testing tube flies for predators

A new take on an old idea

As said in a previous post I get the idea of tubes but I found that it was a pain in the backside for predators having to either carry them pre rigged on wire or having to clip the hook off change the fly and then re crimp the wire especially after catching a fish when wire can sometimes get frayed from teeth , I even once tried using a flying hook just above the tube but it was all a bit of a pain in the back side so I left it alone for many years until I picked up on the idea again so I got tying

I had almost a brain wave when I realised that I could actually make a completely new rig for tube flies aimed at pike and predators which makes changing tubes a breeze here’s how I did it
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First you have to use Authanic wire from predator bite the reason is the only one I could get doubled up through the tube and allowing free movement of the tube up the trace therefore giving you less leverage on the hook which should equate to more fish on the bank.so first up you’re going to need 16 inches of Authanic wire which you will fold in half then join the two loose ends together with either a loop knot or a sliding knot a surgeons know is a fast and easy knot to use http://www.animatedknots.com/surgeonsloop/index.php

Join to your leader like the picture below don’t worry about the know being a tight fit here as this trace will last you for a long time (some people I know are still using the same trace a full season on)

Next you have to use your threader , I’ve made this from a length of backing and I’ve added 2 inches of deercreeks diamond hard uv on the end of each end to enable it to go through the tube more smoothly if you don’t do this it will stick to the inside of the tube when wet , really does make all the difference when threading


What we then do is thread one end of the backing right through the tube and through the looped Authanic wire then take your loose end and thread back through the tube

So when you put the loose end back into the tube you will have something looking like the picture below ready to be pulled through all you need to do is push the end through the tube till it come out from the bottom of the tube

Once you have done this you can then pull the Authanic wire through the tube like the picture below this is why you harden the ends of the backing threader , because you probably wouldn’t get it through the tube

Once you’ve removed the threader it’s now time to attach the hook which is done by quite simply threading the loop through the eye of the hook and then back on itself this is such a great way of attaching a hook and even when wet you can change it no bother (apologies for the cut thumb I had a close encounter with a zip on my bag).

The hook now attached , I have used a circle hook as I believe this is best for the job, as you may be aware salmon anglers especially here in Scotland use treble hooks , this is simply not needed with pike fishing and of course with a single circle hook there no need to strike on a hit as 99% of the time the fish will lip hook itself , the other thing to mention is that you will see a lot of set ups using beads to stop the eye of the hook going up into the tube , with the size of hooks we use for pike the eyes are usually big enough not to get stuck but feel free to use one if you wish

The finished tube ready to fish I’ve used a weighted tube here as I was wanting to be close to the deck

Urban fishing at its well most urban I have 2 rods set up here as I have a friend helping me test the rigs out the rods ive used are pikesabers loaded with 10wgt lines

The water where I was testing was around 5ft deep and slightly murky hence the orange and green tubes which showed up nicely in the water the one great thing about this venue is although there isn’t a great deal of casting area behind you a decent roll cast was getting me right up to the boat

After a few hours and various spots I like to fish without any action I decide to change the tube over to a slightly different pattern as you can see the tube is still running free on the trace the hook is actually only a size 3/0 it’s just that the tube is further away from the camera than the hook.
The interesting thing about testing this rig so far is that I was around 4 hours into the test and amazingly despite having quite a few hang ups (goes with the territory urban canal fishing shopping trolleys etc.) I hadn’t had a single foul up and also quite interesting was none of the material had fouled around the hook promising very promising.

Although this looks skinny and sandeel like when in the water they really come alive with a big baitfish profile very very nice

To change the tube is simple; all you have to do is push to loosen the hold on the eye and push the hook through the loop and that’s it all you have to do is put another tube on as described at the start of this post and that’s it do in just a minute or so easy

And you’re back fishing
If you have any questions about the rig or tubes please feel free to contact me, I will next week do a tube tying video and a separate video on rigging them so tune in next week or subscribe for updates

So the whole test was almost a complete success with the rigs I say almost as neither myself nor my fishing buddy managed to hook up to any fish, to be honest there could be a 101 reasons why we didn’t catch, I do have my own ideas as I had left it very late in the morning to fish as there was no way I could get my unnamed fishing partner up to be fishing at 4am when to be honest it’s the prime time on here before all the cyclists , joggers, dog walkers and assorted city slickers head for work .

This picture above looks very pikey and to be honest most of the canal looked like this in the sections I fished, but further up in my favourite section the council have cleaned the bankside installed lovely solar lights into the freshly tarmacked towpath and it looks awful from an angler’s point of view time will tell but before I decide if they have completely cocked up the fishing ill need to do a couple of early morning jaunts first.

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and in other news

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a brand new blog has appeared on the radar please go on over and give him your support i suspect this is going to be a worth a read blog and im looking forward to his posts go sign up folks

tight lines from the cave

mcfluffchucker