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Selecting the Right Stupid Tube Jig Head

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We’ve proven the Stupid Tube is a great way to catch bass!  With so many new customers, we’ve been running into a common question, “What’s the BEST size of Stupid Tube Jig Head?”  Is it 3/0, 4/0, or HD…heavy or light?  We wish there was one cut and dry answer we could give everyone, but the answer is, “It depends!”.  This article should help eliminate some of the confusion and get you pointed in the right direction.

Selecting the right jig head for your Stupid Tube or Stupid Craw

The first question we ask is which of our Secret Lures Stupid Tubes do you like to throw?  Each tube has a preferred hook for it.  The Classic Stupid Tube (ST37 products) are designed for the STH series of hooks.  Both 3/0 and 4/0 STH hooks work well in the ST37 tubes.  If you like to fish the larger Flippin’ Stupid Tube (FST42 products), we reccomend the HD version.  Although it is still a 4/0, it is a heavier gauge Mustad hook, which is slightly longer than the standard Gamakatsu.  This hook has very little flex, a good wide bite, and a great fit for the larger series of tubes.  Our Big Dummy Stupid Tube (BDST45 products) can fit either the HD or the Stupid Tube Ledge Head.  The HD works best for shallow pitching, flipping, and cover fishing.  The Stupid Tube Ledge Head was designed to allow the Big Dummy to be fished deeper, more like a jig or football jig presentation.  The Ledge Head is the only version available in 5/0 and it features a horizontal line tie.

We also like to ask, “How do you like to fish it?  If the answer is a bait casting reel and pitching, flipping, casting, we usually jump to the 4/0 STH series of jig heads.  The standard STH series of jig heads feature a medium wire Gamakatsu hook and the 4/0 is slightly longer and slightly heavier guage of wire.  When the bites are likely to come in shallow water, and likely to be met with a hard hookset, we like that little extra length and stiffness of the 4/0 over the 3/0.  We’ve found spinning rod anglers, or those dragging tubes deeper, prefer the 3/0 STH series.  The hooks is a slightly smaller wire, and “sticky” sharp.  Softer hooksets, longer casts, and young/new anglers all seem to benefit from that lighter hook, and the less pressure required to set it into the fish.

The weight portion of selection is really up to the individual angler and the conditions.  One thing we will note on this topic is that the heavier you go, the more of that “death spiral” or “gliding action” you remove from your presentation.  As a rule of thumb, we always select the lightest weight we can keep bottom contact with.  Overall, the 3/16ths oz Stupid Tube Jig Head is by far the most popular size, so if you still aren’t sure, start there!

Just remember…”If you’re going to do something STUPID, do it RIGHT!”

The Hancock County Fishing Hornets Partner with Secret Lures

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Tell City, IN (January 24, 2020) The Hancock County High School Bass Fishing Club is the newest program to join the Secret Lures Stupid Tube ® “Fun”raising program.  Hancock County High School, located in Lewisport, KY is part of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.  They recognize their fishing program as a Varsity sport and the program has been growing at a steady pace since inception in 2016.  The Hornet Fishing Team will be offering their own custom Secret Lures Stupid Tube as part of its fundraising initiatives in 2020.  Their Hornet Stupid Tube is a core-dipped black and red combo featuring red fire tips and just a touch of a silver hologram and red flake to provide some added flash to a deadly combination of colors.

The Fishing Hornets are the first Kentucky high school fishing team to collaborate with Secret Lures on the program.  According to Coach, Bill Laslie, “This is a great opportunity for our student anglers to start earning some extra money for the club and learn more about this technique.  We hope to use our funds to keep growing our program and adding events to our schedule.  The Secret Lures Hornet Stupid Tube will be a great tool to help us get on the water more and catch more fish while we are there.”

Former Athletic Director, Danny Gray, added, “We’ve had great success with adding outdoor programs to our athletic department.  We’ve found that around 80% of our outdoor athletes don’t participate in other high school sports.  Programs such as High School Fishing are allowing us to reach parts of our student body, as well as community members, which our high school programs wouldn’t otherwise reach.  I was the AD when we started this program and I’m still involved today because I feel like we’re making a positive impact on our students through fishing and outdoor sports.”

