Bass Fishing Jigs - Tube Baits

Bass Fishing Jigs - Tube Baits

Tube jigs - tube baits (like the Fat Gitzit) are excellent for clear water and inactive fish. This lure is used on structure when targeting bass. It's designed to be used as a drop bait, not to swim back or work the bottom, other lures work better for that. It's not a "feel" lure meaning you can give it slack and not worry about a quick hookset because the fish just won't let go. It's usually used in water no deeper than 10 feet deep. Use a spinning reel on a 6-6 1/2 foot medium-light to medium action rod for best results.

How to Fish Tube Baits

  • Insert a light (1/16 to 1/8 ounce) lead head jig with a 2/0 hook into the hollow body (push the jig eye through the plastic), cast it on light line and allow it to spiral down to the bass, like a dying baitfish.
  • You must let the bait fall on total slack line for the proper presentation.
  • Let it sit on the bottom, then gently raise your rod tip until you feel the bait. If it feels "funny" (i.e. spongy, weighs a little more or less), set the hook!
  • Lift and drop once or twice, then reel back.

Tips

  • A popular rigging method is to use a 2/0 Shaw Grisby High Performance hook or a 2/0 offset shank hook with a (Glider) weight inserted in the body. This weedless rig is best used in cover.
  • Use a heavier weight (1/8 - 1/4 ounce) in vegetation.
  • Tighten your drag down for better hooksets, then loosen during the fight.
  • Once the fish is away from cover, stop reeling and let the fish tire out. The line and rod will absorb the fight, reducing the risk of line breakage once the fish gets close to the boat.
  • To eliminate loops and knots in your line, manually close the bail on your reel and pull the line taught in front of the reel. Then reel up loose line.
  • When using a tube with a weight, try to use two small bullet-style weights pinched on the line. This will make it fall erratically and the weight will not have to be pegged.
  • Use a worm saver hook and hook the tube near the back legs, giving it a curve. The curve gives the tube a lively action when the rod tip is jerked about 1 foot every 2-3 seconds.
  • When I go for the big ones I use my tube as an extension of the rod and retrieve. Once the worm is down and the line slack, count to 10 and give two easy twitches. This allows the worm to do as it pleases and you're not retrieving line. If there are no hits on the first time, try two more twitches and I guarantee lunkers will fly.
  • Try using Gambler's Florida rig weights. They screw into the tip of the tube and stay put. They also make one that rattles and can be deadly!! I usually use 1/8- to 1/4-ounce depending on the cover I am trying to get through. They also make a 1/32-ounce that is great when you want a much slower fall. These work great in winter and very early spring when you need a very slow presentation.
Tubebaits were originally marketed on a national scale during the 1970s by Bobby Garland. Garland's Gitzit tube quickly achieved fame as a light tackle 6 to 8 lb. test lure fished on a small jig head. The lightweight category was further reinforced by Guido Hibdon's legendary tournament successes in "finesse fishing" and "sight fishing" with tubebaits during the 1980s. Recently, due to Denny Brauer, tubebaits have also received national recognition as baits to be flipped in heavy cover on heavy gear.

Basic tube bait anatomy

The Gitzit and many other brands of tube baits are made of rubbery plastic which is often firmer and more like rubber than other soft plastic baits (worms, grubs, etc). Usually, a tube bait is dipped and formed around a metal mandrel or rod. Then the tentacle-like tails are machine-split (sometimes not so neatly) as a later step in the process after the rubber cures or hardens. A very few brands of tubes are injection-molded from the same soft plastic as most other soft baits and the tentacle tails are injected during the process, rather than split as a later step in the process. The injected tentacles are much neater, although still not always perfect - and they can have more fluid action in the water than the machine-split rubbery tails. A good example of the injection-molded tube bait comes from Luck "E" Strike and it is called the "G4".

The right tube bait size

A 4 inch tube bait is about right for typical bassing. This size tube is a great lure for catching large numbers of average-sized largemouths and tons of good smallmouths. Although there are 3" and smaller tubebaits, anything less than 4 inches is going to be accosted by short bass far too often. Even at 4 inches, it will pick up lots of smaller bass. It is not likely that a 4" tubebait would ever be anyone's top choice for a big bass lure.

