Mind the gap

...and catch the tube. FRANK MOORS shows how hospital tubing can be used to prevent twisting and add stability to Secret Weapons, tandems and Snakes

Did you know that something which can be found in a hospital cardiac unit can prove to be an excellent addition to the sea trout fishers' armoury? The thud of a big sea trout on the end of the line in the depths of a still, quiet summer night is always a heart-stopping moment; the fact that a small piece of intravenous tubing can help you achieve this surge of adrenaline more regularly on is, therefore, somewhat fitting.

I have known about this flexible tubing for 15 years or so. Originally I bought it from McHardy's in Carlisle where it was sold to line copper and brass tubes. Tom C Saville also sold it as a hard tube, but the fact is that hospitals use miles of this stuff every year. It's real name is Portex tubing (ref 205). If you are unfortunate enough to end up in a hospital cardiac unit, make the most of your visit by taking your tubing home - you will find it useful.

This tubing can be used to add rigid but flexible extensions and joints to the types of flies that have become synonymous with British sea trouting - Secret Weapons, Snakes and tandems can all benefit from an intravenous injection. For those who are familiar with these patterns, they will be well aware of the difficulties each design instills during both dressing the fly and fishing it. For instance, when a standard tandem mount is built with a length of heavy duty nylon monofilament, it is not easy to get the hooks to sit in line and straight without them kinking up or to the side. Similarly, when cast in the darkness - as is the fate of most of these lures - if the junction of the two hooks is too flexible, then the rear hook can kink round and catch the front one causing an unholy mess, wasted time and frustration.

The method can also be used to tie huge Snake flies - which are enjoying a renaissance in sea-trouting at the moment. Again, I've found that they don't twist so much when mounted on plastic tubing, and they also work better.

Mounting with tube
By using tubing I can create my own mounts using 15-20lb BS monofilament and know that they will not kink or twist. For a straightforward link I will double the nylon from the rear hook, using my thread to bind both lengths down onto the shank as I work it up the shank of the front hook. I then pass one free end of the nylon through the eye of the hook, double it back on itself and bind it tightly all the way down the shank again. I only double back one leg of the nylon as it creates less bulk on the shank and is less time-consuming. This is my standard procedure for linking two mounts, a system which has not let me down in many years of sea trouting, and has safely taken fish to 8.5lb for me.

When incorporating tubing to the mount, take the required length and cut it at a shallow angle to form something like an elongated quill of a pen. Then simply feed the tube - 'nib' first - over the nylon mount and over the bend of the shank so the 'nib' of the pen rests on the top of the shank of the hook. This can then be bound into place with thread to secure it in position.

The tubing used here is called Portex non-sterile polythene tubing. Inside diameter 0.86mm; outside diameter 1.52mm. Portex ref: 800/100/280/100

This article appeared in full in the May 2004 issue of Fly Fishing and Fly Tying together with the author's fly patterns.

Fox Squirrel & Blue utilising the secret Weapon tubing mount. Note how the tubing is tapered to envelope the bend of the front hook. The treble is attached via a nylon loop which is tied onto the shank and projects to the rear having been thread through the nylon tube support. The loop is then fed through the eye of the treble, over the bend of the hook, and then seated into the back of the soldered shank. It is then whipped with thread to secure.

Tandem Black & Silver: the addition of tubing over the monofilament link prevents twist and strenthens the link allowing the mount to fish straighter.