The tube n’ worm is not any secret and for good reason. Tubes are affordable and may easily be made in your own home. Tubes catch sedentary bass as well as stripers which are aggressively feeding on baits which the tube is not going to mimic.
A tube and worm will continue to work if bass are feeding on mackerel. A tube will also produce if striped bass are feeding on sand eels. Obviously a tube will give you results if striped bass are feeding on 24 inch long worms. Which leads to the discussion about exactly what a tube n’ worm rig actually imitates, and how this can help us learn how to catch striped bass.
I believe stripers mistake tubes for ribbon worms and large sandworms that live in New England waters. These worms can grow to a length of four feet. Large sandworms and milky ribbon worms in many cases are reddish-pink or orange in color. Sandworms and ribbon worms are also likely to move through the water with a gyrating or spiraling action.
A 24 inch long ribbon worm, gyrating through the water column, features an eerily likeness to a properly trolled 24 inch long red tube.
Should you be a striped bass that is used to chasing speedy pogies and ink filled squid, then catching a worm needs to be about as simple as it gets. It might be the human equivalent of hitting up the drive-thru over investing the energy needed to prepare a turkey dinner.
In such a sense, I feel bass have a “why not?” mindset towards tube n’ worms. I believe that even when stripers are honed in on much different bait, they’ll still consume a large worm because it’s so simple to capture.
How to Catch Striped Bass by Capitalizing on Time Spent On the Water
Enough time is spent on the water in search of fish-often times too much time.
The last thing I would like to do is waste time tinkering with different techniques and lure options after I ultimately identify an area holding cow sized striped bass. Unusual is the time that a tube and worm won’t catch a fish, when trolled through productive areas.
This makes it easy to remain confident, understanding that the tube will more than likely be tempting to a passing striped bass, regardless of weather conditions or the presence of a particular bait.
Trolling three different tubes at three different depths through an area holding stripers will quickly let me know what length/color tube and what depth will be most productive. Once a couple of fish are caught, I will have a pretty good sense as to the most productive tube and depth. A quick modification to the other two tubes is all that is required.
Tight lines and good luck learning how to catch striped bass.
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Captain Ryan Collins fishes for striped bass and Bluefin tuna off Cape Cod, MA. Visit his blog, myfishingcapecod.com for insider tips about trolling for bass and giant tuna.
