Tube Baits: A Bass Fishing Lure For All Seasons

One of the most productive lures used for bass fishing in all seasons are tube lures.

They work great and they are so easy to use that even a beginner can use them successfully.

One of the best things about using tubes is the fact they are so versatile.  If you love to fish off of docks and banks or go out in a boat it doesn’t matter.

Why you ask?

Basically because you can use these fantastic “bass catching lures” anywhere.

This type of lure works so great they are sometimes referred to as one of the prime “killer bass fishing lures”.

Once you learn the different ways tube lures can be fished, you will be rewarded with strings of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass your friend’s will envy!

Tube Bait Designs: Different Strokes for Different Folks

There are a large number of tube designs available and some of them are even combined with the shape of baitfish that the bass eat naturally such as the salamanders or crayfish.

Other tube lure options have been designed to be used specifically for fishing conditions calling for techniques such as flipping, pitching, Carolina rigging, and even finesse fishing situations.

Beyond the lures themselves, there have been numerous other types of accessory tackle items also created for use with tubes including specialized hooks, scent holders, jig heads and rattles.

Fishing the Tube Bait for Bass

The beauty of bass fishing tubes is doe to the fact they allow the angler to fish any depth of water ranging from the very shallow areas down to depths exceeding 20 feet.

Though I commonly fish tubes using yo-yo and swimming retrieves in deep water, I also love fishing tubes in the shallows.  One of my favorite shallow water techniques for fishing tubes involves rigging the bait on a “Texas-rig” style jig-head then skipping the bait under over-hanging brush and branches along the bank.

This technique is great during the warmer periods of the day when the Sun is high in the sky and has produced both great numbers of bass as well as some true lunkers to boot!

Tubes are great for this approach because they don’t get hung up easily and the bass react aggressively since the bait just invaded their tangle infested lair.

One of the tricks, however, is earning how to cast directly into these areas accurately without hanging up so the bass gets surprised quickly.  Making a successful cast will make a big difference in how or if the bass respond to your bait.

Rigging a Tube Bait

There are several ways to fish with a tube.

Rigging on a Jighead With Exposed Hook

The most basic method of fishing the tube is to insert a jighead (usually a tube or darter head) into the open end of the lure then sliding the head all the way to the front.  Once the jig hits the head of the tube, push the jighead eyelet through the top of the tube bait then tie to your line.

It is best used in open water away from surface and subsurface obstacles.

A special note on using jigheads for this method …

You can also change the position of the jig in the tube (not all the way to the front to get a different type of action as the lure falls through the water column.

Rigging Weightless Tubes

Some anglers fish weightless, meaning they are used just as they are by using an extra wide-gap worm hook.

When rigging the tube simply place the hook through the nose of the tube then work it around as you would any plastic bait and either bury the point of the hook inside the hollow part or through the top of the tube.

This method is best used for fishing in weedy or grassy areas because it helps to prevent the hook from getting snagged and hung up on structures and the tube is unweighted.

Tube Lures & the Carolina Rig

Another rigging methods include the Carolina rig, Texas rig or adding it to a drop-shot rig.

The Carolina rig is a little more complicated method because the weight is placed on the main line about two feet below the tube, which is left weightless on the end of a leader.

The weight will land on the bottom of the water and the tube will be bouncing around a couple of feet from the bottom.

The weight will stir up the mud on the bottom while making a clicking sound as it hits which helps get the attention of the bass.  After drawing the bass’ attention, the fish notices the tube floating behind the disturbance and be attracted to your bait.

Texas Rigging the Tube

Rigging a tube Texas style is very popular, relatively easy and great for fishing around deeper weeds and wooded areas.

Attach the bullet weight to the line followed by the hook and then thread the tube on on the hook in the same manner as you would using the other methods described above.

Simply pass the hook through the nose of the tube and then back into the hollow center of the tube and into the top of the tube.

This makes it good for fishing in weeds or other areas with underwater obstacles because the point is inside the tube where it won’t get hung up on the cover.

This method is perfect when using techniques like flipping and pitching.

Last But Not Least – Tubes on the Drop Shot

In the case of the drop-shot just replace the bait you normally use with a tube lure and you are all set to probe deeper structure!

