Like fishing big flies for big winter fish?  Silvey’s Tube Snake is a pattern you want in your arsenal if your answer is yes.  Tube flies sometimes get a bad rap because they require additional rigging before fishing them. (If pre-rigged versions were not purchased)   Tubes generally require more effort than just putting the line through the eye of the hook tying a knot and letting it rip.  Last time I checked, the end game is to somehow attach yourself to a hot chrome steelhead.  From my perspective if that means taking an extra 2 minutes to rig up the right fly to give yourself the best chance that is what I choose to do.  Really? The two minutes you save in rigging compared to the hundreds of casts you will make to not catch anything don’t seem to add up in my mind.  Maybe after you watch how Silvey’s Tube Snake swings and teases steelhead in this video you might decide 2 minutes + rigging effort = stroking chrome and it’s worth the minimal sacrifice in time.

Brian Silvey,  a full time and life long guide on the Deschutes and Sandy Rivers and through his “double tube technology” has pioneered a way to allow anglers to fish larger profile flies that are easier to cast while still having the hook ride exactly where a steelhead will strike the fly.   I bring up the “double tube technology” because the other rap on early tube fly designs was that the hook swung separate and free from the materials tied on the tube.  Anglers felt that they were getting strikes but missing fish because the hook was separate from the materials.  This gave the fish a chance to eat the materials while the hook might be dangling too low (on the inside of the swing or slow water) or too far to one side with the end result being a big take but no hook up.  After hundreds of casts an experience like that can be described as frustrating and generate some bad press for tube flies.

Using his liberal arts education in a time of need Brian made an assessment!   He chose to experiment with different technologies in order to harness the benefits of tube flies which:

• Are realistic in the swimming motion of the fly.
• Have lots of movement of the materials not hindered by the stiffness of a hook shank.  Thus giving the end of the rabbit strip a “come hither” look similar to the ones you and I might find in a gentleman’s club.
• Have a direct attachment of the line and leader to the hook in the fish’s mouth = better hook to land ratio.
• Eliminate the weight and bulk caused by tying large flies on a hook shank.  The shank adds weight and bulk as materials are wrapped completely around the shank and further impedes easy casting and fast sinking.  (Note: Many anglers find larger harder to cast flies okay to throw at first, when they are fresh and excited about the day ahead.   Its when they get into cast number 50 that the wheels start to fall off.  We all know you have to have your fly in the game on every cast to be successful winter steelheading.)
• Are fast sinking because these tubes have  less material bulk.  Bulky materials cause water resistance and impede the fly sinking into the zone.   Once again making for easier casting through a day of winter steelheading that can consist of hundreds of casts before being touched.
• Makes these fast sinking flies that are easy to cast allowing anglers to use lighter sink tips.  This adds up to better casts at the end of the day because the angler is less tired and hence, more awesome.

Brian’s  goal was to eliminate the free swimming hook and he succeeded by creating  “double tube technology” which remains the industry leader in cutting edge tube design.  Double tube technology is where a small 2nd tube is tied onto the tail end of a rabbit strip, simple but effective solution.  One of those ideas where we all look at it and say, “why didn’t I think of that?”  Silvey’s original yet basic technology allows the hook to swim in tandem (pun intended) with the rabbit strip eliminating the short strike.  Bottom line;  Silvey’s tube designs are the only commercial tubes available using “double tube technology”  that are designed to make his clients more awesome.  Lucky for Idylwilde and lucky for the general steelhead fishing public, Brian Silvey decided to share his “double tube technology” with Idylwilde so all of us can become more awesome.

If this video doesn’t convince you that any angler will benefit from Tube Snakes or Tandem Tubes I would recommend booking a trip with Brian, contacting with him through his site or blog.   That way he can personally show you how he strokes it and help get your stroking techniques dialed in on the river.

Note:  For those of you who want to rig your own here is the rigging video that demonstrates how to do it.  (We are in the process of making a newer version that will eventually be posted on our You tube channel.)

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 6:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized and the tags Flies Steelhead Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response.