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[StarBoard7]

Hey guys,

The past few years I have really been struggling with losing fish on Tubes. After experimenting with line sizes rod and reel changes I wanted to try some new tube jigs, in the past I have basically fished the bite-me jigs in all sizes and hook eyes but I have been thinking about trying a lighter wire hook with my tube jigs. Can anyone recommend a good brand I usually use sizes anywhere from 3/16 to 1/2.

Thanks for any tips guys.

[Waterfoul]

You owe it to yourself to try the Kustom Kicker Jigs goby profile tube jigs.  A lot of thought, design time, and on the water testing went into these.  With the biteme ROUND heads when you set the hook you are popping the fishes mouth open with that chunk of lead before the hook can get set into the fishes mouth.  With the goby head jig this doesn't happen because they are much flatter and therefore don't pop the mouth open.  I've noticed a much better landing rate with this jig since I started using them a couple years ago.

And, Kustom Kicker is a sponsor of this site... use one of the links Dan has provided.  Or click on it below this post.  :-)

[Got Fish??]

Wire size ? Absolutely . I have found I get  better hookups with lighter wire.  Quality  is key,  spend money on your hooks. Hooks are the most important piece of tackle in  your  box. Change your hooks often  to keep them sharp.

[UAWBigDog]

I like the Bite Me tube jigs.  I don't miss too many hookups on tubes.  The Bite Me tube jigs use Gamakatsu hooks which are like Velcro if you ask me.  I would say the most important piece of tackle in your box is line.  Most missed fish come from bad line.  You should replace line as often as you can especially if you're using mono.


BD                               

[spinnerbation]

I use 3 different brands that all work quite well.

- Bite Me Big Dude Goby heads
- Venom Snake Bites
- Tourney Jigs (Google it and it will be the top result)

All three have their time and place. I use the Tourney Jigs most of the time. The Venoms when I want to mimic bait fish in grass because it doesn't get buried as badly as most jigs. And the Bid Dudes around rocks and in current when I want to imitate gobies.

[djkimmel]

Kustom Kicker and Xtreme Bass Tackle. It may be the hook set you're using more than anything. Some bigger jig heads work better if you use multiple snap sets rather than a Bassmaster swing for the fence. Watch Zona's Awesome Fishing Show from 2014 with Aaron Martens up North on prespawn smallies as a great example of how to do this. It's like snap-jigging.

[motocross269]

I fished with Pete Gluszek during the Bass Opens and one of his comments to me on tube fishing was to fish a little heavier line with your tubes and don't be afraid to lean into then hard with multiple hook sets just like Dan is advising...I got caught off guard on a fish strike and a weak set cost me a heavy fish when it came unbuttoned...

[TCook]

Out of all the techniques regarding smallmouth fishing I feel that tube fishing is where I am the strongest. This is mostly because I believe they catch larger SM so I spend more time throwing them if the situation calls for it. With that said I have changed the way I fish tubes about 2 years ago when it comes to the gear to throw them on. I used to use light line with a medium action spinning rod exclusively. One day I fished with a buddy who used a heavy casting setup with 15lb line as I used my med spinning with 8lb and we got the same amount of bites but I probably missed three times as many fish as he did. When I switched over to a similar setup my landing ratio went way up and I didn't get any less bites. I have stuck with the heavy casting approach ever since and my tube fishing success has been better than ever. There are still times where the lighter line is needed to get the bites just let the fish tell you that.

[djkimmel]

Good advice.

[UAWBigDog]

Out of all the techniques regarding smallmouth fishing I feel that tube fishing is where I am the strongest. This is mostly because I believe they catch larger SM so I spend more time throwing them if the situation calls for it. With that said I have changed the way I fish tubes about 2 years ago when it comes to the gear to throw them on. I used to use light line with a medium action spinning rod exclusively. One day I fished with a buddy who used a heavy casting setup with 15lb line as I used my med spinning with 8lb and we got the same amount of bites but I probably missed three times as many fish as he did. When I switched over to a similar setup my landing ratio went way up and I didn't get any less bites. I have stuck with the heavy casting approach ever since and my tube fishing success has been better than ever. There are still times where the lighter line is needed to get the bites just let the fish tell you that.

This is definitely something I will try in the spring.  I don't miss much on spinning tackle, however 1 miss is too many.  If I start missing hook-ups, I'm going to go right to the heavier set-up to see if that would make a difference.  It's not something that should be overlooked.  Thanks for the tip.

Wire size ? Absolutely . I have found I get  better hookups with lighter wire.  Quality  is key,  spend money on your hooks. Hooks are the most important piece of tackle in  your  box. Change your hooks often  to keep them sharp.

