Tube flies can be tied out of lots of things you find around the house. What you pick really is dictated by the pattern you're tying and the conditions in which you will be fishing the fly. There are commercial tubes that are made from Aluminum, copper, and brass as well as plastic tubes in different sizes. The plastic are used for light weight flies and you have to add weight to it by either wrapping the tube in wire of different weight and then epoxing over the wire or adding cones heads to the tubes or lead eyes. Aluminum is lightweight, copper and brass add their own weight.
You can use popsicle sticks, stir sticks, bic pen refills and q-tips. I personally don't use the q-tips on saltwater flies because they won't be as durable. I do use the heavy popsicle sticks. To cut them use a razor blade so you don't collapse the tube which will result in your threads slipping off. With Q-tips you need to barely touch it to the flame to round the ends off. They burn a little easier. That is why for a beginner if you're going to tie on plastic I would suggest maybe buying a plastic tube assortment from Byard. They melt much better and are tougher. They're comparable to the bic refills. http://www.linesend.com/product/tools.shtml There are also Bullet tubes and Fly shop tubes both of which they use a lot to tie temple dog style wings. These are also made out of different metals that dictate the weight and therefore fishing conditions the fly will work best in. A more simple syle of tube fly is tying the pattern in the round. You really don't have to worry about the fly spinning. You really wouldn't even need to use junction tubing to hold the hook if the pattern was tied in the round. If the pattern is tyed with a wing and throat you typically use the hook as a keel and junction tubing to hold the hook in place. If you google Tube Flies you will find dozens of sites with information and patterns. Have fun with this. Deb
