A friend gave me a half dozen handpoured, fat & salty tubes to try out and I've got to say that my misconception about  tubes has been changed forever!

For one thing, I always thought tubes should be soft and under 3" to be effective. The handpours were exactly 3" from the rounded end to skirt end and were a thick firm plastic (due to the salt). A month ago, I started using them on a wide gap hook, t-rigged, with a 1/16 oz. bullet wt., in depths down to 15', but mostly shallower in 3-5'. They have caught more bass in different sizes than most other lures types (except Senko-type) and the only difference was that the hookset had to be much harder.

Recently I began using 3" Tender Tubes (BPS) that I've had for a decade, laying around in the basement collecting dust. I dipped them in melted and salted plastic to give them that fat appearance, rigged the same way and caught fish in the same waters.

Since the TT's were completely hollow and made for a jighead insert, I shoved a 1/2" pc. of plastic worm to the front of the lure to give it more hook holding ability. The solid center made no difference in the number of strikes or the bait retention. (I don't believe it was the salt, but keep an open mind just in case.)

I've been using Iron Silk or Power Pro and have been not losing the hookset to a majority of fish. It's nice to know that I have an alternative to Senkos for deeper water and hard pack bottoms. I'll be trying C-rigging the fat tube also and modifying Strike King's tube lizard for use as a heavy cover flipping lure.

That is a good point. I had always used jig heads on my small tubes, but a couple of years ago I started doing the same thing. Insert a piece of worm in the head to help hold the hook. I still like the internal jig head for a different fall, but this allows you to rig it another way

I watched and IN-Fisherman DVD not long ago...

The guy was useing weightless tubes tex-possed, these were the none floating type, to give it differnet actions he would insert bullet weights in the tail.  the friction would hold them in place.  where you put the weight in the body would change the action.  I have tried this a few times, but my in-experiance with tubes, and plastics in gerneral, probably killed my presentation.  He caught fish so i believe i is a good idea, some of you more experiance TUBE guys should try it .

Well Sam, tubes have to be hollow to be tubes otherwise they would be skirted grubs and not tubes.

One of the drawbacks of tubes is that they use exposed jigheads on their inside so they hang-up very easily. But, you can use weedless jigheads on the outside rigging them like you rig a grub, you get the characteristic fall tubes have and you gain weedlesness, also you can rig them T-style, either with a regular hook and bullet sinker or with a hook with weight designed for that purpose, the hook I 'm talking about doesn 't destroy the action of the bait. You can also rig them C-style, they dart and flutter when you jerk the sinker.

Raul, in my mind it doesn't make a difference if the body is solid or hollow when T-rigged. The last 1/3 of the tube is hollow (not counting the skirt) and when texposed, is very weedless.

The action is a little different, though not much, and what I'm after is the chunky profile and tail action (similar to a small T-rigged Ika with skirt at the tail end).  One of my best crappie lures is a solid grub body with skirt and sometimes works better than any of my favorites.

Tender Tubes (not dipped) have done poorly in my local waters for the last 10 years, but now that their profile is chubby, bass and picks can't stay off them! I catch fish on the fall and off bottom; on bare hardpack sand and in weed beds.

They just plain work, hollow or not.

I know what you 're looking for but I don 't know if they manufacture them anymore Sam, you want something like the Fat Gitzit, yes they are a lot beefier and kinda shorter than regular tubes, like a hollow Ika, I have some of those left .........somewhere  :

Exactly!! Haven't seen them around since 1986.

Me neither, but you can have them poured for you or pour them yourself, I don 't know if Del-Mart has a "fat" tube mold available, I know they have tube molds, but you can always ask Del if he can make one for you.

I posted that question in his forum and will call him about it.  I've thought about ways to make a 2-part tube mold also, using the fat design as prototype. It would save having to dip a few times.

Thanks

Don 't you hate it when lure manufacturing companies just "dissapear" what works for you ?

Gee, I 'm getting old !  :-/  I can bet that 90% of the members of the forum never heard about the Fat Gitzit.