Bobby Garland is credited with popularizing tubes. His success in marketing the Gitzit, just as the nation began to embrace western finesse tactics, truly revolutionized fishing. From its early days as a jig-bait, the tube quickly gained a reputation as a fish-catching bait rigged in a variety of styles from Texas and wacky to Carolina and split-shot.
Bassmaster and FLW Tour pro Art Ferguson III has been a tube man since his early days of club fishing at home in Michigan. He's continued to refine his tube tactics in Tour and AAA competition, as well as in his 15 years of guide work with clients on Lake St. Clair. That combination of experience has resulted in a wealth of knowledge about how to extract maximum performance from the simple hollow-plastic, tentacle-tailed tube.
Maximizing the Basics
While Ferguson employs tubes in situations from flipping heavy cover to dragging the bottom of Lakes Erie and St. Clair, he's known as a specialist in the simple open-hook jig presentation.
"My favorite way to fish a tube is with a jighead inserted inside and the hook exposed," he said. "I have a certain way I want the tube to appear and that rig does exactly what I want."
It's a straightforward rig, and Ferguson's attention to detail focuses on the basics.
"I like a jighead that fits the exact inside diameter of my tubes, which are Mizmo Big Boys," he said. "I want the head all the way up in the front of the tube so the weight is situated in a way that makes the bait fall vertically."
That's counter to the notion that a tube ought to sink in a death spiral.
"I want my bait to fall right onto my underwater target and a vertical drop accomplishes that best," he said.
More Fish Than Craw
"Most of the time, I'm thinking about my tube more as a baitfish than a crawfish," Ferguson said. "So, after paying attention to gobies, perch, shad and other bait, it became clear to me that they're usually not swimming in circles or jumping and jerking."
The drop is important, but Ferguson said the retrieve is even more so.
"The key to my success is a natural presentation. One of my tube secrets is making sure the rig swims straight and natural. I don't haphazardly push a jig head up into a tube. There's an art in making the jig line up straight.
"You can call it 'tuning' the tube," he added. "I want the bait to glide or slide on the retrieve or when I'm dragging. If it doesn't work perfectly, I'll get out a new tube and start over."
Two-Stage Presentation
Ferguson views each presentation in two stages. Stage 1 is the drop. "I want the bait to fall vertically on the structure. Then Stage 2 is the retrieve at a speed that I think will interest following fish. I get more strikes on a steady, straight retrieve, moving the bait a foot or two at a time in a straight line with no twitching or jerking."
Ferguson's tuning includes attention to the hook.
"I want a low-profile hook that doesn't sit up as much and snag every rock and blade of grass. Plus the hook plays a role in how the bait runs."
He prefers a straight-shank Owner hook with a 90-degree bend at the eye. "I'm not against a 60-degree or 30-degree, but I just don't use them. I like the way the bait acts with the 90-degree and have no reason to change."
Hook sizes range from 2/0 on 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jigs and 3/0 on heavier heads.
He typically presents tube jigs on spinning gear spooled with 8-pound-test Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon. "It definitely has helped me put more fish in the boat," he said. "I can control the bait better. I've taken smallies as deep as 48 feet in Lake Erie and need that sensitivity and low stretch."
For spinning, he uses a 7' medium-action Kistler LTA matched to a Shimano 6:1 reel. "Speed is really important on tube hooksets. You have to react quickly because the fish will swallow the bait or spit it out if you delay before you set up on them."
He'll go to baitcasting equipment – a 7' medium-heavy Kistler LTA and 10- to 12-pound fluorocarbon – if he's working the tube below the boat on deep structure and needs the power.
Notable
> Ferguson is staking his tube-jig fishing experience in his new company, Provider Tackle. Right now, he's marketing tube and grub jigs designed to his particular specifications, and plans to add swim jigs and dropshot weights in the near future.
> His next tournament will be the EverStart Championship at Pickwick Lake. He qualified by virtue of his runner-up finish in the Northern points. "Tube jigs just might come into play there," he said. "I'll definitely explore that possibility."
