GreatAmericanLakes
Strike King

Strike King · Lures

Coffee Tube Smallmouth Kit

4.5(3,100)4.5 out of 5 stars, 3,100 reviews, on Amazon at the time this was written

The tube is still the St. Clair smallmouth bait, and a 3.5-inch green pumpkin on an internal head is the whole answer most days.

Check price on Amazon$7— Coffee Tube Smallmouth Kit

Price shown was accurate on 2026-09-01. Amazon sets the live price.

What's good

  • The spiraling fall of a tube on an internal head triggers strikes nothing else does
  • Salt and coffee scent in the plastic keeps fish holding on long enough to set
  • 3.5-inch is the correct size for Great Lakes smallmouth eating gobies and crayfish
  • Green pumpkin and smoke cover essentially every water clarity on St. Clair and Erie

What isn't

  • Tubes tear at the head after two or three fish; you go through a lot of them
  • Rigging an internal head takes practice and a poorly-rigged tube spins and twists line
  • The hollow body picks up and holds water, which makes casting distance inconsistent

We list the drawbacks because a recommendation with no downside is a sales pitch. If a cheaper item does the job on your water, the write-up says so.

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