Tying Tube Flies

[Smolt]

Can anyone recommend a book or video with clear instructions for tying tube flies on plastic tubing material? Thanks in advance.

[sinktip]

Book:

I'm sure there are others out there but the only one I have read is:

Tube Flies: A Tying, Fishing and Historical Guide (1999)
by
Mark Mandell, Les Johnson

[t_richerzhagen]

by the "tip." There will porobably be others out in the future, but right now that seems to be the best. Other books on tying, and many magazines have article(s).

[BThomas]

Dick Talleur has at least two videos on tube flies in the Hooked on Flytying series . There may be others in the series that I`m unaware of .

[baldmountain]

Tying tube flies isn't much different than tying flies on hooks. Rather than spending money on a book, buy some tubes and give it a try. I sold my tube fly book because it didn't add anything beyond what I had learned from other books. (Well, except for the tube fly patterns, but I was adapting trout and bass flies to tubes so I didn't need the patterns either.)

[Topher Browne]

Smolt,

The best DVD on the subject by the man who perfected tying on plastic tubes:

Mikael Frodin's "Moderna Laxflugor: Att binda pa tub."

Available only in Swedish, however fly-tying is an international language; Region 2 DVD only.

tb

[Smolt]

Thanks to you all for your help.

I have ordered the Mandell book. I will try and rent the Talleur videos, as well as the Jorgensen video, to get an idea of how useful they may be. I have the Jorgensen book, so I will take a look at that.

Last, but not least, I will enroll in a Berlitz course on Swedish and buy a European player so that I can review the Frodin DVD. Seriously TB, your knowledge of everything fly fishing never ceases to amaze me. Truth be told, my brother has a rather sophisticated DVD player that might work with the Frodin DVD and I have a friend who is fluent in Swedish, consequently, the Frodin DVD is an intriguing and welcome suggestion. For those who may be interested, it only costs about $30 USD, but shipping may be a bit steep.

Topher, I hope to see you again this year at the Catt Clave.

CK

[aholko]

I am new to tube flies and I am confused about 2 points. 1) Is it really important to attach the hook to the tube with a small piece of tygon tubing provided for that purpose. Since many Moal are made with the lose hook tied with thin superline the hook is probably oriented in a random direction with respect to the fly and does not cause any problem with the hooking process. For Coho I just tied the hook on with a loose Rapala type knot and there was no problem hooking the fish. 2) Some people claim that using heavy copper tubes with or without cones makes the fly heavy and ruins the swimming action. Especially in long leeches. Is this so? In the Pacific Rivers if you are not down on the bottom you will not catch anything. Of course very short leaders and very fast sinking lines can compensate. But is it a good thing to have the line scrape bottom and the fly 18 inches above if it is unweighted. I would appreciate your thoughts.

[speyman]

No need to buy a player
I have the Frodin DVD in NTSC format to play in the USA.

There will be an update here shortly with English language and when that happens I will update those that bought the Swedish version for free.

Even without the English you will learn more than you cam imagine from watching Mikael.

[Speyducer]

I am new to tube flies and I am confused about 2 points. 1) Is it really important to attach the hook to the tube with a small piece of tygon tubing provided for that purpose. Since many Moal are made with the lose hook tied with thin superline the hook is probably oriented in a random direction with respect to the fly and does not cause any problem with the hooking process. For Coho I just tied the hook on with a loose Rapala type knot and there was no problem hooking the fish. 2) Some people claim that using heavy copper tubes with or without cones makes the fly heavy and ruins the swimming action. Especially in long leeches. Is this so? In the Pacific Rivers if you are not down on the bottom you will not catch anything. Of course very short leaders and very fast sinking lines can compensate. But is it a good thing to have the line scrape bottom and the fly 18 inches above if it is unweighted. I would appreciate your thoughts.

Here are a few that I use:

[Speyducer]

Image 1 above - the many ways;

Image 2 above - hook directly into back of coned tube;

Image 3 above - hook directly into back of tube:

Below - more methods:

1. Bottle Tube with silicone junction tubing
2. Plastic Tube with silicone junction tubing
3. Copper Tube with silicone junction tubing
4. Hook on fixed loop, bead stopping knot from entering back of large plastic tube
5. Hook on fixed loop, knot of loop stopping hook entering back of small plastic tube.

[Norseman]

The Mikael Frodin DVD Jack ( speyman) refers to is simply one of the best....even in Swedish, you understand what is going on.....although I can't wait for the English version.

You will see him tie flies, the likes of which most of us have never seen. True artist.

Paul

[nrthcsteel]

Havent heard anyone mention it but I believe Mandell and Johnson have just released a new book "Tube Flies Two-evolution" Havent checked it out but hear its pretty nice. Ken Sawadas book "Tube Flies" is the one I have. A little pricey but some great tying instructions, great pictures and a ton of great patterns. Learned alot from Sawadas book and was able to "tie" in some of his techniques and use of materials to my tying on hooks also. Kevin

[CDG]

Spending money on a book isn't necessarily needed. Any of your favorite flies can be modifled for fishing on tubes, there really isn't much of a difference, just tie the fly as you normally do except on a tube.

