Ruben Martin, reconocido atador de moscas a nivel mundial, instructor de casteo y conservacionista con el guía Facundo Pomponio, sosteniendo una hermosa trucha marron capturada usando una mosca tubo atada esa misma mañana. Foto de Martin.
Why would I use a tube fly for trout? No reason at all. Why do you ask?
Skip Clement, New Zealand
By Skip Clement
The native peoples’ designated tribal fishermen from what is now the Northwest of North America used tubes in their fishing. Artifacts of fishing hollow bird bones provided the conduit for their leather sinew line – the line we call the leader. That was 10,000 years ago.
Those intrigued by tube flies have little to go on unless they follow European fly angling, especially Scandinavian fly fishers’ posts and videos. They are more advanced in their use of tubes than North Americans. The added value of tube flies is a regular ingredient of fly fishing for anything in Scandinavia.
Some celebrity tyers criticize those who tie them for trout, crappie, bonefish …
International caliber and celebrity fly tyer, Ruben Martin, stepped up. He took on tube flies years ago, taking their value beyond their perceived limit and tying them for trout. Trout in Argentina can be Jurassic in size.
‘They fish better in most situations than hook-tied, always last longer, and have no fuss to transport – just stick them in your pocket.’ —- TJ Douglas
Martin has joined us, sharing his tube fly posts, videos, and comments (see list below).
Ruben Martin’s Tube Humpy.
Why wouldn’t tube flies work on trout?
This infatuation with tube flies, which graduated from strictly big game saltwater usage to largemouth bass freshwater canal usage in South Florida to trout when I moved to North Georgia’s Appalachian Mountain foothills in 2017, was guided by the question: Why wouldn’t tube flies work on trout?
Tube flies in North America seem predominantly used swinging flies in current for steelhead and salmon in the Northwest US, Canada, Alaska, and the Great Lakes. To get more information on how they are used, try contacting Jay Nichols at the Caddis Fly Shop.
No need for this
Oddly, this author’s enthusiasm for tube flies was ridiculed at The Fly Fishing Show in Atlanta this year. One celebrity lady wrote that she only used tubes for salmon and steelhead, declaring they would be less valuable for trout flies. Asked where she had used them in trout waters instigated a ‘click.’
Tim Flagler and Orvis’ Tom Rosenbauer were the only celebrity fly tyers in the Eastern US who didn’t fear what was ‘new.’ I met Tim Flagler at the Atlanta Fly Fishing Show pre-COVID-19, and he promised some exposure—a promise he kept (see link below).
Ruben on the job.
Information video [to date all of Ruben Martin’s tube flies]
Ruben Martin, Moscas Tubo . . .
Ruben Martin all fly tying . . .
As many know, Ruben Martin has been fly fishing for decades. It is internationally known as one of the world’s most innovative and prolific fly tyers of the 20th and so far in the 21st century. His techniques, attention to detail, proportions, material choices, and especially his ability to identify tying breakthroughs or create them continue to attract new and dedicated fly tyers worldwide to his podcast tutorials.
Martin remains one of the most willing celebrity status tyers and fly casting instructors to share anything he knows with any angler. He is genuinely happy to do so.
