In this article we will help you get started tying tube flies. We will do a thorough review of the most important materials used for tube fly tying. There are many advantages to tying on tubes and there are many fly patterns that look good on tubes. At the same time, the biggest advantage of tube flies is that you can replace the hook without damaging the fly. This is a great advantage and gives your fly a longer lifespan. They are more durable than classic hook flies, which can rust, straighten out, break or become dull on a rock. At the same time, you can change the hook type or hook size depending on the fishing situation. We fish a lot with tube flies, especially for salmon and sea trout in the stream, but they are also increasingly used on the coast.
In the following, we will review two different tube fly systems and explain what the different products can be used for and how to select the right materials for your flies.
Tube fly needles and tube fly hooks
When tying tube flies, you mount the tube itself on a tube fly needle. There are also actual tube fly sticks, which instead of having two jaws that hold a hook, instead consist of a needle. But you can easily tie tube flies on a regular fly stick. You do this by putting a needle in your fly stick as if it were a hook. There are several needles for this purpose, but here we would like to highlight three different needles in particular.
The Pro Sportfisher needle in size L is perfect for the vast majority of tubes and it is made in a very high quality. However, it cannot be used for the smallest Frödinflies and Pro Sportfisher tubes. It is perfect for tubes from 1.8 mm to 3.2 mm.
The Frödinflies FITS needle fits all tubes from 1.4 mm to 3.2 mm and is available in a version with a holder that really works well for everything. If you want to tie the really big tube flies for pike, we recommend buying
the Eumer tube fly needle .
Pipe fly tube
There are a lot of different tubes on the market and it can be a bit confusing to find your way around. But as a rule, most tubes fit together, as long as they are from the same brand. This makes it possible to make some large tube flies. It is mostly used for early fishing in Norwegian rivers with cold and high water. In Danish river fishing, large tube flies are used as "bule flies" in the summer night in sea trout rivers such as Karup Å and Vejle Å. Most often, one thickness of tube on a fly is enough. Choose the thickness that suits the fly you want to tie. The thickness usually depends on the type of fishing.
The Pro Sportfisher tubes have four different diameters, however it is important to mention that all Pro's coneheads, discs and weights fit on the 2.2 mm tube and this is therefore the most important diameter in the system.
• 1.4 mm which is the thinnest and the one that is best suited to the coast, as people often primarily tie smaller flies to the coast. At the same time, weights and coneheads are rarely used for coastal flies
• 2.2 mm is the size that is sold the most, as all pro sportsfisher cones, discs and weights fit on this. The 1.4 mm tube can be used as an inner tube in this
• 3.2 mm is fine for flies like sunray or with a 2.2 inner tube and then a weight load in the form of US tubes or beads
• 4.3 mm is for pike flies and here you need a particularly large needle
• Flexitubes is a unique tube from pro sportsfisher that has two diameters, namely 3.2 and 2.2 this means you can tie a large fly and at the same time easily mount a weight on the outer part of the tube. The idea is that you don't have to glue two thicknesses of tube together. As you have a tube with both inner and outer tubes in one
• Nano tubes are 2.2mm and the easiest way to tie a bunch of flies quickly. As they are ready for a weight, hackle and wing
Frödinflies tube fly products are called FITS. FITS tubes are softer and more flexible than those from Pro Sportfisher and can be stretched to become even thinner. They also come in four different diameters:
• XS has an outer diameter of 1.5 mm. This is the tube that fits all FITS things (Coneheads, Turbo Tungsten Tubes etc.) fit. This is therefore the most used size especially together with size 2.7 mm where it can be used as an inner tube. This thickness is also a really nice one for example for coastal flies.
• S has an outer diameter of 2.0 mm fits into 3.2 mm as an inner tube
• M has an outer diameter of 2.7 mm, 1.5 mm fits into this as an inner tube
• L has an outer diameter of 3.2 mm, great for the really big flies
Coneheads:
A conehead is a super nice ending to any tube fly and is often used to hide the head you tie with thread and give a nice ending.
