What Are Tube Jigs?

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Tube jigs are usually made of two main parts. The first part is a simple hook that has a head made of lead that acts as a weight. The second part is a cylindrical tube usually made of plastic or rubber. The head of the hook is inserted in to the tube so that the end of the hook is the only thing exposed. The hook eye is usually pierced slightly through the rubber head the tip of the tube. When it is completely assembled it looks similar to a torpedo.

There are all types of colors and styles of tube jigs. Many tube jigs have rubber tentacles on the hook end of the completed jig to help disguise it from fish. But the tentacles also serve to give the jig a more natural look like that of a squid or insect.

Tube jigs are used by casting it out, letting it drop a few feet in the water and raised again by flipping your rod, or to be bounced repeatedly off the bottom of a lake, river, or ocean. In some cases the tube jig is actually dragged along the bottom to stir up debris. This action will draw a lot of attention to bottom feeding fish like walleye. Some tube jigs use a small amount of trapped air in the head section. This can help your jig act more natural by delaying its decent slightly when it is jigged up and down. You may also hear of people using tube jigs and bobbers when fishing for crappie.

Sometimes when putting a tube jig together it can be difficult to slide the hook head in to the tube. A simple way to make it easier is to use your own saliva or fish scent oil. You never want to use other oils that are not biodegradable. Lubing the tube jig is also an effective way to keep the rubber from cracking and breaking off, especially for salt water fishing.

Tube jigs are most commonly used for bass and crappie. An advantage that they have is that you can stretch the rubber to cover the tip of the hook as to make it “weed less” and more difficult to snag on rocks, wood, or other objects underwater.