Tube appeal

I came across the first tube jig sometime in the mid-1980s, when plastics were expanding like crazy, especially for bass fishing. Plastics of all shapes and sizes are ubiquitous now, but 40 years ago, it was quite different. Back then, you had a basic shad, worm, and twister, and maybe a rubber frog. That was it. Tubes were so different, and looked enough like a squid to make some freshwater anglers go “huh?” That changed quickly, however. When tubes first came out, they were promoted as a bass bait. They soon proved to be an unbelievably effective one. My first forays with tube fishing for bass were during my earliest days of tournament fishing in the late 1980s. Although not all anglers think much of tournaments, they are where many new fishing techniques are born. It was while fishing tournaments that I learned how to rig tubes — both with specialty jig heads and on worm hooks — and I began using colours I’d never considered for bass before. They included purple, blue, red, and translucent green. In those early days, bass were unable to resist tubes. You didn’t have to mess about much: cast it out, swim or drag it back to the boat and…whomp. When the scents and salts were mixed into the tube recipe, all hell broke loose. This is also when the tube started to prove itself as an all-round fish slayer. Targeting more fish It was a frequent fishing buddy of mine in the early 90s who latched onto tubes for trout. “What is this thing?” he said to me one day as I was rifling through bags of the OG Berkley Power Tubes (the ones with Ron and Al Lindner on them). “That’s a tube, mate,” I said. My buddy was never shy about two things: trying weird techniques and borrowing my lures. He took a four-inch blue/purple glitter tube he dubbed “softshell crawfish” and then helped himself to a ¼-ounce jighead. We were fishing the Nipigon River in June, and I was using more typical presentations such as a Little Cleo spoon and #9 Countdown Rapala. However, the brookies — and a couple rainbows — were keeping my tube-throwing buddy very busy. Definitely busier than me. Soon enough, tubes were being thrown on both rods. What the trout thought that blue tube looked like is open to speculation but man, they ate it.