Tube bait color guide

Tubes come in many colors For example, Garry Garland's original Gitzzit comes in over 90 colors, and the Luck "E" Strike G4 comes in 52 colors. I have tried most of them! You can use any color you usually use for any kind of soft plastic baits, and you will find that most colors work pretty good. I am currently quite fond of and recommend you consider trying the following four colors:

  1. Dark smoke back, light smoke belly/copper flake
  2. Rainbow trout (green pepper back with pearl belly)
  3. Fire tiger (green back/red flake with orange belly)
  4. White pearl

Back in the late 70’s there was a bait that came out of California that was billed as the ultimate bait to use when bass start to spawn and were sitting on their beds. Bobby Garlin was the inventor of the first tube bait that he used to market out of his home. When you bought one of the early tube kits you got 12 tubes and 3 jig heads that you could insert into the tubes.  The main drawback of this setup was that you had to fish the bait around sparse cover areas because you were fishing with an open jig hook, but when you got into the right fishing conditions the tube presentation was the best hands down at catching springtime and spawning bass. The key to early tube fishing was to fish the bait on a slack line. Start by making your cast and drop the rod tip, giving the bait slack line caused the tube to fall in a tight circle, so if you got the bait close to the bed as the bait was falling it would circle the bass driving them nuts generally triggering a bite. For many years tubes were only though of as baits to use when bass got on the beds and after that they were put away till next spring but that has all changed with today’s bass fishermen. Through the years bass fishermen have found better ways to rig and fish these key bass baits during the bass season making them one of the newest main stay bass baits for all season long catching bass in all types of different fishing conditions.

When it comes to tubes Outkast Tackles Pro Flippin’ Tube is my tube of choice the solid head construction makes this one of the most durable tubes on the market. As you will see by the following examples and riggings you have to have a tube that will be able to hold up to the conditions you are fishing in. I also like the Pro Flippin Tubes 4.5” size giving me a tube that is able to hold a 3/0 to 5/0 hook. If you are looking for a great all around tube that can do the job give Outkast Tackles Pro Flippin’ Tube a try.

The original tube jigs were 3"-31/2" long. The new tube jigs are 4" plus and are bigger in diameter than before. They come with salt impregnated in them and in a variety of scents to enhance their fish catching ability.

Most anglers fish them using a Texas rig. I like the Texas rig with the weights snugged up against the bait rather than slipping up and down the line. This is because I primarily fish them in the brush. The "fixed" weight doesnt seem to hang up as much as one that slides up and down the line. I use a 4/0 or 5/0 wide gap hook when fishing tube jigs.

Strike King Lures and Gambler make the best baits. They are both scented and hold up to the rigors of tournament fishing quite well. Other companies also have a variety of tube baits available. I like to use the watermelon and green pumpkin colored tubes most of the time. In clear water, I like white or shad colored baits.

There are as many different tube baits as there are worms, and more and more variations arrive each year. Some of the best tube baits we have used for catching bedding bass, and bass that are holding in tight to cover, are listed below.

Ringed tube baits

Many bait manufacturers have incorporated rings into their tube designs. Rings add bulk, trap air bubbles, and feel soft and lifelike to the bass. They allow for better hookups by reducing the amount of plastic that the hook has to penetrate. The first tube we ever bought that had this feature was a 4 1/2 inch tube made by Larew. These baits are made with an injection-mold, rather than a dip process, which is what you need to do to make a ringed bait. A lot of manufacturers are now adding a skirt to the ringed tube, which gives it even more bulk and a slower fall. The pulsating motion of the skirt and tail seem to come alive when rigged Texas or Carolina style, or used a jig trailer.