According to Danny Blandford, President of Secret Lures, “The Hancock County program is actually the first team we pitched the “Fun” Raiser idea to a couple of months ago and we’ve had opportunities to meet with the students on a couple of occasions already.  Although they are located in Kentucky, they are the closest and most active program in our immediate area.  As a matter of fact, we can look across the Ohio River and into Hancock County from our shop, so we consider the Hornets one of our Home Teams.”  Blandford went on to add, “As far as the Hornet Stupid Tube, we can already say with confidence that it is a fish catcher.  We’ve been playing with this one on the river since last fall with lots of success.  It’s hard to beat a black and red Stupid Tube on river systems such as the Ohio.”

Hancock County has an active team and hosts a variety of fundraisers throughout the year where they will be selling Hornet Stupid Tubes as part of their club merchandise.  Those that would like to purchase the new Hornet Stupid Tube directly from the club can reach out to Coach, Bill Laslie, via email at: BillLaslie@Gmail.com.  Secret Lures customers can also contribute to this project directly by adding a bag to their order on www.Shop.SecretLures.com, where a portion of the proceeds will be donated back to the Hancock County High School Fishing program.

Secret Lures and Owen Valley High School Introduce the Patriot Stupid Tube®

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Tell City, IN (January 15, 2020) The Owen Valley High School Bass Fishing Club is the newest program to join the Secret Lures Stupid Tube ® “Fun”raising program.  The Patriot Fishing Team will be offering its own custom Secret Lures Stupid Tube as part of their fundraising initiatives in 2020.  Owen Valley High School, located in Spencer, IN, came onto the high school fishing scene in 2016.  They quickly became a respected program and team of competitors.  The Patriots wracked up several impressive team accomplishments, as well as already producing a Bassmaster All-State Angler for Indiana.  Their 2019 standout, Colsyn Head, not only made the elite list of anglers, but he also earned a scholarship to McKendree University for his bass fishing prowess.

The Patriots are the first Indiana high school fishing team to collaborate with Secret Lures on the program, but the Stupid Tube has been a part of their arsenal for years.  According to Coach, Chad Smith, “Owen Valley Bass Fishing has grown by leaps and bounds in 4 short years.  We have a 28 member team and have had numerous high finishes by several anglers as well as our first angler receiving a scholarship to attend one of the best Bass Schools in the country.  A huge part of our success has been from throwing the Stupid Tube. It is a staple in the arsenal of all our anglers and we are thrilled to put our name on a signature color that will no doubt catch fish!”

The new Patriot Tube honors their red, white, and blue origins by incorporating three unique flake styles into a smoke-colored Stupid Tube.  You’ll find a large white poly-flake, highlighted with red string and square blue glitters, making for an excellent baitfish imitation to fool bass.

Danny Blandford, President of Secret Lures, added, “We wanted to hit on all three Patriot colors in a way that would appeal to both the fish and the Owen Valley supporters.  By combining different flakes you don’t normally see together, I feel like we found a winner with the Patriot Tube.  Smoke is a popular baitfish tube color we don’t offer outside of our Funraising program, and this one is sure to be a standout.  I think it’ll be a great tool for the Owen Valley Bass Fishing Team, both on and off the water.  We’re happy to provide the program a means to help fund their program, as well as a way to keep bringing bass to the scales.”

Owen Valley has an active team with a presence at a variety of functions to help raise funds.  They can often be found at basketball games and other sporting functions, where they sell merchandise, now including their own Secret Lures Stupid Tubes.  Those that would like to purchase the new Patriot Tube directly from the club can also reach out to Coach, Chad Smith, via email at: csmith@socs.k12.in.us.  Secret Lures customers can also contribute to this project directly by adding a bag to their order on www.Shop.SecretLures.com, where a portion of the proceeds will be donated back to the program.

Secret Lures Partners with the Western Kentucky University Bass Fishing Club

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The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Bass Club is the most recent college fishing team to join the new Secret Lures “funraising” initiative. This new program combines school spirit with a proven staple that should be in every angler’s tackle box, the Secret Lures Stupid Tube ®. These collaborations are resulting in great looking baits, with an even greater purpose. The goal of the program is to provide each school with a bait that is uniquely their own and provide a mechanism for the clubs to raise funds for collegiate bass fishing travel expenses. In 2020 the WKU Hilltoppers will be competing in a variety of events, including the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, as well as the FLW College Fishing Series, presented by Yeti.

