get into it relatively cheap if you want to, but like Ard mentioned, you'll end up dropping some cash on materials. You probably already have various dubbing, deer hair, marabou, flash materials and that's a good start. The things I had to add were tubes, tube adaptor, schlappen, Arctic Fox, Guinea feathers, Rhea and Amherst tails. I think if you have those things in various colors you can do an awful lot. Arctic fox is my choice for hair because it swims wonderfully and doesn't collapse on itself in the current like a lot of softer materials, such as marabou will. That's not to say they don't have their place on a fly, but something to keep in mind.

Most of my ties are still done on traditional hooks, but this is something different and fun. It really has helped me develop my skills at the vise though. I mentioned in a recent thread about Quality of Marabou that it's helped me work with different materials, feather preparation and really has made me pay attention to proportions.

Last but not least, I fumbled with this on my own watching videos and looking at step by steps, but found that I really made progress once I took a class on tying them. Having the chance to sit down with somebody who's very skilled is a huge plus if you have that option.