I totally disagree with this.  You can use a fine file to keep hooks sharp.  You don't have to change them out so often.  Quality hooks cost more than quality line does.  A file is something every angler should have in his boat for sharpening hooks.  I've also seen thin gauge wire hooks break.  I think that line is most important and always will be.  If you keep track of losing fish, and I do, you should try to count how often that happens because of line and then how often it happens because of hooks.  I will tell you that it will be line in at least a 5 to 1 ratio.  Line will always be the problem more often than not.  Keeping mono on your reel too long causes it to become brittle.  When it becomes brittle, it breaks very easily.  Heat, sun, cold, rain, any weather condition will cause brittleness in mono.  I don't use super lines so I have quite a lot of experience on this.  I change mono on my reels no less than once every other week during the season.  Yes you may say I spend more time changing line than I do fishing.  Okay, I get that, but I do get some good fish if you have seen the pictures on my Facebook page.  All caught with mono.


BD                            

[Fishhog]

Curious to whether you guys are using braid or not?  I typically use 20# Suffix with a 10-15# flouro leader.  I use a Loomis IMX 7' mh mag bass rod or a Loomis IMX jig & worm 7' mh.  I use the mag bass for heavy jigs in deep water or strong current, and the other works well with the lighter stuff.  These combos works well for me and these rods let me do a lot of different techniques as well.     

[spinnerbation]

Curious to whether you guys are using braid or not?  I typically use 20# Suffix with a 10-15# flouro leader.  I use a Loomis IMX 7' mh mag bass rod or a Loomis IMX jig & worm 7' mh.  I use the mag bass for heavy jigs in deep water or strong current, and the other works well with the lighter stuff.  These combos works well for me and these rods let me do a lot of different techniques as well.     

I've wrestled back and forth with this the last 3 years. Do I use braid with floro, braid with mono, straight mono, straight floro. And what I've concluded is this, they all have a time and place depending on how the fish are eating it. So I will have 3-4 rods with each of the setups mentioned.

When I'm fishing current, I like a straight floro for the simple fact that it's far too time consuming to tie leaders all day after getting hung up and breaking off. A well-known river rat from Port Huron taught me that I will always use a higher lb test of 12-15 for this because it stands up to the rocks and muscles a little better than other setups.
 
If I am fishing grass and snapping my tube as mentioned above I prefer braid with a medium heavy rod and 10lb mono leader. I find a floro lead in this case breaks too easily on the snaps, whereas the P-Line Floroclear I use seems to hold up much better.

Straight mono is mostly for sight fishing and follow up bait situations while cranking schools. I don't want the fish to break me off fishing close quarters like that so a little extra forgiveness goes a long way.

I will also use the braid / leader setup when I am video game fishing vertically overtop of deep structure (rock pile, log, ledge etc). This just helps me get the most of a straight vertical hookset than any other setup.

Lastly if I am dragging a tube over a flat straight mono again is the way to go. That little bit of forgiveness lets the fish turn with the bait before feeling you so you can hammer them. Heavier 10-14 lb mono with a casting setup is typically the way to go with this.

Fishing this style I would recommend more of a sweeping hookset to the side to start the hook, then hammer them again the drive it home.

[Jefferson]

Ive been trying to figure this out ever since signing up for Madwags. Should I bring a MED spinning setup with 10lb braid and leader or a MH baitcaster with heavier line? Or both? As a non boater I don't want to bring to much and overpile my boater. Also, is mono the preferred choice for tubes on a baitcaster? Never set one up for that type of fishing.

[thedude]

i prefer spinning gear (med to medhvy) with 15-20lb braid and up to a 12lb flouro leader. up north i'll go lighter as the water is clearer and fewer zebra muscles. St clair i usually run 12lb leader.  I use casting gear with straight flouro, but seems like the line just gets twisted after a days fishing and you have to re-spool it. Braid last a lot longer and you can also feel what type of structure you're going over.

Also recommend using kustom kicker goby profile tube heads. We switched from teh fat-head style to those and noticed we snagged up a bit less and also were losing fewer fish. the flat head still gives it the "wide" profile but gives a little bit more hook exposed. i tend to use a 3/8oz head most of the time when doing the drag with these heads.

[Slipkey]

I used the Bite-Me Big Dude jigs for a long time, but have switched to the Kustom Kicker goby profile jigs.  Same basic profile, with a lighter weight, when needed, and a completely different fall.  For a regular tube jig head, I tend to favor either Bite-Me's regular tube head (teardrop shape - nose down, fast fall) or Provider Tackle's tube head (bullet shaped - more of a spinning, wobbling fall).

Most of my problems with losing fish on tube jigs come from getting sloppy in playing the fish.  If you allow them to jump or shake, you'll lose them 50% of the time - especially with heads like the Big Dude.  When you feel them making a run to the surface, get that rod tip down and apply extra pressure to keep them in the water. 

I also prefer heavier line for tubes (for the above reason, plus better hookset and resistance to abrasion) and usually fish 14# flouro or 12# P-Line CX on a 7' baitcasting setup.  For dropshot, darters, and all types of grubs, though, I still use spinning and light line.