Ken Sawada Tube Fly book

[Redwings1]

I have been intersted in some time in tube flies and their applications, and as such have been messing around in my spare time with different patterns. I have tried to check with on line sources and other books, but have found little useful information and even less flies I would be willing to admit that I tied. I recently came into possession of the new book out by Ken Sawada on the subject and am very impressed. It is about 150 pages of immaculately tied flies documented by beautiful photograhy. It was produced in the style of a Schmoekler book and lives up to it's billing. It was a bit pricey, but if you are interested in tubies then this is the best I have yet found on the subject.

[treehooker]

I read somewhere that the original tube fly was a turkey bone with the marrow removed stuck on a hook.

[bobbbn]

I know they use a lot of tube flies for steelhead and salmon fishing. You might be able to get more info on them by visiting the sites from the steelhead/salmon fishing areas. I fished next to a local guy from the Pulaski area a few years ago that made his own.

[Redwings1]

they use a lot of tube flies for steelhead and salmon fishing
Absolutely they do, but I was looking to see what had been done to adapt the tube to fishing for other species like using tube type streamers for 'regular' trout and bass. I am working on some ideas to get wet this summer and see how they do, but had become stale in my thinking and was lokoing for things to give me a little jolt. This book did the trick :wink:

[bobbbn]

If you're thinking about making your own tube flies, the company I work for makes a product called "Smart Link". It is a patented shape memory ring that would normally replace the split ring between the hooks on a lure. It is designed to open and release at different pull weights. For example, if you were fishing with 8# test line you would use an 8# smartlink. You would fish as you normally would with absolutly no danger of the link opening but if you were to snag the bottom and had to pull directly on your line to normally "break off", when your line pull equaled approximately 7.9# the link would open and give you everything back except the hook. The link then closes back up and you simply put another hook on it. It can be used over and over. We have a bunch of pro bass anglers using it and I mention it because we also have supplied them to people making tube flies. I guess they have a real tendency to snag up based on the way they are fished.