Tube flies

Here are some general tips on composing a Scandinavian style salmon tube fly - and a bunch of flies to inspire. Learn some basic methods and you can experiment wildly and still get some beautiful flies.

If you are embarking on the tube fly tying journey and don't have the tools, don't despair. A simple and inexpensive tapered needle is all you need - or maybe a couple.

More information on tube fly tying tools than you ever thought you needed - from the lowly sewing needle to the full-blown several-hundred-dollar vise, and a lot in between. This article gives you essential knowledge about how to hold a tube - any tube - while tying on it.

Tube flies are flies tied on a tube rather than a hook. But putting it that simple is almost a crime, because tubes have evolved dramatically over the last few years, and bottles, rear tubes, Shomakov tubes, FITS tubes and all sorts of new systems have seen the light of day.

Have tube, will tie... but how to go about it? How do you actually manage to tie on a tube? Well, it's much like tying on a hook, just different. Learn to tie on plastic, metal, bottles, compound and rear tubes.

It's been some years since The Global FlyFisher's huge article series on tube flies started, and a lot of things have happened in the tube materials market. We try to catch up.

If you think that a tube for a tube fly is a cylindrical piece of plastic, then you are in for a surprise. This article will present more tube styles than most fly tyers ever imagined, and probably teach even seasoned tubers a thing or two.

Tube flies - like most other fly types - come in as many shapes and styles as you can imagine. This article merely scratches the surface in an attempt to list some of them. I also touches upon a few aspects of tying one tubes.

Want to venture further into the world of tube flies? This list of material suppliers, tools, vises, DVD's, books and much more will give you links to many more hours of entertaining reading and viewing.

In an effort to entice larger striped muggers (stripers) during the spring herring run on Cape Cod when big fish venture back into the shallow estuaries to the herring runs, Pete Gray started tying 8-12+ inches herring flies on double tubes.

Niels Have's take on some Ken Sawada patterns - tied on tubes.

This fly is without doubt one of the best catching flies on the bigger rivers in Iceland! It was originated by Danish Henrik Kassow Andersen. Salmon guide Nils Folmer Jørgensen from Iceland shows you how to tie it.

We continue our series of tube flies tied in the Scandinavian style. This fly is another subdued yellow, white and gray fly, well suited for bright light and clear water. It uses a mallard hackle to create a nice, closed shape.

A bright tube fly for salmon in clear water created by Danish Ken Bonde Larsen. Tied in the Scandinavian style with a large and soft hair wing made of several layers. Easy to tie and impressive both in and out of the water.

Simple things somehow often seem to work and this has also been the case for one of Nils Jorgensen's absolute favorite salmon flies, the Raven NJ. It has proven itself many times.

The Sunray Shadow is a true killer fly for salmon fishing. Tied on a tube with a wing and no body, simple as few flies, but still - or maybe rather because of that - extremely efficient. The fly uses few materials and is very easy to tie.