Texas or jig

Glen, personally I use both methods. I don’t have a preference. My opinion is that you shouldn’t either !

“Let the structure your going to work dictate your method”.
Example: open water to channel drops or rock (Smallies)–
jig style/open hook, weed beds/wood (LBass)–texas rig
etc.
I might add though, the best action imparted on the tube comes from the jig/exposed hook style. Fish love that slow undulating fall with the tube remaining horizontal on its way down.

Kensyl Reading————-EFN ProStaff
Ol’ Miss Guide Service

I do mostly smallmouth fishing so I mostly use a jig head. If you’re fishing light line(not really a problem with heavier line) you’ll find that you get much less line twist with a jig than using a slip sinker, the eye of the jig keeps it running straight. The exposed hook also sets easier with light line so you don’t need to set the hook so hard you risk breaking the line. Jig also offers a more “darting/gliding” action because the center of weight is inside the tube – I’ve watched crayfish in super clear water and the action is very similar to how they will scoot from one rock and dart under another when they spook. (you can change this to glide even more by inserting the hook further towards the center of the tube instead of the head, but doing this it will sink slower and you will have a harder time keeping it down in the current). Be sure to find heads with a big enough hook – I use the tear-drop style heads so they can slide in the tube when you insert the hook without tearing up the tube so much. I also reccommend you use different tubes than the flippin tubes everyone uses for texas rigging.

We have been using tube/jighead combo a lot this last three weeks. I’m just curious what you guys mean by exposed hook when using a tube jig head. We almost always even in open water put the hook point under or in the tube to make it less snaggy.(weedless). Doesn’t seem to hurt hookup at all. Are you guys just leaving it exposed? Lawrence

Mt. Man –
I rig as illustrated in the attatched picture. If I understand correctly it sounds like you are rigging with the head outside the tube and the hook going in, out and back inside the tube. If this is what you are doing you are probably getting an action more similar to a pegged texas rig (more vertical fall than with jig inside the head). That style will get down faster and stay down in current better, but with the weight inside the you’ll get a more darting/gliding action (almost like a soft jerkbait). I think your tubes will probably not get torn up as fast with it inside also. If you haven’t tried it inside give it a shot and see what works better for how you fish

Bassboy,
I agree with some of the above tatements. Change you rigging method to suit your style of fishing on any particular outing. When I fish tubes I tend to fish them in the heave stuff, so I like to texas rig them with a Gamakatsu Aberdeen hook, and peg the weight. I have only used the jig head on several occasions, and it works, if there is nothing to hang up on. I have found that texas rigging, either pegged, or free, has worked better for me in most situations.
Scott

Nope, were not leaving the jig outside. Take your drawing, with the jighead inside, now take the body of the tube right in front of the hook and pinch it up and back just a touch and push the point of the hook into the plastic about 1/8th inch. Unless you get a strike or set the hook real hard on wood or rock unintentionally it will go into and come out of some pretty rough places and come back snagless. On longer very flexible tubes we often don’t even put the point of the hook all the way through the body . Instead we spread the back of the tube open and leave the hook just under the surface, again with the jig inside. Hooking up doesn’t seem to be a problem. Otherwise with the hook expose what is the advantage over using a twister tail on a regular jighead??? Other than the fact that the bass just can’t seem to stand those tenticles dangling, and then lofting in front of their face. We started doing this about five years ago over on Petenwell to be able to drop right down into the underwater trees. I guess I thought that was the way everybody used them??? We obviously don’t use this in pads and slop, except along the edges. I’ve seen some real nifty work done with Texas rigs rigged like mentioned above. I assumed obviously incorrectly that the purpose of the sliding sinker was to finess,(spelling?), a little bit more kind of like lindy rigging for a more finicky fish. The fact that many folks peg the weight should have tipped me off , but it didn’t. Lawrence

Guys,
Huge correction. i have no idea why I said aberdeen hook. I use a gamakatsu shiner hook. It is the same style as the Shaw Grigsby HP hooks, I just dont like eagle claws. Sorry bout that. I also add my own wire clip to these to help hold them on the tube, I will send you a sketch if you like.

Scott

Ever try to Carolina Rig these tubes?

I agree with what most of you has said that there are many ways to fish these great lures. I have not tried carolina rigging these tubes, but I really have never done any carolina rigging. I want to start doing this, this fall. How long of a leader do most of you guys use? I have heard go as short as you can without spooking the fish.

An added bonus: I have been using the precision lure tubes for about 20 years for walleyes & the last ten years for large mouth, always with the jig hook exposed when fishing gravel, rock, & sand cuts – points,,, with pretty good results. I prefer fishing the modern day thicker tubes for bass texas rigged, one eighth ounce sinker and no. 4 hook {John}