Tube Tips from Wired2Fish

As an added bonus, here’s a video from the folks from Wired2Fish on rigging and fishing tubes:

With Spring (or any season really) rapidly (at least so they say  ) approaching, remember to stock up on some tube lures and experiment with the techniques above to increase your bass catching success this season!

Using Spinnerbaits in Clear Water

Many bass anglers shy away from using spinnerbaits when fishing clear water lakes and rivers. Part of the reason is that we are taught to use baits resembling natural forage. Just take a quick look in any spinnerbait and it is plain to see it has little resemblance to any bass forage. 

Even when selecting baits with color patterns mimicking different types of bait, spinnerbaits may look similar in color but lack the size and shape of the actual forage.

Nonetheless spinnerbaits can be highly effective when finished in clear water systems under the right conditions.

Best Conditions to Use Spinnerbaits in Clear Water

Though you can use a spinnerbait any time in clear water, the best condition to use spinnerbaits is one light penetration is reduced.

The best times to find these conditions include:

* low-light to bright light transition periods in the mornings and evenings;
* cloudy to partly cloudy days;
* sunny days when a good breeze creates chop on the water; and
* anytime from dust to dawn.

Using a spinnerbait in a color pattern mimicking natural forage when these conditions exist can lead to great days of fish catching not just casting and reeling.

Color Patterns That Work

As mentioned above it is often best to use spinnerbaits in color schemes resembling the major types of bass forage present in the clear water lake or river you’re fishing. Typically these color schemes mimic baitfish such as shad, herring, alewives, shiners, chubs, bluegills or perch.

Some of the more familiar color schemes include:

* light baitfish patterns with nickel blades (different variations mimicking shad, alewives, shiners) ;
* golden shiner pattern with gold blades;
* yellow perch pattern with brass or gold blades;
* green and white pattern with brass blades (mimics many chubs) ;
* peanut butter and jelly pattern with gold blades (mimics bluegills);
* crawdad pattern with copper blades;
* white pattern with white blades;
* bright chartreuse pattern with chartreuse blades (deadly on northern smallmouths); and
* black spinnerbait with black blade for night fishing.

The color schemes selected obviously depends on the types of baitfish present in the waters you fish. The forage base varies according to the area in which you live. In the northeastern US, common baitfish include alewives, golden shiners and yellow perch; chubs. On the other hand, perch and shiners are common in the upper Midwest where shad, herring, shiners and bluegills are often more prevalent down South.

It is always best to check with your local fisheries agency and determine the prevalent forage base in your local lakes and rivers to make sure you select the best color patterns. Remember to verify the types of shad, shiners and chubs present since many spinnerbait manufacturers produce color schemes resembling specific baitfish.

The best retrieves for clear water environs depend on the season or time of day being fished. During the daylight period of the warmer months (late spring through early fall) faster retrieves (waking, bump the cover and stop/go) tend to work best. Use slow rolling and dead dragging retrieves during the cooler months as well as at night during the summer for increased success during those times.

Here’s a little more insight from pro bass angler Marty Stone on fishing spinnerbaits in clear water especially in the fall…

Now you are ready to visit your preferred tackle dealer; stock up with the right color schemes for your local clear water lakes and catch more quality bass than ever before.

Wacky Worm Fishing for Bass

Many new bass anglers are constantly on the look-out for different bass fishing lures and methods for rigging them.  One of the apparently simplest bass lures to use can often be a tad more difficult for many fisherman who are just starting to try them out … these baits are basic plastic worms.

Almost from the first time we hear of plastic worms, it conjures up images of the first “live bait” many of us fished with … the ever-present earthworm!

So it’s easy to see why many new plastic worm fishermen think it should be a snap to use the artificial version right … just push the hook tip through the worm, cast it out and you are ready to go …

Though many plastic worm rigs can be a little more complicated there is at least one plastic worm rigging method that is straight forward … the wacky worm rig.

The best part, fishing the wacky worm rig for bass is also pretty straight forward.

Here is a short instructional video from Shaw Grigsby and the folks at Strike King providing the ins and outs of rigging and fishing the wacky worm rig using soft stick baits for bass fishing …

Next time you head out to your local bass lake, take a few wide gap hooks, 5 to 7 inch plastic worms and have a blast fishing the wacky worm rig!

