# Snag free tube rigging



## KTkiff (Jul 30, 2004)

Whenever I use tubes on Lake Erie around rocky bottoms, I get snagged up a lot using regular tube jig heads. There seem to be a lot of ways to rig it weedless/snagless, but has anyone used a swimbait hook/weight combo for a tube? Something like these?

http://www.basspro.com/Gamakatsu-Swimbait-Hooks/product/103718/

Or the ones I see with the longer weight on the hook but no screw.


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## KWaller (Oct 3, 2010)

Check out ACT lures stupid tube head 


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

I use these... http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Phantom_Weighted_Tube_Hooks/descpage-OWTH.html

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## big spurs 111 (Jun 4, 2013)

try using a 60 degree hook instead of a 90 ..


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## RiverRunner88 (Jun 15, 2006)

I use these t-rigged http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lazer_Trokar_Flippin_Hook/descpage-ECTFH.html they've worked pretty well just have to use a snell knot. 


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## KTkiff (Jul 30, 2004)

KWaller said:


> Check out ACT lures stupid tube head
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


These sound intriguiging. Any hookup issues?


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## KTkiff (Jul 30, 2004)

Bad Bub said:


> I use these... http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Phantom_Weighted_Tube_Hooks/descpage-OWTH.html
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


I may consider these as well, but I've read on other boards multiple guys complaining of poor hookup ratios. What has been your experience?

Thanks for the input guys. THis is what I'm looking for. I'm trying to stay away from a weight that is not connected to the hook.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

KTkiff said:


> I may consider these as well, but I've read on other boards multiple guys complaining of poor hookup ratios. What has been your experience?
> 
> Thanks for the input guys. THis is what I'm looking for. I'm trying to stay away from a weight that is not connected to the hook.


Eh, not terrible. I do believe at times the weight can get in the way, and I have missed "some" fish. But you aren't catching them while you're retying either. I guess you'd just have to weigh the pros/cons based on your own experiences... to me, when I "need" a "snagless" tube on the Ohio river, the very few fish I may not stick well is worth it compared to losing $25 worth of tubes and heads in barge ropes, steel cables, concrete piles, etc... and the time it takes to constantly tie on new stuff, over the course of an 8 hour day. You get hung up in that stuff, and it doesn't matter what kind of line you're using... it's gone!

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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I'd have to ask why you're trying to stay away from a weight that isn't connected to the hook? If you like the fall characteristics that a weight inside the nose of the tube gives you, (the internal weight gives the bait a much more pronounced spiral on the fall than an external weight) then I could understand not wanting an external weight at the nose of the bait. If you're doing it because you think it may make the bait less likely to hang up, then I'd have to disagree. Personally I think a weight inside the head of a tube makes the bait hang up easier because the nose of the bait isn't tapered at all. 

But if it's the spiral fall you like, I occasionally use a weight made by Eagle Claw that is meant to be hidden inside of the tube, they call it the HP Quick Clip weight. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Eagle_Claw_HP_Quickclip_Weights_5pk/descpage-ECHPW.html You slide the weight inside the bait and then while rigging the hook you slip it through the little loop on the end of the bait. I don't use it very often though, and really only when I want to skip a bait up under a dock or under overhanging branches. But, like the type of hook and weight combo that Bad Bub mentioned, it does give the bait a nice spiral fall. 

It's said that the spiral fall that a tube bait has is what makes it so effective. And that very well may be true. I may be missing something, but for me personally that spiral fall annoys the heck out of me. lol Plus it twists the heck out of your line. If you're using an internal weight and spinning gear and you wondering where all the line twist is coming from .... it's coming from the tube bait. You'll get line twist from a tube even with what would be considered a standard Texas rigging with your weight pegged to the tubes nose, but it is no where near as bad as with an internal weight. I'll only use an internal weight if I absolutely have to, to get the bait to go where I want it to go. Other than that, I use a Texas rigged tube. 

Just my personal preference I guess.

Wanted to mention one more thing. The weighted swim bait hook you were wondering about possibly using. That will make the bait fall in a horizontal position. Personally I would think it would make the bait more likely to hang up if you are dragging the bait along a rocky bottom. But if you want to try them I'd suggest changing the screw lock that comes on the hook, to an Owner CPS screw lock. The reason I suggest the switch is because the spirals of the Owner screw lock go completely to the eye of the lock. The lock that comes on the Gamakatsu hook has a straight shank between the spiral portion and the connection point. When you screw that type of screw lock into a thin nosed bait, the screw screws almost completely through the nose of the bait, leaving pretty much only the shank of the screw lock in the nose of the bait. It will pull off very easily, and can pretty much render the bait useless because it makes a big hole in the end of the bait. 

