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[Spawn Sack]

So a while back I took a tube fly tying class. Went out and bought some materials for tying tubes afterwards then never really got into it. The other day I was going through some fly tying stuff, organizing and such, came across the tube stuff, and thought I should start using this!!

So I tied up a 1/2 dozen steelhead flies that I like and normally tie on shanks. The flies turned out awesome, no issues. Each fly also has a piece of junction tubing on the butt to hold the hook in place.

However, I was scratching my head when I went to rig up the leader and loop-to-loop it with my sink tip.

I THOUGHT (could have been mistaken) that the instructor said to use a bait loop to tie to the hook. So I tied up a leader the same way I would for gear fishing. Probably about 2.5 feet I figured would be good to go out fishing tomorrow with the current water conditions (Vedder).

I put the leader through the tube fly and went to tie a loop on the end. I realized....wait a minute...in order to loop-to-loop the connection my FLY will have to pass through the loop on the end of the tip. Well, it's not going to fit! However, you also can't tie a bait loop knot with one end of the line already connected to the sink tip I thought about how to remedy this...figured I could have a butt section connected to the tip, another section of tippet connected to the fly, then connect the two lines with a blood knot. I decided against this as I like to fish a straight piece of 15lb UG for steelhead and did not want to start dicking with two pieces of line.

In the end I decided there should be nothing wrong with just having the leader (straight piece of 16lb UG) connected to the sink tip, then slide the tube fly onto the line, then just do a non slip loop knot onto the octopus hook. I reasoned if this knot is fine to tie to a regular fly, it should be fine to tie to a bare hook used with a tube fly?!

Just wondering if there is anything "wrong" with tying up this way, and how ya'll rig up your tube flies.

[HOOK]

Yup !!

I use the non slip knot also but I only jam the knot itself into the junction tubing allowing the hook free range of movement at the rear of the fly. If you tie on the smaller tubing this works very well, larger tubing however you'll need to use large hooks and jam the hook eye into the junction tubing because you'll never tie a knot large enough

[Spawn Sack]

Sweet thanks hook Makes sense, I don't know why one would try and make the bait loop work as it is an extreme pain! I must have heard/remembered the instructor wrong and he likely said "loop" knot, not "bait loop" knot.

Anyway it's all rigged up properly and I'm meeting a buddy in 45min to go out for the day.

Just a thought, what's the big deal with tubes anyway? Just going based on looks and what makes me feel more touchy-feely, I prefer the shanks. I've heard some people say they "cast better" and by that I think they meant they come of the water easier. For s/h fishing I can see this mattering but not so much on the spey rod?

Wondering if ya'll prefer tubes to shanks and why? This will be my first day actually fishing a tube fly so I will give my 2 cents later.

[nickredway]

You can use a small hook on a large fly with tubes, small hooks with short shanks hold fish better and do less damage. You can change the hooks out easily when dull. Tubes are quicker and easier to tie than adding a trailer hook to a Waddington shank or similar. How they cast depends on the size and how full dressed they are and how weighted the fly is rather than if it's on a tube or hook shank.

[RalphH]

Just about any standard knot will do. The Perfection loop is often mentioned and will allow a loop connection through the eye of an octopus hook.