Tube Flies: Fly Tying & Decorative Supplies, Materials & Tools

Tube Fies: Fly Tying & Decorative Supplies, Materials & Tools

Tube Fly tools by Pro Tube, Eumer, and HMH are our specialty. HMH and Eumer are our standard, tried-and-true performers in the Tube Fly world. Pro Tube Tubefly System products are a new addition to our product line, and we expect Pro Tube to be a go-to product within this 2010-2011 winter steelhead season. Let's see what happens, OK?

The Caddis Fly Pro Staff tie a lot of Intruder style flies for salmon and steelhead on tubes. Sometimes we call these Steelhead Tube Flies. We may refer to the really monster-size specimens as Salmon Tubes, Chinook Tubes, or King Salmon Tubes. Heck, we even tie some Bull Trout Tubes. The key issue here is that we tie and fish use a lot of Tube Flies, because we have confidence in them. ... view more

Tying a tube fly is not particularly difficult. One simply transfers the knowledge and perspectives used to wrap materials on a hook shank to apply the same materials to a hollow tube that is mounted on a mandrel or pin that is an appropriate diameter to keep the tube from rolling when applying tension with thread.

Why do we tie and fish Tube Flies? Let’s review some of the reasons we fish Tube flies. Fun. It is always enjoyable to diversify and develop different skill sets as fly tyers. But more than that, Tube Flies are effective and some of our staff are so enamored with Tube Flies that they have stocked their Steelhead, Salmon, Sea-run trout, Bass, Pike, Musky, and Ocean Salmon fly boxes almost exclusively with Tube Flies. Some of our Tube fly aficionados also believe that their hooked-to-landed ratio is higher with the short shank hooks we usually employ on our tube flies. And then there is the fact that the Tube fly will slide up the leader and provide a fair amount of protection against chomping and wear during the time between the fish is hooked and brought to hand. Finally, some assert that mortality of released fish is lower as a consequence of the fact that Tube Flies typically use short shank flies.

What type of flies are tied on Tubes? You name the fly, it’s adaptable to a Tube fly. Intruders, especially, are perfect for tying on Tubes. Classic steelhead and salmon flies are tied on Tubes. Surprising? We have tyers and customers who tie sparse wet flies and Muddlers for summer steelhead on Tubes. We have tied Clouser Deep Minnows on Tubes. Big long flies tied for Bull Trout, Bass, Pike, and Musky are perfectly suited to tying on Tubes.

What specialty tools and materials are needed to tie Tube flies? Not much that a fly tyer doesn’t already have. One uses all the standard tools and materials to tie Tube flies, however it is necessary to use a Tube Fly Vise or a simple, inexpensive Tube Fly Adaptor to secure the Tube while tying the fly. We stock the tools and materials you will need, whether you are interested in getting started tying Tubes or if you have considerable experience and want to graduate to the next level of Tubination.

What hooks do we use on Tube flies? Typically, we use short shank, ring eye hooks on our Tubes. Some examples of our preferred hooks include the Daiichi D1640 short shank, straight eye hook; the Alec Jackson D1648 Tube Fly Hook; the Gamakatsu B10S Stinger Hook, The Daiichi D2571 Boss Steelhead hook; the TMC 811S or TMC 800S saltwater hooks; and the Gamakatsu SC 15 hook.

Tube fly materials? We have listed only a few in this section. Please refer to our Intruder Fly Tying materials and Tools category and then browse the entire fly tying materials catalog. If it is material used to tie a fly, it’s probably applicable to a Tube Fly. Remember, the Caddis Fly stocks great fly tying supplies, fly tying vises, fly tying kits, fly tying hackle, fly tying feathers, hooks, tinsels, and - even fly fishing gear and equipment too!

Tube Fies: Fly Tying & Decorative Supplies, Materials & Tools