If you are looking at tying some of the more traditional scandinavian hairwing type flies, then a book or a video might be warranted as some of the techniques can be tough to grasp without some sort of visual reference. Frodin is an amazing tyer if that is what you are after.

[Speyducer]

Can anyone recommend a book or video with clear instructions for tying tube flies on plastic tubing material? Thanks in advance.

Whilst Mandell & Johnson’s 1995 book “Tube Flies – a tying, fishing & historical guide” has good basic instructions for tying a variety of different tube fly types – for freshwater & salt, it does detail a good number of different patterns from the most delicate micro tube patterns to the boldest large tube poppers for the salt.

Ken Sawada’s 1996 ‘collectors edition’ “Tube & Waddington Fly Dressing” deals very nicely with the materials & techniques of tying on tubes, and gives superbly illustrated detailed stages of the tying of 34 tube flies, and 16 waddington flies, the text being in both English & Japanese.

Ken’s other book, more recently published in Feb 2006 “The Tube Fly”, with 18 detailed staged pattern tying instructions & super staged illustrations for these, also has single illustrations of the finished fly and the pattern details for another 300 tube flies.

I have the above books, and one DVD “A professional guide to tying spring & autumn tubes” by Gloria Younger – produced by Sporting Scene 1994.

I will be looking to get the newer book by Mandell & Johnson, as well as the DVD by Mickael Frodin.

There are some good tube fly tying techniques & patterns by Jurij Shumakov (now unfortunately deceased & a huge loss to the fly fishing & fly tying world) published on the net – try typing www-dot-rackelhanen.se into your browser, and search for Shumakov under ‘Fly Tying & Related Articles’.

All of these publications should give us direction, & inspire us to create our own patterns, variations & techniques, & as with trying out rod, reel & line combinations, it’s good to just sit at bench & tie a few!!

Mike

[Paul Angell]

Speyducer,

Your tubes flies look pretty good. I find the heavy flies a bit awkward. What type of line and leader do you prefer for the heavier tubes?

Can they be made to work in summer when using a full floating line but when you just want to get that bit deeper in a particlar pool?

Regards,

Paul.

[Speyducer]

I only use the heavier tubes (copper tubes, of larger brass bottles) where there are 'skulking' fish which are not particularly aggressive in moving for the swung fly, ie they won't rise a long way up the water column to take the fly swung through their visual window. These tend to be the autumn fish, or autumn fishing where the fish have been in the river a while, and aren't really very aggressive.

Any fresh fish, ie those that have recently entered the river, at whatever time of year are usually quite aggressive, and will travel & follow the fly, or rise a long way in the water column to take flies, and certainly running fish will be fished for in the top 2 feet of the subsurface water, or by using waked or skated flies.

Clearly with waked or skated flies, these need to be light (plastic if tube style), or hitched, and on floating lines. However, in rapid water with a floating line, I would use a small weighted fly - small bottle tube (eg Shumakov bullet), or short copper tubes 1 to 2.2 cm - to get the 'wet' fly in the 6" to 24" taking zone for aggressive fish.

I have found that plastic tubes do very well, but if you want to get these subsurface in anything other that slow glides, a medium sink tip, or and intermediate line is useful.

One very useful thing I did notice is that fresh Atlantics will take flies on the surface in really very cold water (<9 degrees C, and sometimes in water as cold as 6 degrees), and I have several very aggressive swirls and lunges at the fly during the stripping of the retrieve, where the fly was in the top 3 or 4" of water. Indeed, one of our group had hooked a very large fish on a Sunray shadow on water of <7 degrees.

I will continue with the experiments of line & flies -- these are exciting times!

Mike

[Paul Angell]

Speyducer,

I was on vacation last week in Suldal on the fjords with no internet connection so hence the delay in thanking you for the detailed description.

Also thanks for your earlier link to Jurij Shumakov's articles on Rakelhanen.

It is funny that you mention surface hitching for salmon in Kola. I have a very old video on the Kola featuring Dick Talleur who uses the dry fly up there on the Karlovka with great success. Falkus' book Salmon Fishing also mentions fishing Yellow Dollies on surface against the flow in a Sutherland river in the heat of summer but I have never heard of this being done in cold water until you mentioned it here.

Coincidentally, I have just received a copy of Henrik Mortensen's Fly Fishing Academy Volume 3 - Cracking the Code - Hooking a Salmon; in the mail when I returned home from vacation. Henrik gives an excellent account of using this technique in Iceland in cold water also and it is well worth watching.

Regards,

Paul.

[beau purvis]

I know you fellows are talking salmon,but.I know Bob Clay has hooked Steelhead on dries in cold water with snow and ice along the shore.I know he took a large [39-40"] on Christmas day in his home pool on the Kispiox with a surface fly a few yrs ago!Beau

[Speyducer]

Tube flies are not just for Atlantics, and waking flies (bombers, Wulff, Wally Wakers & the like) are taken equally well by Atlantics & Steelies (perhaps some of the pacific salmon species too?).

It's an exciting way to fish, to watch the fish come up, follow, then engulf the fly.

Going back for some more of this surface action next week!

Mike