for the longest time, I have used a quarter ounce for almost all soft plastic applications from paddle tales to finesse to stupid tubes.

My buddy, however, insists that 3/8 is necessary to keep the tube from moving too far and working it properly, especially in current. I’m wondering if there is anything to this, considering the vast majority of the research I’ve done has suggested 1/4 ounce as the most popular and sweet spot for tube weight.

He says Zona uses half ounce, I said he fishes lakes, not rivers, so I’m not sure how that applies to the 3 to 5 foot deep river we fish. The bottom line is, there should probably be only one objective answer here as to which is more effective in these conditions. That answer lies in whether or not it truly helps to have more weight to keep the tube from being jerked or swept away from a potential taker?

Are you catching fish? Is he catching fish?

Just now, casts_by_fly said:

Are you catching fish? Is he catching fish?

of course. The question is always could I be catching more fish? His number one bait is a tube, which is why he has me curious. He catches a ton of fish on it, but obviously there are multiple variables that could be contributing to this difference. Most notably that he throws it significantly more than me.

In the River I use a 1/4 , Less hang ups a little slower drop and heavy enough to be effective in current. Sometimes drop down to 1/8

13 minutes ago, bowhunter63 said:

In the River I use a 1/4 , Less hang ups a little slower drop and heavy enough to be effective in current. Sometimes drop down to 1/8

Yeah, that’s the other problem is hanging up. There is a large school of thought that suggests a slower fall triggers more bites as well with bottom contact Baits.

For me, the amount of weight I use is 100% dependent on the stretch of river. Current speed, depth, lure choice and bottom composition all affect my choices. With very rocky and bottoms loaded with wood, more weight means more snags. Because those types of bottom content are most of what I fish, I don’t often use tubes at all. I’m most likely to use something weightless. Even in faster current, I don’t want to give bass a lot of time to decide whether to bite. They are used to food being swept downstream with the current. If they are hungry, they’ll catch up. I’ll make several casts to give them a chance if my bait is moving quickly.

9 minutes ago, Scott F said:

For me, the amount of weight I use is 100% dependent on the stretch of river. Current speed, depth, lure choice and bottom composition all affect my choices. With very rocky and bottoms loaded with wood, more weight means more snags. Because those types of bottom content are most of what I fish, I don’t often use tubes at all. I’m most likely to use something weightless. Even in faster current, I don’t want to give bass a lot of time to decide whether to bite. They are used to food being swept downstream with the current. If they are hungry, they’ll catch up. I’ll make several casts to give them a chance if my bait is moving quickly.

Great answer, I think my friend is probably just sit in his ways and would catch an equal number of fish with a quarter ounce, if not more due to fewer snags.

Well, there’s only one way to find out which will work better for you. Fish them both and see which is better for you where and why.

13 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Well, there’s only one way to find out which will work better for you. Fish them both and see which is better for you where and why.

I suppose with the type of heads I buy it becomes sort of an investment as you have to buy them online and in quantity to get free shipping.

Or, if you're buying them in quantity you could just swap your buddy for a handful.

I usedv1/8th and 1/4 but wasnt using them in heavy current.

52 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

Or, if you're buying them in quantity you could just swap your buddy for a handful.

He only uses open hooks, refuses to stupid rig

Using heavier jigs you are going to lose a lot more baits. Sometimes they like fast falling or cracking style retrieves.

I use 1/16 to 5/16 in my river I fish the most and never use 3/8 or above due to snags. Lighter weights reduce snags, but you need to be heavy enough to get to the bottom. Most years with low river/low flow conditions, I find 1/8 to 3/16 the most used sizes for me. The 1/16 are used with baitfish style colors when I want a very slow sink or a presentation where the current will take it and 5/16 is in deeper holes along bottom.

I always view a tube jig as a consumable item as you will lose tackle to snags. I make my own tube jigs, but I do recommend castagaintackle tubes and tube jigs as they sell in bulk packs to help with losing baits.

11 minutes ago, dwtaylor said:

Using heavier jigs you are going to lose a lot more baits. Sometimes they like fast falling or cracking style retrieves.

I use 1/16 to 5/16 in my river I fish the most and never use 3/8 or above due to snags. Lighter weights reduce snags, but you need to be heavy enough to get to the bottom. Most years with low river/low flow conditions, I find 1/8 to 3/16 the most used sizes for me. The 1/16 are used with baitfish style colors when I want a very slow sink or a presentation where the current will take it and 5/16 is in deeper holes along bottom.

I always view a tube jig as a consumable item as you will lose tackle to snags. I make my own tube jigs, but I do recommend castagaintackle tubes and tube jigs as they sell in bulk packs to help with losing baits.

Yeah I’m looking at Cast Again, only problem is they use VMC (which are fine) but Secret Lures uses Gammy which are outstanding. I’m torn. Are the actual CA tubes themselves any better? Only advantage I see is 2.75” offering.

Most of the time I use 3/16oz with 3.5" tubes. Unless heavier current or 15 FOW the bigger weights just hang up too much.

Allen

On my river most of the time I use 1/8 oz, 2 -10 feet of water.

Fish 3.5” tube most of the time.

On 4/20/2026 at 12:08 PM, Bass-Addict said:

Yeah I’m looking at Cast Again, only problem is they use VMC (which are fine) but Secret Lures uses Gammy which are outstanding. I’m torn. Are the actual CA tubes themselves any better? Only advantage I see is 2.75” offering.

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread (don't come by often).

I do like CA products. I know the owner and several of the guys that help so I do have some bias, but they are great products so I do recommend them. They are very similar to other brand tubes as far as softness/durability goes and offer size/colors that you can't find other places.

They have a 2.25" tube and jig offerings with smaller hooks that are really nice in cold water or post frontal conditions or a crawdad spawn/hatch. Even bug hatches like mayflies they can be deadly.

The 2.75" is the king of their lineup that makes them shine over competition due to color selection and their plastic, imo. It is my go to size for open hook tube fishing for smallmouth.

The 3.5"+ is basically like all the other tubes but available in bulk packs. Some unique colors too.

I don't like their bigger tubes for flipping as they are the traditional hard tube plastic instead of softer plastic like the big bite baits craw or ringed tubes.

The team at CA fish tubes and their jigs a lot. Before they got big, they were using gammy hooks for stupid tube jigs and they switched to vmc if I recall. They fish them a lot in the same river I like to fish and have a lot of success with them, even with VMC. I personally use the Eagle Claw 111BP in my stupid jigs and they still work great.

CA has a new small sized cover buster head which can be rigged stupid style in the small 2-3/4" tubes which is unique right now.