5 Easy Ways To Rig & Fish A Soft Plastic Tube

It feels like I discover a new bass lure or rig every other day. New materials, different innovations, or strategic tweaks to current designs constantly catch my eye, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten about the classics.

A perfect example is the soft plastic tube. Once considered a go-to bait by most bass anglers, the tube has seemingly spiraled into a niche category appealing to mostly smallmouth anglers up north. But that's where many anglers have it all wrong. While the tube is undoubtedly among the best smallmouth lures on the market, it's also a killer largemouth bait.

To help shed more light on the soft plastic tube, here are five different ways you can rig these proven fish catchers. The tube displayed in the article is the BioSpawn VileTube, which puts a unique twist on the classic tube design.

Here are five different ways you can fish with a soft plastic tube.

1) Texas Rig With Bullet Weight

Hook: 3/0 Stickies EWG
Weight: Heavy Metal Tungsten 3/8 oz
Lure: BioSpawn VileTube

A classic soft plastic bait for flipping and pitching near brush piles and timber
Great for dragging along the bottom while searching for a bite
The compact body enables tubes to slip in and out of cover on a Texas rig, remaining weedless the entire time

2) Standard Tube Jig

Tube Jig: Strike King Tube Jig
Lure: BioSpawn VileTube

The most common way to rig a soft plastic tube
Great for dragging, scooting, and hopping along the bottom in hard water areas
Very popular among smallmouth anglers on the great lakes
Mimics crawfish, baitfish, and gobies

3) Weightless Texas Rig

Hook: 3/0 Stickies EWG
Lure: BioSpawn VileTube

Killer action on the fall should be fished similar to fishing a wacky rig or fluke
Great for fishing shallow or targeting suspended fish in open water
It provides a similar but slightly different shimmy and shake of a weightless fluke

4) Carolina Rig

Hook: 3/0 Stickies EWG
Weight: 1/2 oz lead bullet weight
Swivel: Eagle Claw
Lure: BioSpawn VileTube

Excellent for dragging offshore while fishing near the bottom
Popular rig and bait combo for fishing smallmouth bass in current
Use craw colored tubes in the spring and white tubes in the fall

5) Wobble Head Jig (Swing Head)

Jighead: Heavy Metal Tungsten
Swing Football Jig
Lure: BioSpawn VileTube

Wobble heads Intensify the action of the tube with the back and forth rolls and swings
Stands out near hard bottom areas like rocks, shell beds, ledges, and offshore rubble piles
Excellent around smallmouth, especially when trying to mimic crawfish or gobies
Allows you to fish deep while staying in constant contact with the bottom