Step by Step Tube Fly;

[Ard]

This is a down and dirty tying post. There will be nothing fancy or proper about the fly or how I make them. I make them because I've found out that this works for trout and steelhead and this and other color variants are nearly all I use anymore...

I'm going to use the following: a Pro Sportfisher Micro Tube - a Pro Sportfisher Drop Weight Sz. Lg. about 40 grains. - Black Thread - Clear flexible tubing - Extra Select Craft Fur - Yellow Schlappen feather - Peacock Herls - a pair of Jungle Cock Eyes and a Sportfisher Soft Sonic Disc.

Here are the tube - weight and extension tubing. Notice the small flange on the back of the black micro tube? This is what holds the flexible extension tubing fast. The weight is what gets the fly down and gets it down well.



Cut 1 1/2" of clear extension tube and fit it onto the back of the micro tube. You will notice the clear tubing has a bit of radius because it is stored and shipped in coils.

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You need to get rid of the curved tube by heating with a lighter. Don't get crazy and melt it, just slide the tubing onto the Pro Sportfisher mandrel then get the heat close enough to relax the curve in the extension tubing.



Do it right and after things cool down it'll look like this;



Straight as an arrow and that matters. It matters because the back end of that clear tube is where your hook is going to nest. If the tube and hook are crooked they will act like a rudder behind the fly and thus the fly will swim funky. Make sure you got it right then slide the tube back onto the tying pin / mandrel nice and tight so it won't try to turn while you apply materials.

Nothing fancy about my thread, bought that at Slate run Orvis back in the 90's, I bought a lot.



Slip the weight onto the tube and wrap some thread in front to tighten it.



Strip one side of your Schlapplen feather - be sure you get the right side, you'll figure that out.



Secure the feather then wrap it until you have a good collar hackling.



After you have the hackle tied in and trimmed grab it and pull it downward until it forms a beard rather than a collar of hackle.



When it looks like this, it's good.



Now you need the Craft Fur for the wing, I use a lot of Angora Goat for the wing but chose Craft Fur because it is pretty available at shops.



I make the wing about 3 1/2 inches long; bind the fur with a few wraps of thread and a spot of glue. You want the wing longer than the tubing as seen here.



Clean things up with your tying scissors and apply the Eyes if you have them and a bunch of Peacock Herl on top the black wing.



If you have real or artificial JC eyes now is the time. When you tie them on double the quill stem backward after the feather is secure and then bind the folded quill down as shown. This will keep your jungle cock eyes from being pulled out by fingers or fish while in use.



Can you see how I've doubled that quill back and bound it in a second time? It really matters.



You can also see that I'm not playing when I say "a bunch of Peacock Herl" it makes the flies look fishy when wet.



The peacock gives a look of iridescence in the water, don't ask how or why but I put it on almost all this type fly. Whether or not it really helps to get a fish to get stuck on the hook all I can say is that they do.

So, if you've done everything to this point and trimmed all the stubs off you are about ready to finish. There are 2 ways to go, you could build up a head with thread - whip finish and double coat with cement..... Or... you can use a Pro Sportfisher Soft Sonic Disc to camouflage all the junk. I like option #2 and use them a lot.



That's a medium sized soft disc, I recommend you get all sizes in your kit so you can handle all size & types of flies.

Snug the disc on and you have some extra tube like below...



Cut the excess off until you have only about 3/32" in front of the cone...



Now it's lighter time again.... Take the lighter and while slowly rotating the tube hold the cut end close to the base of the flame. You will see the tubing melt and roll back to form a flange in front of that soft disc like below.



That fly catches fish for me every time I go fishing.

 

[Ard]

So how do I use a Hook?

I use 'Ring' or 'Ball' eye hooks so that the hooks slides straight into the extension tube. An up or down eye hook will give you heartburn unless you tie your jam know so long that the hook is just dangling behind the tube.

Ring Eye:



I like them seated in the tube as you see below, the hook will nest into the extension tube like shown.



There's no leader on that hook but that is how I get them to seat and the flies ride upright and all that long hair and peacock just undulates and squirms like a leach or fish as the fly swings across the river.

You end up with a fairly long streamer that will slide up the leader when you catch a fish and... if you snag the Jam Knot will lodge in the micro tube 80% of the time and the loop holding the hook will break. That means you get the fly back but lose the hook...

I'm not going to get into describing a Jam Knot but I'll provide a link to a decent video;

The knot I use is demonstrated beginning at about the 3 minute point on the video. I don't care for the first one shown.

That's how I tie a simple fishing fly and the video shows you how I attach them to the tippet.

Ard

 

[huronfly]

Re: So how do I use a Hook?

Nice tie Ard, thanks for the sbs! I've been gravitating more towards tubes as well the last couple seasons. As you mentioned they have several advantages over traditional spey hooks.