I may not have explained it very well, but if you look at the picture of the hook on the link you posted, and then look at one of the Owner CPS screw locks. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_CPS_Spring/descpage-OCPSS.html I'm sure you'll be able picture what I am describing. Once again, just my personal preference.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

For smallmouths, I personally almost always use an "internal" weight for the exact "spiraling fall" bassbme described. There's just something about dragging that tube, then ripping it up off the bottom and letting it spiral and hunt its way back to the bottom that they just can't stand. When pitching and flipping docks or wood primarily for largemouth, I Texas rig it on a trokar tube hook and a (usually) 3/8 oz. bullet weight. In those instances, I want a fairly straight fall.

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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Bps makes a lead weight with a hole in it. Slide the lead into your tube then rig weedless with your favorite wide gap hook. The hook goes through the nose of tube and lead holding the lead in place... didnt click any of the links so not sure if mentioned yet...


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Sorry just got the package out,lindy makes them bps sells them. Its called E-Z Tube weight.im thinking it may be a bps exslucive cause there labels are on the packageing..


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## KTkiff (Jul 30, 2004)

> I'd have to ask why you're trying to stay away from a weight that isn't connected to the hook?


It just seems like a pain to slide the weight in, find the hole when I am sliding the hook thru the tube, and then texas rigging it. Maybe it's not since I haven't tried it before. But if it wasn't for getting snagged all the time in the rocks, a standard tube jighead seems so much easier.

I bought a pair of those ez weights from Cabelas today. I also might try the act stupid tube. I would love to get more feedback on the stupid tube.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Saugeyefisher said:


> Sorry just got the package out,lindy makes them bps sells them. Its called E-Z Tube weight.im thinking it may be a bps exslucive cause there labels are on the packageing..


I have those as well. They are kind of a pain to use...

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## Marshall (Apr 11, 2004)

Many smallmouth are caught on a drop shot with finesse worms and Gobi style baits. Just another option to look at. I think the weight does not snag as easy.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I haven't tried the weights that Saugeyefisher and Bad Bub are talking about, but the Eagle Claw HP quick clip weights that I mentioned earlier aren't all that difficult to rig. You can feel the loop and the position of the loop fairly easily and once you've rigged one or two you'll get the hang of rigging them fairly quickly. 

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone that has used the ACT stupid head that was mentioned earlier, as well. From looking at a picture of it, other than a slightly different hook, it doesn't look much different than a standard tube jig head that uses the 60 degree eye angle that big spurs mentioned earlier. If the hook is meant to be Texas rigged then it looks like it would be a pain to use. Of course appearances could be deceiving.

Since you're looking for rigging suggestions I'd assume you'd be looking for hook suggestions as well. For me personally there are only two hooks that I would use for Texas rigging a tube bait. The first and IMO the best tube bait hook on the planet would be the Trokar TK190 tube hook. They're expensive, and they don't hold a point as well as some other hooks do, but they are deadly sharp and they have a keeper that keeps the bait in place on the hook very very well. Also..... if they need resharpened I can't seem to get the point back to being as sharp as I'd want it. If I need to resharpen one I just toss it and tie on a new one. Despite what I see as draw backs, they are great hooks.

The other hook I'd suggest, and it's the hook I use if I'm using a weight you insert into the tube, would be the Eagle Claw Shaw Grigsby HP tube hook. It has a wire clip that holds the bait in place beautifully and they have a good sharp needle point that is easy to resharpen to sticky sharpness. I've never tried using the Trokar hook with an insert weight merely because I don't know that the keeper on the hook would fit through the loop on the weight. If it would, I'd use the Trokar tube hook exclusively. 

