Tube Flies for Great Lakes Steelhead
Cones make the fly easy to cast and help to cover the thread wraps at the front of the fly. The downside is purely esthetic. The addition of the cone at the front of the fly eliminates the characteristic small, finished heads of the original Scandinavian patterns.
Russian-born Jurij Shumakov—who died of a heart attack while fishing on the Kola Peninsula in August 2006—developed a 1/2" machined bottle-tube hybrid with a weight-forward design to level the fly during the swing. Shumakov designed his tubes so the finished fly would have a small, neat head due to the use of small-diameter, rigid plastic tubing at the front of the fly. Shumakov tubes (shumakovtubes.com) are available in various weights and configurations for different water conditions including the Long Range, Heavy Long Range, Skittle, and Summer Arrow.
Jack Cook of The Irish Angler (irishangler.com) has recently launched a 1/2" machined tube (another bottle-tube hybrid) as part of the Steelhead Anglers Tactical Tube System (TTS). The tube design is based on Cook's experience working with Shumakov, Frödin, and Henrik Andersen fly designs as well as his own successful steelhead design theories.
TTS tubes ride horizontally in the water, and the shoulder design supports the wing perfectly. They are made in Portland, Oregon, and are available in brass (0.8 gram) and aluminum (0.35 gram) with brass, nickel, copper, and gunmetal finishes and come complete with small-diameter plastic liner tubing.
Bottle Tubes
Bottle tubes are available in aluminum, brass, and tungsten and are generally short and fast-sinking due to their concentrated weight. As the name implies, they have a bottle shape, with the tapered front helping to streamline the fly and allow for a small finished head. A short section of junction tubing is used to make the hook connection.
On traditional bottle tubes, the fly is tied on the front collar portion of the bottle. On hybrid bottle tubes, the fly is tied on a small-diameter, rigid plastic liner. This allows you to finish the fly with a much smaller head than with a traditional bottle tube.
Martin Joergensen of Denmark improved bottle tubes with a rim that allows for close and secure tying at the head, and a small-diameter rear end to fit a vinyl or silicone hook sleeve. Optional metal extension tubes can also be connected to the tube for tying longer-bodied flies and increasing the tube weight. The French company Bidoz (www.bidoz.com) produces the Joergensen bottle tube in 12mm and 15mm lengths, as well as metal extensions in both aluminum and brass.
Loop Tackle (www.looptackle.se) makes fast-sinking brass traditional bottle tubes in 1/2" and 5/8" lengths (gold or silver finishes). The center of balance of the Loop bottle tube is toward the rear, resulting in great tail action.
Loop bottle tubes are easy to cast and enter and leave the water quietly. They are ideal for tying compact flies—longer patterns require more junction tubing to position the hook farther back. A tapered front and a small-diameter collar with a rim allows for a smaller finished head than is possible on a straight metal tube. The front and rear tube openings on Loop bottle tubes are beveled and polished.
German company Wurm Tungsten Products (tungstenshop.de) makes a micro Tungsten Bottle Tube in silver, gold, copper, and gunsmoke finishes. This compact, dense tube comes in 6, 9, 12, and 15mm lengths and is designed for use with Wurm's integrated soft external and stiff internal colored tubes. The Wurm tube system lets tiers dress tubes with small heads on long tube bodies, which is not possible with the short design of most bottle tubes.
The Canadian Tube Fly Company offers traditional brass and aluminum bottle tubes in 15mm and 22mm lengths which are similar to Bidoz bottle tubes except they are much heavier due to a smaller center hole. They also have a tapered shape to allow for a smaller head, and contoured lips on both ends of the tube.
Finnish company Eumer Pro Fishing Accessories (eumer.com) manufactures traditional and hybrid bottle tubes including Teardrop, Cone Tube, and Conehead products. The Teardrop shape helps balance the fly on the swing. The Cone Tube has a cone built into the brass tube, while the Conehead is a two-part design. Both the Teardrop and Conehead tube designs accommodate small-diameter plastic tubing (which Eumer supplies) to reduce the head size. Eumer tube bodies come in a variety of sizes as well as bright colors, which make dubbing a body optional.
John Nagy is the author of Steelhead Guide: Fly Fishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelhead (Great Lakes Publishing, 2007). The updated 4th edition includes a new chapter on tube flies with 28 new tube fly patterns.
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