You’ll be glad you did!

When Bass Speak, Do You Listen?

Have you ever had one of those days when the fishing is super slow and bass are barely cooperating then poof …

Something weird happens and a bass strikes when they shouldn’t?

I know I have like one time when burning a jig n pig from the edge of a lay-down and a nice 3 pound+ largemouth comes up and hammers it.

OK, so you say anything can happen once, but when it happened two more times within the next few minutes I decided the bass were really trying to say something to me.

After working a bank with several lay-downs for most of the morning but only catching an occasional keeper bass, this sudden change of action caused me to stop and re-think my game plan.

How did I react?

By stowing the pitching stick and picking up one of my spinnerbait rods, I started re-working each of the trees with the spinnerbait using a waking retrieve.

An hour later, I had caught and released seven additional bass ranging from two to four pounds. Even better…

Many of the bass were busting the bait on the surface with far more impressive strikes then I ever got pitching jigs.

Now that is really cool!

Not only did the change result in catching several nice bass but with much more explosive strikes!

A few weeks later, I was fishing another pond absolutely loaded with aquatic vegetation (pond weed, lily pads, coontail). My partner and I started the day working both the deep and shallow weed-lines with Texas-rigged worms.

Even though this pond tends to deliver great numbers of bass, this was definitely another one of the slower days where the “bass fishing” was definitely better than the “bass catching”.

The wind was blowing better than 15 mph from the south, so we continued working in and out of the various coves to conserve battery power. As we came down along a weed-line at the southern end of one cove and rounded the corner into the wind, I turned and made a cast into directly into an even bigger wind gust.

You probably guessed what happened then …

I was instantly rewarded with a pretty nasty backlash on my bait-casting rig.
After picking at the mess (and muttering) for a few minutes, I finally got the backlash out and started retrieving the line. Just as the line started to draw taunt, I noticed it was moving sideways and quickly set the hook into a nice fish.

Once the bass was landed and released, I sent another cast in the direction of the wind and poof … another backlash. (You would think … “Once bitten; twice shy” right!)

Again I picked at the snarl (while muttering even louder this time with a few choice words thrown in) and retrieved the line once the bird’s nest was cleared. This time when when the line tightened I found another bass had picked up the worm running out towards and under the boat.

Looking at my fishing partner we decided the bass were telling us to make two changes by the way those two fish had reacted to the worm sitting dead on the bottom.

One … Put away our bait-casters and pick-up spinning outfits and then to change the retrieve from a slow, bottom-bouncing presentation dead-stick the worms.

For the rest of the day, our newly informed efforts were rewarded with bass catching rather than just the bass fishing we experienced that morning.

See it does pay to stop and listen when the bass are talking (as long as you understand what they’re saying that is  )!

Tight lines and full live-wells …

Important Knots For Bass Anglers

Ever Feel Like You’re Missing That Special Fishing Knot?

How many times have you been out on a bass fishing trip facing a specific situation where a certain knot is required but couldn’t remember how to tie it?

I’m sure it has happened to each of us at some point and what happens?

We end up either running around asking everyone else how to tie the knot or improvise using a knot that is less than an ideal solution.

Even if you’ve been lucky enough to get your hands on a credit card size knot guide for your wallet, sometimes the little diagrams just don’t cut it!

Obviously the best way to avoid this situation is to re-learn how to tie the knot and keep practicing to commit it to memory.

Fortunately, today’s Internet provides numerous resources enabling us to access a variety of websites and other resources (videos, downloadable e-books, etc.) to help solve almost any problem.  This is definitely the case for our fishing knot problem and I would like to introduce you to a few of the resources I found particularly useful …

I was amazed to not only find numerous websites providing diagrams and written instructions but also websites with downloadable PDF files (e-books) and even videos.

The best part … I found all my favorite bass fishing knots on a cool website including the Albright, Improved Clinch, Palomar, Blood and Rapala knots.

Plus they were all in animated video …  How cool is that!!!!

Get Your Bass Fishing Knot Guidance Here!

Here is a video tour I created to guiding you through the website, different bass fishing knots (and why I use them) and how the site works …

As mentioned in the video, the link to the animated video site can be accessed directly by clicking below:

Grog’s Fishing Knots

Enjoy and good luck!