Home Made Tube Worms - Version 1

I got my 1/2" surgical tube in the mail this week and had extra time so i started working on the first version of my Tube Worms.

Materials
198lb SS wire
1/2" OD surgical tubing
6/0 hook
Plastic Bead
Large swivel




Tools
2 - Needle nose pliers
Wire cutters
Scissors

Step 1.
I cut the surgical tubing to length. In this case i chose 20"

Step 2
Trim one end of the tube at an angle. I used kitchen shears and made an angled cut approx 1.5" long. This will be the end of the tube where the hook will fit snugly.



Step 3
Cut a section of SS wire that is at least 5" longer that the tube.

Step 4
Attach the hook to the wire section using a haywire twist. This is easy enough to do with pliers. Trim the tag end close to the last wrap.



Step 5
Run the wire thru the tube from the rear. The hook should settle into the V created by the angle cut.






Continued

[mmanolis2001]

Step 6
On the other end of the tube roll the end back onto its self and down the tube about an inch. This will allow more room to tie off the bead and swivel and allow you to unroll the tube back over the bead and keep a tight connection with all the hardware. This should allow you to bend the wire and allow the tube to hold its shape better.



Step 7
Thread the bead and swivel onto the wire and slide to down flush to the tube.



Step 8
Bend the Tag end of the wire back thru the bead.



Step 9
Secure the thru wire with a pair of pliers next to the swivel pull the tag end on the other side of the bead until all the extra wire has passed thru the bead. The long tag end should now be behind the bead and the whole package should be close and snug with the tube.



Step 10
Wrap the tag end 10 times around the wire behind the bead and cut the leftover tag.



Step 11
Roll the tube back over the bead to complete the tube. At this point it should have no play back and forth.





Continued

[mmanolis2001]

And the end result



I tested the wire by wrapping it around my wrist and pulling it straight. The result was a nice slow cork screw shape. From what i have gathered this is the shape to look for while trolling tubes.




Dying the tubes



Materials
rit dye
cheap pot (don't use the good stuff)
4 cups of water
Cheap tongs

Step 1
Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil.

Step 2
Reduce to a simmer and place the dye into pot. I chose the powdered dye and used the whole pack per instructions.



Step 3
Carefully place the tubes into the pot and avoid splashes. This stuff with leave a stain on everything.



Step 4
Let the tubes sit in the simmering water for 10 Min's. The longer the soak the darker the color.




Continued

[mmanolis2001]

Step 5
Carefully remove the tubes from the pot and rinse in cold water. If the color is too light repeat step 3 and step 4.



I ended up dying the tubes 3 colors.

Pink
Red
Purple



The red and purple came out good. The pink was hard. It was more of a orange at first. I left it in the dye for 20 Min's total and it came out a darker pink.

Don't know how they will work compared to the store bought tubes. They were cheap to make and if they don't catch i will make a pink sling shot or something

[Redfish12]

That's awesome! Great tutorial and pictures! I'm definitely going to make some to take to jbay this year!

When's the water test?

[jffoley]

Nice work, Mike! Tubes are always effective. Good luck!!

[Grilled]

wow, very nice tutorial!

how do those work around the bay? i've never tried them but people up north swear by them. do you troll with them? Do you use any weight?

[mmanolis2001]

Thanks for the replies. I have never used them before so I'm going by info gathered on the net. I will give them a water test this Sunday. I Don't expect to catch any just testing how they preform. I will use a keel weight and swivel about 4 ft ahead of the tube. If i get my video camera today i will try to take some video of it in action.

[DOGFISH]

Nice job. It is always good to see someone practicing the craft. From my past experience, you may want to extend that leader a bit longer. You may have to hand line the leader in a bit. Use a good ball bearing swivel. Those things really twist. It may be best to use a snap ball bearing swivel on each side of an inline trolling sinker.

[Redfish12]

Mike- I tried making some last night but the wire I got doesn't want to hold the corkscrew, are you happy with the wire you purchased?

[surfdog]

very nice! i didnt think of dying natural tubing i was looking for some red tubing but jans was out of stock. my father used tubes for blues and rock worked well trolled behind an inline sinker. if i remember correctly they were about 10-12" long, they can be used in the surf also

[fjarhead]

the tubes look great.

would it be possible to get 3-4 of them.

[surfdog]

if i get some red nalgene tubing i'll make some extra. green ones work also. my wife would skin me if i tried to dye them and made a mess which is not uncommon for me i think i'll use 7/0 circle hooks i know how rock love eels and they will inhale these also

[mmanolis2001]

Mike- I tried making some last night but the wire I got doesn't want to hold the corkscrew, are you happy with the wire you purchased?

Those look great. I'm really not sure about the wire. What wire did you end up using?

It seems to hold its shape well but i have not tested them in the water yet. I plan on pulling one this spring around the BB Shipping channel. I will let you know if they work

[Redfish12]

I used 13X (something) billfisher wire, but I think I figured it out. If I double it over and twist it holds a much better shape. I'm planning on trying the same thing, hopefully one of us will hit one on the head!