The only thing I have found that I dislike about them is if I am using an unweighted, sparse tube fly in slower water, the hook naturally wants to sag below the fly, also called hook hang down. It can make the fly swim unnaturally at times, and could cause missed hookups. This doesn't seem to be an issue in moderate currents though. Curious, do you ever use non weighted versions in softer water? If so, how would you remedy the issue of hook hang down? Some ideas come to mind like using lighter/smaller hooks, but I like a strong hook... Any thoughts, you or anyone else?

 

[Ard]

Re: So how do I use a Hook?

Hi Danny,

I do have a lot of unweighted models of the same patterns as those I weight. The hooks I use are actually pretty small. The one I pictured is a #4 only because I was lazy and didn't go to the closet and retrieve the #6 light wire hooks from my jacket. It's actually hard to find places here where the water doesn't have a decent amount of current. There are of course back eddy's formed against the shore in some places but with a current seam running right across the front of the slack water your fly is never sitting long enough for the hook to sink. Unweighted tubes are good once the water levels drop in late fall and I have them in every color combination I carry.

Another thing worth mention is that the weights for this component system come in many shapes and sizes. I used a big one because my first cast will be in high water during the spring melt runoff. They have all size of cone heads, the plastic discs, meatal discs, tiny drop weights etc. I'll do another step by soon using the long Flexi Tube for the platform, they are what I make the King flies on usually but I really like the micro tubes like the one here on this post.

I tie pretty simple these days and that suits me because if I lose a fly I don't flip out the way I did when I was spending 45 minutes or more on a single tie. The hooks, I use some light ones and have only had a few straighten out on me and those happened after multiple salmon while trout fishing. Honestly though I've reeled in a lot of 12 pound fish on light wire hooks.

If your hook is dangling behind the tube and hanging down take a second look at the knot video. Right around the 3 minute mark the guy ties the jam knot. That will help get the hook eye up into the extension tube on the fly. After a few knots you will figure out how to get the length of loop you need. After a few years I figured out that it is way easier to make all the extension tubes the same length. That way you can standardize the knot tying and always hit it right on the money. If each fly has a different length extension tube then each knot you tie must be a different length also. Take from me, standardization is the ticket and the jam knot is the bomb

 

[eastfly66]

Re: So how do I use a Hook?

Hey Ard,

Very well done! I have a few questions but rather than hammer them all out at once and get confusing let's do one at a time. I see you have one of the "bullet weights" mounted with the point of the bullet facing the hook. In a demo they have it facing both directions. How does this effect how the fly swims if at all?

 

[ejsell]

That's some great info, thanks!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Ard]

Re: So how do I use a Hook?

Hey Ard,

Very well done! I have a few questions but rather than hammer them all out at once and get confusing let's do one at a time. I see you have one of the "bullet weights" mounted with the point of the bullet facing the hook. In a demo they have it facing both directions. How does this effect how the fly swims if at all?

As for the weight affecting how it swims? I have to say not at all. They are almost made to be used the way I do, maybe the other person had it on backward... Having the blunt end forward gives the materials (in this case soft hair & herl) the weight helps to flair them out. The flies are pretty basic but I've been catching on them since discovering the style.

You can make all sort of color combos using the same foundation and I really like that because it offers ease and I'm ready for ease

 

[eastfly66]

Like I said in the other post Ard, most of the other videos I found just showed me what the parts are and I can see that ! There on the desk in front of me. One did quickly show the guy putting on the weights in the back, front , tip forward and back but didn't say why I would do that. I'm just used to a bead in the front so that is why I'm asking. None of the other video showed how to secure the disk either.

Speaking of the disk option , what's your take on those ? Like em ?

 

[Ard]

The weights come in many shapes and sizes, I like the ones as shown but use others too. Discs and cone heads can also be slid back against some cement on the head then have the tube melted back to form the flange.

If you want to tie on the micro or the larger Flexi Tubes you can tie weightless flies or weighted then carry a pack of colored or plain silver cone heads in a jacket pocket. When you run into a situation where more weight is needed you can slide a cone head onto the leader.

I realize that for people just trying to get all these ideas organized can be difficult.

 

[dennyk]

Re: So how do I use a Hook?

Thanks again for posting the tutorial Ard-just what I was looking for. Getting ready to start tying some tube flies for the upcoming Fall Salmon, Steelhead and Big Lake Brown Trout runs. Excited to give them a try!

Denny

 

[Ard]

Re: So how do I use a Hook?

Hi Denny,

I have been reeling them in all week on tube flies. The beauty is you can chose hooks on site not at the vise. A word of advice if I may, buy hooks with a ball or straight eye not upturned eye. The ball eye will fit right into your extension tubing and help the fly to ride just right.