Pro sportsfisher coneheads are made of brass and don't add much weight to the fly, but look really nice. We mostly use sizes XS and S as the others quickly become quite large and look big on the flies.
• Size XS is 4.5 mm
• Size S is 5.5 mm
• Size M is 6.5 mm
• Size L is 7.5 mm
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FITS Tungsten Cones
FITS coneheads are available in 17 different colors. They are made of tungsten and it adds some weight to the fly and helps balance the fly as a counterweight to the weight of the hook. This gives a fly that fishes straight in the water and this is an advantage. All coneheads in the series fit the FITS tubes in size XS. Here is an overview of the different sizes and weights that they are available in:
• Size Micro is 4.0 mm and weighs 0.12 grams
• Size XS is 4.5 mm and weighs 0.28 grams
• Size S is 5.0 mm and weighs 0.4 grams
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FITS ½ cones:
These are also made of tungsten but are designed to act as a keel on the fly and give the flies the right amount of movement in the water while also having some weight in the front of the fly to ensure the fly is straight in the water. They look a bit special but are really innovative and excellent for all types of flies.
Loading of the fly.
When tying tube flies it is important to think about the design of the fly. A large part of the weight of the fly is in the hook and therefore you can experience flies that hang by the end because the hook is the heaviest part. Therefore it can be an advantage to try to compensate for this by placing some weight on the front part of the fly.
This is primarily for flies to the stream, as the coastal fisherman often fishes his fly very actively and therefore this effect is reduced.
Pro sportsfisher Flexi beads
These are absolutely fantastic beads that give the fly weight and at the same time help to get wings and hackles to come up in the current and work much more lively. These are widely used for Danish ak and sea trout in, among others. Flies like Tilda, Astrid and Daniel version of Horst sock
Pro sportsfisher Flexi weights:
This is a classic US tube, i.e. an aluminum tube that can be used as a weight on large flies where you tie directly onto them or they can be used directly as the body.
There are fine for large bulge flies, but also as the body itself on flies such as HKA Sunray etc
Pro Raw:
These are tungsten weights that really get your fly down quickly, used as beads.
Pro drop weight:
Super cool weights that work perfectly to give the flies a nice weight and at the same time act as the body itself. Perfect for a fly like Franciseasy that really catches a lot of fish
Frodin TTT Tungsten Turbo Tubes:
These are unique to the Frodin system and one of the most exciting loads we have seen in a long time. This weight itself has a small nose that you tie the fly on. You can also tie extra wings and hackles on the 1.5mm tube that you have inside this tube. This really is an excellent way to quickly and easily tie some flies that come down and fish really well
Discs:
Both Frodin and Pro Sportsfisher make a variety of different discs.
A disc is a good choice for night fishing or in murky water as they move more water and therefore make more “noise” that fish can pick up with their lateral line sense.
Frodin has two types, a heavy one made of tungsten and a lighter one made of brass.
Brass is great for giving flies some life without making them heavy. But tungsten ones give flies weight in the front.
Pro two types of discs, both called sonic discs because holes are made in the disc itself to create more turbulence around the fly. One is brass and gives a little weight, but the other is plastic and is designed to be used on both pipes and hooks. We have used the plastic version a lot for bulge flies and in the large sizes on pike flies to move more water and need a lot of turbulence around the fly
Hook guide:
Again, there are many ways to mount the hook on your tube flies.
Both pro sportsfisher and frodin have a large program around this.
Many people use silicone tubing to keep the hook fixed to the fly. However, this results in a fly with significantly less life in the water and we therefore recommend a loose hanging hook mounted with a swingtube. These are absolutely fantastic and they fish and hook uniquely well.
The hook:
There are many different hooks for tube flies.
Whether you want to fish single, double or triple hook is entirely up to you.
However, we highly recommend Owner 36 or 46 stn which are designed for tube flies.
These are really good hooks, but ahrex and kamasan also make really good tube fly hooks.
We also have a number of different tube fly starter kits that contain the things you need to get started. These kits contain everything you need to get started tying a number of tube flies. We have spent a lot of time putting them together so that you only get the most necessary and most used.