Hope the ideas help.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Bassbme said:


> I haven't tried the weights that Saugeyefisher and Bad Bub are talking about, but the Eagle Claw HP quick clip weights that I mentioned earlier aren't all that difficult to rig. You can feel the loop and the position of the loop fairly easily and once you've rigged one or two you'll get the hang of rigging them fairly quickly.
> 
> I'd be interested in hearing from anyone that has used the ACT stupid head that was mentioned earlier, as well. From looking at a picture of it, other than a slightly different hook, it doesn't look much different than a standard tube jig head that uses the 60 degree eye angle that big spurs mentioned earlier. If the hook is meant to be Texas rigged then it looks like it would be a pain to use. Of course appearances could be deceiving.
> 
> ...


The HP weights would definitely offer more "play" around the hook shank than the Lindy weights. Some hooks just can't make the turn through the Lindy weight...

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## Intimidator (Nov 25, 2008)

I use a 5/0 EWG Tokar with these tubes...they weigh 1/2 oz, so unless you're punching mats you normally just need the hook.

www.keitechusa.com/catalog/salty-core-tube.html


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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

from the first cast i ever made with a gitzit and an insert jig head i wanted nothing more than a more "weedless" way to fish it. it wasn't much later i came across the rigging system that has been shown here in the thread in previous posts. though when i picked it up, they didn't make all these specialized weights haha. 









just use cheap casting sinkers and i'm sure you already have some. 









lubricate with some high quality spit, insert and of coarse run your ewg through the brass. 









its a lot easier to change colors this way too. i haven't used insert heads for bass tubes in ages due to the op's same grievances. it always seemed like a tube just hung up more than any other open hook jig, i fish.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

pppatrick said:


> from the first cast i ever made with a gitzit and an insert jig head i wanted nothing more than a more "weedless" way to fish it. it wasn't much later i came across the rigging system that has been shown here in the thread in previous posts. though when i picked it up, they didn't make all these specialized weights haha.
> 
> View attachment 90124
> 
> ...


How big of a weight have you been able to get inside that tube? (This is a major "duh" moment for me right now...)

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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

Bad Bub said:


> How big of a weight have you been able to get inside that tube? (This is a major "duh" moment for me right now...)
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


depends on the tube really. that was a 3 1/2" gitzit brand. they are pretty stiff so about 3/16 oz max in a 3 1/2" and 1/4-3/8 in a 4 1/2".

in some fatter more supple brands like like zman or net bait, up to a 1/2 oz. but i rarely fish a tube at more than 3/8 oz.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Cool. Thanks. I usually use strike king tubes and 1/4 - 3/8oz. Heads. I'll see what I can get to work.

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## pppatrick (Apr 21, 2012)

you bet, much obliged. we share the same type mess on the river. the old rope is the worst. you shouldn't have any issue getting that weight casting sinker in those. its not any different than an insert jig head really.

i wanna try my hand at that jika rig.


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## gizitfish (Dec 7, 2011)

I use the ACT Stupid tube jighead ALOT. Once you see how it is rigged you get the ahh haa moment. It is totally weedless with the weight inside so it falls like a internal tube head but the hokk comes back through texas rigged to be weightless. I'll tale a series of pictures how to rig one.


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

http://www.confidencebaits.net/

Look for the "Draggin Head". Great for dragging a tube on the bottom, and not getting snagged up. 

I used it all the time last year creek/river fishing for smallies. This summer I plan on trying them in Erie. 

Plus if you get the 1/8th size they work great on just about any plastic not just tubes. *Hint: purple zoom lizard in just about any pond.


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## gizitfish (Dec 7, 2011)

I use the ACT Lures Stupid Tube rigging ALOT! It fits in well with how I use tubes. I texas rig and open jighead them in certain situations but the stupid tube head takes the best aspects of a t-rig and a jighead and combines them. It is a great way to fish a tube. You can get them from ACT Lures. 

http://www.actlures.com/


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## KTkiff (Jul 30, 2004)

I have been intrigued by these stupid tubes for awhile. Although they say they work best in 4 inch tubes. I typically don't like to go bigger than 3.75. Will that be an issue?


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## gizitfish (Dec 7, 2011)

KTkiff said:


> I have been intrigued by these stupid tubes for awhile. Although they say they work best in 4 inch tubes. I typically don't like to go bigger than 3.75. Will that be an issue?


My tube of choice is a 3.5 inch Rite Bite or Maumee Tackle tube. I use the Stupid tube head in them perfectly fine. ACT also makes a finesse version stupid tube head with a flat eye mustad hook. But to answer your first question they will work fine with a 3.75" tube as I use them all the time in 3.5" tubes

Clint


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