According to Caleb Mulzer, President of the WKU Bass Fishing Club, “We started a conversation with Secret Lures this past summer about working together and it has really blossomed into a great opportunity for our club. Our tubes look awesome! Our team settled in on the name Topper Tube in honor of our program and we were able to incorporate our signature red and black colors into an all-new “Smoke” offering by Secret Lures. We’re excited to not only start raising some fish up on this new Stupid Tube but also raising some funds for our club.”

Danny Blandford, President of Secret Lures, added, “We’re really getting excited about this program as we talk with different college and high school fishing teams. It seems to be a simple concept that hits on what these programs need the most, which is additional funding. Bringing together school spirit with a great bait allows these teams to reach out to their supporters and offer a custom branded product as a fundraising item for their programs. We’re seeing customers get excited because they know our Stupid Tube is a great bait, but their dollars are also going to a great cause, so we’re helping everyone involved to catch more fish and have some fun.”

Topper Tubes can be purchased directly from the WKU Bass Fishing Club by sending an email to bass.fishing@wku.edu or reaching out to any club members directly. Secret Lures will also host a “Funraiser” section within the Stupid Tube menu on www.Shop.SecretLures.com, where the new Topper Stupid Tube and other unique academic collaborations will be hosted and available for purchase to benefit select programs. Blandford went on to add, “We have several new Stupid Tubes in the works for various programs in our region and we hope that folks will buy directly from the programs themselves, but in the event they want to order from us, we’ll also earmark a portion of the website sales for the college or high school fishing teams the products are listed under.”

College or high school fishing teams that would be interested in learning more about this new program may contact Secret Lures at info@SecretLures.com.

Secret Lures Partners with the Indiana University Bass Fishing Club

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Secret Lures is rolling out a new fundraising initiative to help college and high school fishing teams get out on the water and make the most of every cast.  Their first collaboration is with the Indiana University Bass Fishing Club, of Bloomington, IN.  The company and club have teamed up to offer a unique way to help the Hoosiers raise funds for their upcoming 2020 fishing season.  The IU Bass Fishing Club will be offering a custom Secret Lures Stupid Tube ® in their own custom color, Candy Stripe.  Club members will be selling this one of a kind Stupid Tube at upcoming events such as the Indianapolis Boat, Sport, and Travel Show, as well as on their own website, www.IUBassFishing.com.  All the proceeds will go directly to the club itself to help offset travel expenses associated with college competition.

According to Danny Blandford, President of Secret Lures, “As a former collegiate angler and IU Bass Fishing Club President, I know all too well the struggles that college teams have in raising funds for competition.  We see this as an opportunity to both help the club itself, as well as a chance for Secret Lures and our Stupid Tube to reach a whole new audience.”  Secret Lures will also host a “Funraiser” section within the Stupid Tube menu on www.Shop.SecretLures.com, where the new Candy Stripe Stupid Tube and other unique academic collaborations will be hosted and available for purchase to benefit select programs.  Blandford went on to add, “We have several new Stupid Tubes in the works for various programs in our region and we hope that folks will buy directly from the programs themselves, but in the event they want to order from us, we’ll also earmark a portion of the website sales for the college or high school fishing teams the products are listed under.”

Current IU Bass Fishing Club President, Logan Wade, added, “Bass fishing and the Secret Lures Stupid Tube go hand in hand here in the Hoosier state and we’re excited for this opportunity to work together, raise some funds and some fun!  We came up with an awesome tube that both reflects our school spirit, and is already a proven fish catcher.  We can’t wait to hit the water this spring.”  The Indiana University Bass Fishing Club has 2020 plans to compete throughout the country with the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, as well as the FLW College Fishing Series, presented by Yeti.

Those interested in purchasing this commemorative IU Bass Fishing Club Candy Stripe Stupid Tube ®, by Secret Lures can contact the Indiana University Fishing Club through their website at www.IUBassFishing.com, or email club President, Logan Wade, at logwade@iu.edu.  Secret Lures customers can also contribute to this project directly by adding a bag to their order on www.Shop.SecretLures.com.  College or high school fishing teams that would be interested in learning more about this new program may contact Secret Lures at info@SecretLures.com.

