TFJ Poll #5

Save Your Tube Fly System- The Beginning!

Over the years, several of my tube fly colleagues have asked if I’ve figured out a way to retrieve a tube fly after it’s been hung up in a snag?  The answer has been…yeah…no!  If you have ever fished a topwater tube fly made of closed cell foam then you know the possibility of retrieving a snagged tube fly is a reality!  If the hook breaks free from the popper, the head system (main part of the tube fly) should continue to float in the surface film near the snag area or begin to drift downstream in a current situation!  Catch the lost TF and re-tie!!

 But, this is not the case for subsurface patterns (anything that sinks below the surface film) when stuck in the woody debris or rocky terrain!  Well, I can not take the credit for my latest contribution to the tube fly industry.  It was inspired by the “god father” of Great Lakes steelhead fishing on the fly!  I’m a strong believer in giving credit when credit is due!  So, hats off to Mr. Ray Schmidt of Schmidt’s Outfitters and his staff in Wellston, Michigan for planting the seed!  Ray and his guide staff have been tying and fishing tubes flies for years on the Big Manistee River in Michigan.  The Big Man is full of woody debris, which as we know, holds fish and grabs your tube flies more often then not!

 Mr. Schmidt has created a tube fly streamer system that allows the separation of hook and flies when snagged and your tube fly comes back to hand!  The hook is left is the “hang-up” and your tube fly remains on the line due to a micro swivel attached to the main portion of your tippet which internally catches the tubing of your tube fly streamer.  There’s a four pound test difference between the leader to the hook and the main tippet to the swivel (see www.eumertube.com and visit the “news and headlines” section for all the details about Ray Schmidt’s Fearless Streamers)!

 Well, the old saying “there’s always another way to skin a cat” applies to my new discovery thanks to a world class fly tier that I have the utmost respect for!  My wheels began to spin after seeing this Fearless Tube Fly System!  The goal was to try to achieve an easier concealed system that offers a wider range of patterns!  The result was a “loop-to-loop” system on an octopus style hook which seats a bit cantered in the hook holding tubing for better hook setting ability and a boat load of popular tube fly patterns to boot!

 The Daiichi 2553 size 4 is the perfect hook  for most of my personal streamer fishing applications!  This hook has a red finish (I’m buying into the bleeding hook concept) that’s forged with an off-set beak bend…perfect for “snag-proof” tube fly rigging!  I’m following the same rule of thumb (four pound test difference) between the main tippet and the “micro leaders” that Ray has established! 

 Micro leader…what’s a micro leader?  I’m using Maxima leader material to create a miniature looped leaders which is thread wrapped and glued to the octopus hook.  Then I created a small loop in the main tippet (mostly using Fluorocarbon leader material) with a single surgeons loop.  The two loops are connected and then hidden inside on the main tubing of my tube fly streamers.  I leave the tag end of the main tippet loop so it protrudes past the hook when seated in the tubing.  This “tag end’ allows the angler to pull the main tippet back out of the retrieved tube fly after the hook breaks away!

 Intriguing…eh!  I fished an olive and white Riverhead Leech (RH2) for 60 plus days without losing the tube fly to a snag or a fish.  It was finally removed from my leader system because the tube fly was lacking feathers and fur!  These new “fearless” tube flies are going to cause a stir in the tube fly industry in 2010! 

 I’m currently back in fly fishing retail sales at Grand River Bait and Tackle in Lansing, Michigan (www.grandriverbaitandtackle.com) and would love the opportunity to personally demo this new concept with you!  And, I bet if you stop by Schmidt Outfitters in Wellston, MI that Ray Schmidt will do the same!  Having the confidence to fish challenging structure (places where the big fish live) in a new light…knowing your tube fly streamer will come back…time after time and fish after fish really will give you an added advantage over conventional j-hook streamer anglers!  Tie ‘em…try ‘em…you’re going to like the results and please tell a friend or two!

 Good Tying, Tony Pags

Daiichi’s 1650 Tube Fly Hook!

Looking for one of the best tube fly hooks to attach to your modern tubes flies?  Then search no more!

Daiichi’s 1650 (also see “TF Reviews” page) heavy-wire Tube Fly Hook was developed to satisfy the needs of Great Lakes and West Coast Steelheaders. These North American tube fly anglers pursue large and powerful steelhead, but most existing hooks were too light wire to successfully land big fish. The 1650 is made of forged 2X- Heavy high-Carbon steel and they are stout enough to land “big” steelhead.

They feature a 2X-Short shank, round bend and a straight eye – perfect for tube flies, but they also appeal to tiers making Glo Bugs ® and other salmon egg patterns for catching steelhead or large trout.

Daiichi has even introduced a size 4 hook last season at the request of several pro-staff members and professional anglers. The size 4 has plenty of steel to hold up to heavier tippet materials needed to wrestle big steelhead in tough terrain.  Available in sizes 4 to 10!  So, please stop by your local Daiichi dealer for details!