Spring 2025
page 28
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JIG HEAD RIGGED INSIDE OF THE TUBE
When I get dialed in and have an idea of where the bass are staging, I will use a tube with the jig head rigged inside of my tube choice. For this setup, I will choose to use a tube that does not have a thick or doctored head. I want to use a tube that is equipped with a thinner head. I will also use a jig head with a 90-degree eye position. This tube will circle above the bass on a slack line as it falls. This is how the original Gitzit setup was rigged, so you can make a cast that dares the bass to protect the bed and come up to meet your tube before it gets to their spawning area.
When fishing this setup, you may not feel a bass hit or pick up your tube. You may see your line go slack or your line start to move off to one side or the other. If this happens, reel down, pick up the slack in your line, and set the hook.
A key point to pay attention to is the weight of your jig head. Use a smaller weight with this setup. If you use too much weight, the tube will fall straight to the bottom and not have a circle action. Often, I will rig my tube and make a pitch or two alongside the boat to see how my tube falls and adjust from there to get the best action dialed in before I start presenting my bait to the bass in the area.
TEXAS-RIG OR STUPID TUBE RIGGING
The Texas or Stupid Tube rigging have the same action but with a few minor differences.
The weight of the Texas-Rig is on the tube’s outside. I will take an extra step to help keep my sinker in place because if it is free to slide up and down on your line, it will knock the tube down the EWG hook and it can end up in a ball up at the bottom of the hook.
You will need a thick head tube to help keep your tube in place and protect it from balling up at the hook point.
This was the problem I was having when I came up with the idea of using a cut section of a Senko to create a beefed-up tube head.
One way to keep your sinker in place
better is to use bobber stops on both
sides of the sinker. This locks your slip
sinker in place better and curtails its
movement. After you secure your sinker
tie on your EWG hook choice, take your
tube and thread it onto your EWG hook.
Next, twist your tube, and bury the hook
into and through it, pulling the hook point
through the other side and burying the
hook point back into the tube, making
it weedless. Slide your sinker into place
just above the tube’s head. If you want
to make one more tweak, you can run a toothpick through the tube head into the eye of your hook. This will lock your tube in place even better.
The way to do the Stupid tube rigging is to buy a tube jig head equipped with an EWG hook. This is the most effective way to present the Stupid Head rigging. Flip your tube over and pull the tentacles to the side to expose the hollow body of the tube. Take your hook point into the hollow body of the tube and run it out of the tube at the point where you want your hook to exit the tube. Pull the hook out of the tube at this point. This will move the head of your tube jig up to this position, twist the jig head upward to the top of the tube, and work the eye through it. Next, bury the hook point through the tube and skin hook the point of the hook back into the tube to complete your rigging. You are now set to fish your Stupid Tube Rig.
ROD/REEL/LINE CHOICE
I use a baitcaster and a spinning setup when fishing a tube. When targeting deeper water areas, I prefer to use a baitcaster setup. The main reason for this is my selection of tubes and weights that I am fishing. I will also use a