The Simple Tube

Tube baits seem to be popular in America but not so much in South Africa. Could tubes be effective here? How do you use them? Ronald, Centurion Excellent question, Ronald! Tubes remain extremely popular in American tournament fishing but remain a rarity here in southern Africa. Perhaps it’s because other soft plastics appear more visually appealing, or because few anglers have been educated in tube tactics? Truth be told, tube baits are versatile, highly effective, easy to use and ideal for southern Africa applications. Tubes come in many colours and sizes. The standard 4 “ tube on the left, Big Shot Tube, 5” Musky Tube and the 6” Monster Tube. The popularity of tubes among elite anglers is not without merit. Tubes possess a unique, unpredictable darting action that bass find irresistible and the profile mimics virtually every forage species that swims - from shad, shiners, perch, gobies, bluegills and crawfish in America to bream, baby barbel, mudfish and crabs in southern Africa. The wide range of presentations that can be accomplished with the simple tube make it even more appealing. This versatile bait can be skipped under docks, flipped, pitched, punched, crawled, walked on the surface and even wiggled on a drop-shot rig. The first tube bait, called the ‘Gitzit’ was designed and created by Bobby Garland in 1964 and marketed through his business, Bass’N Man Lure Company. Sales of the Gitzit remained dormant until 1980 when Garland won a Western Bass tournament on Lake Havasu in Arizona, USA. Word spread throughout the American west and regional sales spiked. A few years later Garland gave pro angler Guido Hibdon a supply of Gitzits to use at the 1984 Table Rock Classic. Hibdon won the event and other notable anglers soon began throwing tubes. The baits gained popularity among the tournament elite throughout the 1980’s, bled into the bass fishing mainstream and continues to attract a large following. The slow climb to popularity remains a great fishing story. In 2011 Shaw Grigsby used a tube to win a Bassmaster Elite Seriers tournament on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes. Photo by: BASS Communications / Seigo Saito Florida pro Shaw Grigsby was paired with Hibdon in the 1985 Superbass Tournament on the St. John River and was introduced to tube fishing, and since then tubes have become his trademark technique. Between 1988 and 1992 Grigsby won the Texas Bassmaster Invitational on Sam Rayburn Reservoir three times, all with a tube, and in 2011 used a tube to win the Bassmasters Elite tournament on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes. In 1998 Denny Brauer won the Bass Masters Classic at High Rock Lake in North Carolina by flipping tubes in less than 2 feet of water. Popular pro angler Tommy Biffle remains a big fan of tube baits and four-time Bassmaster Classic and four-time FLW Championship qualifier Art Ferguson III has been guiding bass anglers for over 25 years using tube baits almost exclusively. With results like these it remains a mystery why tubes have not gained the popularity they deserve among the general bass angling public in southern Africa. Keith Rudiger caught this fat De Hoop bass on a 4-inch tube. Recently avid American bass angler and competitor David Lee Thompson came to South Africa and shared with me some of his tube fishing techniques. Here he provides some great information. David Lee Thompson with a Florida, USA bass taken on a 4” Tube. David Lee Thompson - FLW, Everstart-Stren Competitor -Bass Federation Competitor -Eight Illinois State Federation Teams -Three time Illinois State Federation champion It would be safe to say David Thompson is a tube fishing fanatic. This unique bait has become an integral part of his fishing strategy and a ticket for earning money and trophies on the American tourney trail. “Day in and day out tubes are the best all-around baits that we have,” says the bass man from Washington, Illinois. David is surprised that tubes have not found a foothold in southern Africa and acknowledges that although tubes may not be the most commonly purchased soft plastic item in the market place, a significant number of top American pros fish them regularly. Virtually every experienced, winning angler he knows uses them. “There is something about the profile that bass love, not to mention that it is versatile and ideal for heavy cover,” he points out. David has used tubes in all facets of fishing. He has pitched treetops and brush, punched grass mats, bottom bounced rock piles and even caught smallmouth on big, open water reefs. However the Illinois angler spends most of his time pitching heavy brush or punching grass for Largemouth Bass, and prefers a 4” tube for heavy cover. The smaller 4” bait remains the preferred choice because big fish will take the smaller bait, often respond to it better than a bigger tube and it provides the best hook-up ratio. He switches to a 6” tube such as a Venom Big Shot or Monster Tube when fishing lakes known for big bass or when hunting a kicker. Hook selection remains an important consideration in successful tube fishing. Years of trial and error led David to the 4/0 Trokar Tube Hook. He rigs it by inserting the entire hook (including the bait keeper) through the head and concealing it inside the hollow body. The hook eye is the only exposed part of the hook. The point of the hook is pushed through the side of the tube to create an open slit. The point is then re-inserted into the bait, making it weedless. He then pegs either a 1/8 ounce or 3/16-ounce weight tight to the hook eye - the lighter weight is for a slower presentation and the heavier weight for a fast reaction bite. The amount of weight also dictates “feel” which he considers an important element of pitching heavy cover. He uses the same tube setup onto thick mats of moss or weed but switches to a heavy punching weight, sometimes 1.5 to 2 ounces. The tube bait has no appendages and slips easily through thick grass cover. A trick he uses to get maximum penetration is to coat the tube with Crisco Oil or some type of oily fish attractant to help it slide through the weed mat. Left: Threading a wide gap hook to rig a Monster Tube, Texas style. David Thompson uses a Trokar Tube hook that fits inside the body of the tube. Right: David talking tubes with Peter Marriott, Director of Casa Msika Lodge in Mozambique. David uses braid exclusively for tube fishing, opting for at least 50-pound line in the heaviest cover and downsizing to 30 pounds in crystal clear water. He sees no adverse response to braid but uses a black sharpie to colour the last several feet for concealment. He selects dark tubes with red flake in the early season and natural craw colours as the season progresses. David’s big win at the Illinois B.A.S.S. Federation Championship on Lake Shelbyville, USA several years ago illustrates his attraction, dare I say addiction, to tube fishing. There was a great spinnerbait bite on the lake and most anglers took advantage of it, bringing in some impressive bags, but David shunned the crowds and pitched heavy cover with tube baits for three days solid, earning him a win at the major event. “I love tubes!” he states with a wink and a smile.