Convertibles: Tube Flies emerge

By Henry Clement

At a recent speaker event at our fly tying club—comprised mostly of retirees, along with a few remaining dabblers in academics and medicine—the topic of tube flies took center stage. TJ Douglas, a longtime friend and contributor to this publication, shared what many tube fly tiers already know: whatever gets tied on a hook can also be tied on a tube. When it comes to actual fishing, you can generally expect noticeably better results with tube flies.

Tying on a hook shank or a tube is essentially equivalent. While you can’t tie down the bend of a hook on a tube because there is no hook involved in tying a tube fly. You can, however, replicate the effect by angling the tie-in up or down on the tube. The exception is with grub hook ties, which use a curved hook shank and can’t be matched exactly on a tube. But has never seemed to matter in my experiences. It’s all about where in the water column and how presented that takes the fish.

My stepson, Captain Andrew Derr, always cautions me against using words like “always” or “never.” Still, I confidently maintain that any hook-tied fly can be converted to a tube fly. No additional skill, extra time, or cost is required to produce a mirror image of any fly pattern. In my experience, no one I’ve interviewed or read has ever claimed that tube fly tying is significantly different from traditional tying—at least, not enough to be worth mentioning.

However, you will need to adapt your current vise. The main investment is the HMH Universal Tube Fly Kit, which gets you started for about $75. Cheaper kits can be disappointing, so heed Ben Franklin’s advice: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

The HMH Universal Tube Fly Method is a user-friendly, versatile system of interchangeable tubes, tools, and techniques, allowing you to tie any style of floating or sinking tube fly for freshwater or saltwater gamefish.

The included DVD shows you how to start tying tube flies immediately.

The kit includes the HMH Tube Fly Method DVD, Starter Tube Fly Tool, Stainless Starter Pins, Poly Tubes, Rigid Plastic Tubes, Micro Tubing, Hook Holder Tubing, Aluminum and Copper Tubes, as well as both custom and standard coneheads.

NOTE: It is a little easier to tie mylar on tubes. Mylar is especially effective at mimicking baitfish because it can be doctored to closely resemble their appearance. Tying with mylar as baitfish is also easier because it requires fewer materials. This is true for both hook-tied and tube-tied.