Secret Lures of Kayak Bass Fishing

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Kayak Bass Fishing Championship

When Jonathan Abshire pulls into the Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana March 27th, it will be for the “Biggest ANYTHING I’ve ever done,” according to Abshire.  Over 450 other anglers may be able to say the same thing and feel some pre-tournament jitters, but they all have converged on the area with the same goal.  Their goal is to win the 2019 Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship, presented by Torqeedo.  Competition is scheduled for March 28-30, 2019.  The KBF National Championship is the pinnacle of the kayak bass fishing world.  Over $200,000 in cash and prizes are up for grabs in this one of a kind bass fishing tournament.

The Game

The playing field will seem unique to our traditional bass tournament readers since it includes five different bodies of water.  Championship contenders will be fishing not just a single lake, but an entire system of river and lakes. Eligible water will include the Red River and the following five lakes:
• Caddo Lake (in both Texas and Louisiana)
• Black Cypress Bayou
• Cross Lake
• Lake Bistineau
• Wallace Lake

The Player

Jonathan, a member of the Secret Lures Promotional Staff, earned his berth in this premiere kayak bass fishing event with hard work and success throughout West Virginia in what proved to be a great rookie season. To say kayak bass fishing is big in his area would be an understatement.  It is huge!  West Virginia kayak anglers have numerous trails and events to choose from, with four trails operating in his region alone.  Jonathan, in particular, fished the West Virginia Kayak Anglers, the Southern West Virginia Kayak Anglers, the Mountain State Kayak Anglers, and the Summers County Kayak Bass Anglers events throughout the 2018 season and found success.  All his time on the water led to two Top 5 finishes with the WVKA and ultimately a 12th place position in the points…more than enough accomplishments to punch his ticket to the big dance.

When he launches his Bonafide SS127 it will be the first time it has hit the water that far south, but Jonathan isn’t too worried.  According to Jonathan, “I consider myself a bank-oriented fisherman and we’re hitting these lakes at a perfect time for that.  The fish should be around the banks, with some spawning, some coming in to spawn, and some making their way out.  Regardless of what they are doing, they’ll be plenty of fish up shallow to win this event.”

The Secret Lures

He went on to add, “I’ll have a half dozen rods rigged up, with mostly Secret Lures.  I look for the Big Dummy Stupid Tube and HD Stupid Tube Head to be a big player around cypress trees, boat docks, and other shoreline cover.  Bedding bass won’t tolerate that tube around them for long before they just have to pick it up.  If the bite is tough, I can always scale down to the 3.7 Stupid Tube and still be successful.”

When asked about how he’ll target some of the fish in transition, either moving in or moving out, Jonathan said he has a plan for that as well.  “I’ll have a different approach for those situations.  The MVP HD Flippin’ Jig will be my bigger offering on some of those gnarly spots and deeper areas with cover that pre and post spawn bass like to stop on.  If I can’t get bites on the bigger jig, I can mix it up with the MVP Finesse Jig, or even a Tail Shaker shaky head.  I have a lot of confidence in single hook baits that I can work methodically and I feel like one of these three should do the trick.”

One big difference in kayak bass fishing and the big motor fiberglass world is moving around.  Kayak anglers have to give consideration to the time it takes to move from one locale to another and how to make the most of that time.  They can’t just drop into the driver’s seat and head 10 miles up the lake on a whim or a gut feeling.  They have to make the most of their time once committed to an area and it sounded like Secret Lures could help Jonathan with that too.

 “As I move around within my areas, I’ll be covering water with a Chubby frog.  I hope to pick up a bonus fish or two throughout the day on topwater.  Being able to toss that frog a long way and cover more isolated cover and random banks as I move around will also work to my advantage.”  Jonathan went on to add, “I’ll be able to fish the Chubby weedless around vegetation, and I had a local shop produce a buzzbait head that works perfectly with a Chubby on the back in more open water.”

In closing, Jonathan said, “Collectively, I feel like I’ve got a plan from top to bottom, the rest is in the Lord’s hands.  He has blessed me with this opportunity, and he gets the credit.  Now I’m going to go and fish my strengths with proven products I believe in.  It’s gotten me this far, now I just need a few good days on the water down south.”

