Big Tube Baits for Big Bass

by Wayne Carpenter
Editor: Combat Fishing Newsletter, No Secrets on Lake St. Clair

Big Tube Baits = Big Bass
Flipping 5 inch tubes for largemouth yes, but will smallmouth be in fight or flight mode when that bug hunk of plastic parts the waters on its way down? For big water, rivers and inland lakes in the north part of the U.S., 5 inch tubes are a serious choice for quality smallmouth bass.

I’m working an area in Lake St. Clair, Michigan that has current, structure and resident fish, but no takers yet. We move down current and cast up to the structure and now the action begins. My partner is using a 3 ½” smoke with small gold and purple flake tube just like mine, but it’s my 5” tube they want. Now that I’ve outfished my partner he relents and changes over to the 5” version, but it’s time to take a boat ride.

We end up in the Detroit River where current, rocks and smallmouth rule. On this pass I get creative and switch over to various colors of 3 ½” baits to test the bite. My partner relentlessly holds on to the 5” tube and proceeds to wipe the deck with me. I might be learning something here…

Not a Secret Anymore
The big tube phenomenon has been a closely held secret for years but now the lid is off and more anglers are working smarter and not harder for their fish. This is no magic bullet but there are times when this presentation has no equal. The most consistent bite is in the river system. Green pumpkin, dark melon, smoke and white tubes are very reliable. Your white, minnow imitating tube falls slower and has moves that small tubes can only dream about.

One major factor in my assessment of these aggressive fish comes from time spent with the SeaDrop underwater camera. While viewing smallies, I’ve had many occasions to watch them charge the camera lens and bump it hard. This also led to using slower presentations to appeal to the territorial aggression I saw. In the river: the slower the bigger. No doubt about it.

If you ask anglers on the west side of the state of Michigan about 5” tubes, you might have a hard time holding the conversation. The word there is to downsize to 2 ½” tubes in the clear water. I can tell you that there are days where you can see 18 feet to the bottom in Lake St. Clair and the fish are biting just fine.

(This articled is provided by Wayne Carpenter, author of the Lake St. Clair Combat Fishing Weekly Newsletter and owner of the Xtreme Bass Tackle Catalog. Email: fishinfosv@aol.com or toll free (877) 485-2223)