Belly Scratcher Tube Fly - Rainbow Trout Version

Belly Scratcher Tube Fly

I just realized that the title of this post seems like a gadget sold on an infomercial.. "Do you ever have trouble scratching your own belly??!!?? Well today is your lucky day!!!!" Sorry to disappoint those of you who have problems scratching your itchy belly, but this post is about a tube fly.

Perch Flavor

I was intent on showing Curtis that he really needed to fish conventional gear in the thick reeds that surrounded the boat that day. It was early summer and the bass had just finished spawning - enough for them to start to hunt for food again. My baitcaster setup was rigged "properly" with 50 pound braided line, a high speed reel, and a hollow bodied frog that I had custom colored and could get to "walk the dog." Curtis had his Sage Bass rod rigged up with a TUBE fly of all things. It was his Deflectinator fly that wobbled and vibrated due it's backward cone at the head. Just like all of Curtis' flies that proceed to kick my butt, I said something to the effect that it was a stupid fly and started bombing my frog. Curtis rigged his tube fly with a Gamakatsu weedless hook designed for fishing Senkos and I'll be damned... that tube fly swam right through the weeds and snot just like it was supposed to and caught plenty of fish. That tube fly proved to be a viable way to tie a truly weedless fly pattern that could be fished in heavy cover, and in doing so, it kind of piqued my interest in tube flies.

My first tube fly fish.

8 or 9 years later was literally the first time I decided that my interest had been piqued enough. It was earlier this year (2016) when Curtis and I were at a tying Expo in Steelheadlandia AKA Albany, Oregon when I tied my first tube fly. We were sharing a booth with Loon Outdoors and we tied along side Matt Callies, Jeremiah Houle (AKA Super), and Tom Rangner (AKA Tony Ranger) for two days. Traditional Tom stuck to the steelhead basics with a custom flavor, but Matt and Super ruined me with their cool tube-ish creations that seemed to welcome any type of material that they were throwing at them. I think I was under the same impression as a lot of trout guys who are looking into tube tying for the first time. It seemed like I needed a whole bunch of special gear to do it, it seemed like I needed a fancy two handed spey thinger, it seemed like there wasn't much application for trout or bass, and... I was too stubborn/lazy to try it. At the end of the show I sneaked back to Super's vise and tied what would be my first tube fly that resembled an intruder. The lights went on, and I started dreaming up how I was going to use this system.

Bluegill Flavor

Luckily for us, Bruce from Pro Sportfisher was also at that show and we were able to see the very latest and greatest from the tube fly tying front. The Pro Sportfisher system breaks down tube tying to it's most simple of forms. You put a needle in your vise, you shove a tube on the needle, and you tie a fly. No other attachment needed. This is not to say that you won't want to grab up some of the "big boy lego" attachments as Bruce Berry and Morten Bundgard of Pro Sportfisher call them. Tube flies on the Pro Sportfisher system can be as simple or complex as you want them. They can be fished for Taimen in Mongolia to Bluegill in Montucky, and they flat out catch fish.

Check out all of the Pro Sportfisher Stuff we have HERE

Why tubes? There are several reasons you might choose to fish a tube fly, but the top two that I can think of are: 1- Leverage when fighting a bigger fish. If your shank is longer, there is a greater chance of a larger fish using leverage and throwing your hook. A short shank hook stays buttoned much better. 2- Hook longevity. For example... If you are fishing a streamer and you hit the hook point on a rock it will dull quickly. Sure you can sharpen it, but it will probably not have that factory edge on it anymore. With a tube, you just tie on a new hook.

The Belly Scratcher Minnow needs no introduction, so here's the video on how to tie it on a tube. Happy tying, and I hope your interest in tube flies has been properly piqued... If it is, blame Matt, Super, Curtis, Tom, Bruce, and Morten... just not me!

~ Cheech

Recipes:

Rainbow Trout

Tube: Pro Sportfisher Micro Tube - Clear (+)
Hook Guide: Pro Sportfisher Medium - Clear (+)
Thread: Veevus GSP 50D - White (+)
Bead: Plummeting Tungsten Bead 4.6mm - Gold (+)
Bead Connection: Articulation Wire (+)
Body1: Ice Dub - Minnow Belly (+)
Body2: Senyo's Fusion Dub - Pink Lady (+)
Body3: Ostrich Herl - Pink (+)
Body4: Black Barred Rabbit Strip - Olive Variant (+)
Head1: Bruiser Blend Dubbing: Brown Olive (+)
Head2: Bruiser Blend Jr. Dubbing: White (+)
Eyes: 3D Eyes 5/32 - Super Pearl (+)
Marker: Chartpak - Olive (+)
Marker: Ultra fine point sharpie - Black

Yellow Perch

Tube: Pro Sportfisher Micro Tube - Clear (+)
Hook Guide: Pro Sportfisher Medium - Clear (+)
Thread: Veevus GSP 50D - White (+)
Bead: Plummeting Tungsten Bead 4.6mm - Gold (+)
Bead Connection: Articulation Wire (+)
Body1: Ice Dub - Minnow Belly (+)
Body2: Senyo's Fusion Dub - Eat a Peach (+)
Body3: Senyo's Fusion Dub - Sky (+)
Body4: Ostrich Herl - Kingfisher Blue (+)
Body5: Rabbit Strip - Olive Variant (+)
Head1: Bruiser Blend Dubbing: Brown Olive (+)
Head2: Bruiser Blend Jr. Dubbing: Cream (+)
Eyes: 3D Eyes 5/32 - Super Pearl (+)
Marker: Chartpak: Black (+)
Marker: Chartpak: Cadmium Orange (+)
Marker: Sharpie: Fluorescent Blue

Tools
Stonfo Dubbing Twister (+)
Pro Sportfisher Tubefly Needle (Mandrel) - Large (+)
Stonfo Comb and Brush (+)
Flush Wire Cutter (+)
Tear Mender Glue (+)
Loon Applicator Bottle (+)