Jonathan will be launching in Louisiana with the support of Secret Lures, Gunter’s Yak Shack, Batteries Plus, Buffalo Tire and Brakes, and Stoke’s Grocery Store.  All those involved are rooting for his top to bottom Secret Lures plan to pay off for him.  We thought sharing some of his insights on the biggest event in kayak bass fishing could help our readers pick the right Secret Lures for their next kayak bass fishing adventure, no matter how big or small.

For more information on the KBF National Championship, visit www.KayakBassFishing.com.

New Stupid Tubes for 2019

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The Stupid Tube Goes BIG Time in 2019

The secret of the Secret Lures Stupid Tubes is leaking out at a pretty steady drip these days.  Three trips to the Bassmaster Classic, a BFL All American Title, and televised coverage have a way of doing that.  We’re expecting 2019 to bring a flood of successful bass fishing stories and bass tournament wins.  In part, because “The Secret is Out”, and in part, because of the Secret Lures HD Stupid Tube Jighead and Flippin’ Stupid Tube.

Secret Lures Stupid Tube and Flippin' Stupid Tube

(Original Stupid Tube vs Flippin’ Stupid Tube)

HD (Heavy Duty) Stupid Tube Heads: This one is something we’re excited about, and we know customers will be too.  It is built on the same design principles that have taken three anglers to the Bassmaster Classic, won a BFL All-American, and countless other titles, but heavy duty!

 

Secret Lures HD Stupid Tube Head

Secret Lures HD Stupid Tube Head

The new HD Stupid Tube Head is designed for pitching and flipping bigger tubes in heavy cover with heavy line and flippin’ sticks.  If you’ve liked flipping tubes in the past, you’re going to love it now.  Although still a 4/0 in size, the HD features a medium wire Mustad hook with more bite and less flex.  It fits perfectly in the new Secret Lures Flippin’ Stupid Tube.

 

 

 

 

The 4.2 Flippin’ Stupid Tube: A HD Stupid Tube Head in any other tube is only half right, so we took it upon ourselves to finish up the “system.”

Secret Lures Flippin’ Stupid Tube

 

By using our same proven recipe for hand-dipped salted tubes, we’ve come up with the ultimate flippin’ tube.  The Secret Lures Flippin’ Stupid Tube maintains the same proportions and texture that made the Stupid Tube famous but scaled up for the HD Stupid Tube Head.  Inside diameter increased by 50% and 1/2 inch 0f total length was added.  We’ve started with four proven colors and look forward to working with customers and dealers to expand our color palette in 2019.  If you’ve got a killer color combo you’d like to see, drop us a line, we’d love to hear about it and help make it a reality!

The 4.5 Big Dummy Stupid Tube:  This one was born out of the testing phase of the Flippin’ Stupid Tube with Terry McWilliams and Matt McCoy.  They are two of the most qualified Stupid Tube experts you’ll ever meet.

(Top to Bottom: Big Dummy, Flippin' Stupid Tube, Stupid Tube)

(Top to Bottom: Big Dummy, Flippin’ Stupid Tube, Stupid Tube)

They take tube fishing to the Ph.D. level!  Every time we sent them a new batch their response was the same, “These are awesome, BUT, can you make it bigger?”  That quest ended when these arrived at their doors.  Although we were skeptical of a tube that size, the first trip to the lake proved them right.  The Big Dummy is double the inside diameter of the Stupid Tube and closer to 4.5 inches long.  It’s bulky but not long.  There are times and places that a tube this size produces quality bites.  Rather than shelving them, we did a limited run for folks to try out.  What makes them different is that they are big and fat, but not thickly walled.

The Big Dummy collapses quickly with minimal pressure and that translates into good hookups.  Like the Flippin’ Stupid Tube, we’re going to let our customers help us decide what colors to make next.

For the die-hard Original Stupid Tube fans, we also took care of one of the most common requests!

Heavier Stupid Tube Heads: Lots of folks wanted to fish the Stupid Tube in deeper water and/or heavier current, which makes sense.  The more fish you can show a Secret Lures Stupid Tube, the more fish you can put in the boat.  We figured out how to squeeze a ¼ ounce of lead into the 3.7 Stupid Tube.  It makes for a fat head without hindering that proven action.  You can now get the ¼ once version in 3/0 and 4/0 light wire Gamakatsu hooks.

Get all the products mentioned here FIRST at Shop.SecretLures.com!