BEANTOWN TUBIN'

The Santini Tube

By Tom Richardson



Captain Lou Abate of Boston's Good Time Charters is another Northeast captain who swears by tubes. His bread-and-butter lure for working the waters of Boston Harbor is the Santini tube (617) 381-1997, a 24-inch snake made of half-inch-diameter latex surgical tubing and features a spinner blade near the head. Abate usually trolls his tubes over rocks and ledges in ten to 15 feet of water. For fishing these moderate depths, he prefers 45- to 60- pond leadcore line on a 6 1/2- to seven-foot, medium -action rod rated for 30- to 50-pound line. The reel can be any type of conventional bottom-fishing reel spooled with 50 yards of backing and 50 yards leadcore. Finishing the rig is a six-foot, 50- or 60-pound mono or fluorocarbon leader and a black, 1/0 Crosslok snap swivel.

Like most tube experts, Abate stresses the need for the lures to be fished slowly and as close as possible to the bottom. He is also adamant about placing a live seaworm on the tube's hook. In his opinion, a tube without a worm is all but useless. One of the tricks to hooking bass on the tubes is resisting the urge to yank back on the rod when you feel a bump, since this usually pulls the lure away from the fish. Instead, wait until the fish hooks itself and begins pulling line from the reel before lifting the rod. It's not unusual for a striper to whack the tube multiple times before finding the hook, so be patient. If the bumps stop, it means the worm has been stolen.

"Beantown Tubin'", featured in the Saltwater Sportsman Annual Pro Issue 2001.


The excerpts above are from an article written in Saltwater Sportsman, by Tom Richardson, 2001, by permission.