Help With Tube Jig Head Weight, Etc

[Dave in Mpls]

I'm primarily a walleye and musky fisherman. That said, the smallmouth fishing on my home lake (Mille Lacs) has exploded over the past 10+years, while the walleye fishing is currently in the toilet.

I'm going to be concentrating more on smallmouths this year, beginning the end of May. One of the baits I plan on using are tube jigs. Not knowing what the preferred colors are, I picked up a couple kits from Cabela's yesterday with 96 of the 3 1/2" super salty bodies:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabel...be%2Bjig%2Bkit

I now need to pick up some heads. I've heard the fish can be anywhere from 2' on the top of rock piles down to 20' off the edges. I'm wondering what weights of heads you would suggest for these bodies and depths. I understand I will most probably need a few different weights. Also wondering about hook size, as well as the eye bend (90 vs 60). Finally, best place to purchase - not necessarily looking for the cheapest, but the best value.

Thanks much for any insight!!

[BigBass94]

Strike King Tour Grade Tube Jig Head

Whenever I throw tubes for smallies, I prefer this jig head. The best thing about this jig head is the hook. It's a 60 degree, black nickel, Gamakatsu and it's super sharp. The head is easy to insert and it stays in the bait very well. They're pretty inexpensive too which helps.

[Sparky292]

Good thinkin!!! I spend most my summer at Mille lacs. It sure blew up after the AOY. 1/4, 3/8 will be your main sizes. Sometimes in really bad days a 1/2 is a good option too. I played around with both eye ties and now honestly like the 90. It gives it more action on the fall and on the hop.

Id contact Steve with north metro bass Academy. Hes a board sponsor and an MN guy! Pick up some 90 degree tube jigs with owner hooks and a few of his rattling flat eye versions, sometime rattles make a difference. Good prices, good hooks, and a good guy to deal with.

[Sparky292]

Also, I wouldnt stop fishin at 20' they might be deeper

[Jeff Hahn]

On Erie and in Canada, I use 1/4 ounce jighead about 95% of the time. But, if I fish deeper than 25 feet or so or when the wind gets up, I will go to a 3/8 or even a 1/2. I would also carry a few 1/8 ounce for when the smallies get shallow. That being said, if the fish get really fussy, like after a cold front, go with a 1/2 or 3/4 ounce and rip it off bottom. When the tube falls so fast right in front of their face, you can get a reaction strike...it's kinda like deep water flipping. I use a 90 degree hook 95% of the time.

[Bass AHolic]

I use bullet weights when I use tubes. slid the line thru weight , then tie on Hook. can retrieve or let lay at bottom , and let the tube slide up from weight ,so when they grab it and swim off , they don't feel nuttin till I set the Hook

[bonebaby0]

Good thinkin!!! I spend most my summer at Mille lacs. It sure blew up after the AOY. 1/4, 3/8 will be your main sizes. Sometimes in really bad days a 1/2 is a good option too. I played around with both eye ties and now honestly like the 90. It gives it more action on the fall and on the hop.

Id contact Steve with north metro bass Academy. Hes a board sponsor and an MN guy! Pick up some 90 degree tube jigs with owner hooks and a few of his rattling flat eye versions, sometime rattles make a difference. Good prices, good hooks, and a good guy to deal with.

Thanks for the shout out Trevor! Sent you a PM Dave - Here are my new "Tube Heads" with or without rattles and expanded sizes from 1/8 - 3/4 oz

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[Walkabout7781]

One of the "problems" of buying plastics in a kit is that if you find a color you really like, you may not know the name/number of that one, and that color may not even be available individually. I suspect somebody makes up the kits from rejected or incorrectly mixed colors. But maybe not. My experience was that the color I wanted was an oddball that couldn't be duplicated. Anyway, I won't buy kits of anything anymore. It's real hard to beat Green Pumpkin, olive green/orange bottom, Smoke with black & gold flake, or Camo. But you probably have different food base than we do, 'cause we don't have shad, shiners, Tilapia, Herring, etc.

[Dave in Mpls]

Thanks much for the suggestions, guys! Give me a starting point for sure.

Sorry about the delay - found myself out of town (twice!) last week.....dang clients!

Walkabout7781 - I hear ya on the "kit" issue. My thoughts were - with 4 of us in 2 boats heading up over Memorial Day, I would throw one of the kits in each boat and see what works, what doesn't, and go from there. If I need to pick up more of something, I should be able to bring one of the tubes with me and at least get reasonably close. Not to mention they were 25% off a couple weeks ago, so I don't have much $ invested. Cabela's suggests the colors are as follows:

Green Neon
Green Squash
Pearl Sparkle
Irish whiskey
Smoke Pepper Red Flake.
Melon Seed
Green Pumpkin Pepper
Hal's Honey "Smoke Multi"
June bug
Black Red Green Gold flake head Blue Pepper tail
Melon Copper flake.
Green Pumpkin Pepper Purple flake

[RFeyoMN]

Diamond Dave, all you need is 1/4oz heads and 3-4in Green Pumpkin tubes. Don't overlook swimming a 4-5 inch Kalins grub on a 1/8th or 1/4oz ball head.

If you're where they are, they're not hard to catch. They're kinda stupid actually!

[Les Young]

Thanks much for the suggestions, guys! Give me a starting point for sure.

Sorry about the delay - found myself out of town (twice!) last week.....dang clients!

Walkabout7781 - I hear ya on the "kit" issue. My thoughts were - with 4 of us in 2 boats heading up over Memorial Day, I would throw one of the kits in each boat and see what works, what doesn't, and go from there. If I need to pick up more of something, I should be able to bring one of the tubes with me and at least get reasonably close. Not to mention they were 25% off a couple weeks ago, so I don't have much $ invested. Cabela's suggests the colors are as follows:

Green Neon
Green Squash
Pearl Sparkle
Irish whiskey
Smoke Pepper Red Flake.
Melon Seed
Green Pumpkin Pepper
Hal's Honey "Smoke Multi"
June bug
Black Red Green Gold flake head Blue Pepper tail
Melon Copper flake.
Green Pumpkin Pepper Purple flake

Dave, pretty much anyone that pours plastics can reproduce colors. Some hand dip tubes & some inject, but as far as colors go several here or tackleunderground could make the colors you figure out work best there. Like said though green pupmkin is hard to beat. Junebug or black blue is another good color for dark cloudy days or at night. Docirv & severeal more plasctics pourers here are board sponsors that give discounts for board members.