Tube fly
Also called tubefly, tube streamer
A streamer tied on a hollow tube instead of a hook. The hook is added separately on the leader, so the dressing can slide off the hook after the grab.
- Group
- Streamer patterns
- Category
- Flies & fly types
- Level
- Advanced
- Water
- Freshwater
Last updated
What Tube fly means
Built on plastic or metal tubing, a tube fly carries the materials (hair, flash, feathers) on the tube, not on the hook shank. The leader runs through the tube and a short section of junction tubing or a tube cone holds a short-shank hook in line behind the dressing.
Rigging is part of the system. Most anglers run the leader through the tube, add a short piece of soft tubing as a “keeper,” then tie on a hook with a strong knot. Hook size and style can be changed without retying the fly body, and the same tube can be fished with different hook gaps depending on the target species and local rules.
Why it matters on the water
Hook choice becomes a tuning knob. A shorter shank can keep the hook close to the back of the dressing for short strikers, while a wider gap can improve hookups on bulky profiles without changing the fly’s silhouette.
The tube body sliding up the leader after a take reduces leverage during the fight. That can mean fewer thrown hooks and less damage to the fly, especially with long, soft materials that get chewed up on conventional shanks.
Read next
- Articulated streamerA streamer built in two or more connected sections so the fly hinges and swims with a wide, lifelike motion.
- Clouser MinnowA weighted baitfish streamer with lead or brass eyes that make it ride hook-point-up. It’s used in fresh or salt water to imitate small fish and move quickly through current.
- IntruderA steelhead/salmon-style streamer built on a shank or tube with a short trailing hook and a large, mobile profile made from sparse materials.
- Non-slip loop knotA tippet-to-fly knot that leaves a small open loop at the hook eye. The loop lets the fly swing and track more freely than a snug knot.