Tube Critters The 5 inch Sala Tube from Mister Twister, features a solid head and a body shaped like a salamander. This bait also has eyes. This is part of the Exude line of baits, which contains a water soluble scent that gives the plastic a slimy feel when wet. These baits work very well on bedding bass in lakes all over the country. Because it has a lizard type shape it produces a stronger reaction from bedding bass than a regular tube does. We like to use this tube in heavy cover also, on 20-25 pound test line. When we fish real nasty cover, we use it on a jig with braided line, such as "Spiderline." Another new type of tube is the tube craw. This bait mimics a crawfish well, and can be worked in all types of cover. Another craw type tube bait is the Yum Craw Bug. The tail of this bait is curled under like a crawfish on the move. We always use this tube when fishing for bass that have received a lot of pressure. It seems to get strikes from heavily pressured bass that you wouldn't normally get. We usually rig this bait on a 3/0 or 4/0 Gamakatsu hook, with a 3/16 ounce bullet sinker, and 14-20 pound test Spiderline Mono. They make a small 2 inch craw now also, which we use for drop-shotting. I like to use the Craw tube in muddy water, because it is more buoyant than regular tubes and moves more water. Rattles can also be added to this tube to increase it's effectiveness in muddy or stained water. There is also a tube now called a Fork Craw, which I like to use when fishing grass. It is thinner and slides through vegetation more easily and presents a smaller profile which is great for clearer water. Another new type of tube is the Double-tail tube, which has two curled tails that appear as wings. Luck-E Strike also makes a new tube called a Ring Daddy." It was designed by Rick Clunn who believes the rings give off a hydrodynamic signal that appeals to bass. I have used this bait effectively when pitching and flipping. When we need to skip a tube under docks, we like to use Strike King's new baits called the Tube Craw, Wild Thang and Tube lizard. They have smooth bodies which make them ideal skipping baits. I use them on a 4/0 hook with a 5/16 ounce bullet weight. The Wild is a great bait for after the spawn, and it catches huge bass. It is 5 inches long, has a hollow body, and a shredded tail. I always use this bait when I believe the bass are looking upward. I like it in the summer months, and I have fished it with a swimming motion very successfully. The tube lizard is a great bait for the spawn, through the post spawn period.

How to retrieve bass jigs

Bass jigs are worked slowly across the bottom, across structure and objects which might hold fish. Sometimes you might cast a jig into a good-looking location and let it settle a few moments before starting the retrieve. A bass will sometimes snatch up the bait where it lies.

But most bites occur when a jig is falling, either on the initial cast, or after a little jigging by the angler. A good way to imagine how to retrieve a bass jig is to imagine a cat responding to a ball of string being twitched across the floor. Work the jig slowly, with anticipation, as if bass were actually a cat hiding behind your living room couch, waiting to pounce on the bait.

Don't cast and retrieve jigs quickly, as with other baits. Each cast should take a little while. The strength of bass jigs is in their ability to be twitched and hopped along slowly, tempting a bass into taking the bait.

Bass jigs are great for going into heavy brush, and coming out with a fish attached. Don't be afraid to cast into fearsome-looking places with a bass jig, and retrieve the bait slowly, alert for strikes. Bass jigs are surprisingly snag-proof. If you do get into trouble, try jiggling the bait free instead of attempting to jerk it loose. It's uncommon to get snagged for good with a bass jig.

What to add to a bass jig

Many of us know bass jigs as jig-n'-pigs because a pork rind trailer has been hooked onto the jig to create extra appeal. Usually these have been cut in a wedge shape like a frog, and these trailers are often called pork frogs. But pork eels can be productive as well, especially in deep water. All are sensitive to drying out, so if you quit fishing for a while, take it off the hook and replace it in the jar, or keep it wet otherwise.

Light jigs usually call for light pork rinds. The same goes for a dark jig, which usually gets a dark pork rind. Sometimes a local behavior trend will upset the cart and anglers will swear a strange light/dark combination is best right now, but stick to the old combination as a rule. If you have a dark blue jig, a black pork trailer might be appropriate.

Use a smaller trailer instead of a bigger one if you hope to get more bites. It seems bigger fish do like large trailers, but experiment for best results.

It's not wrong to skip adding a pork trailer altogether and to fish the bass jig just plain. Plain jigs will catch bass sometimes. But it's a little like baking a cake and not bothering to add icing-you're better off with something on it.

Plastic crawfish have become an increasingly popular trailer for jigs. The plastic claws stand up when the jig is resting on the bottom, since the crawfish is hooked onto the jig by the tail, and it adds a great appeal for jigs. Pick a small size for these trailers also, and follow the same color combination guide lines for pork frogs.