Guideline is a fly fishing company based in Sweden.  They produce a full range of fly fishing equipment including single and double hand rods, some of the finest spey lines available, reels, clothing, waders, and fly tying supplies.  Guideline products are among the top Scandinavian fly fishing companies and their dedication to the sport carries over into not just product development but  also they run a series of spey "boot camps" in the U.S. to help both beginner and advanced spey casters hone their skills.  Guideline's site also offers a nice selection of articles on tying with FITS tubes.  


The review that follows will focus on the F.I.T.S., Guideline, and Salar tube fly system and a few tying materials.  After having finished four tube fly system reviews I thought I had a pretty good grasp on tube fly design and theory.  Most tube fly companies offer varying degrees of specialized tubes that are pre-formed and made of either brass or plastic.  The tying platform on the tubes of the four companies I reviewed was pretty obvious and the basic design of the fly is established by the manufacturer.  The F.I.T.S. system is different.  The simplicity of the design was, I have to admit, a bit overwhelming at first.  Where is the junction tubing?  How do the different size tubes fit together? Why do the cones only fit on certain tubes?  After watching "Make em swim" by Mikael Frodin  the genius of the F.I.T.S. system started to make sense.  With the F.I.T.S. system the fly tier has complete control over the fly design and is only limited by material selection and imagination.  If you want a 4" long tube fly, then you can make one.  On the other hand if you want a size 14 tube fly that has a total length of 1/2" then the F.I.T.S. system has a tube that will work.  Here is a look at the F.I.T.S. system in detail:

The F.I.T.S tube system

The basic tube design consists of four different size plastic tubes: extra small, small, medium, and large.  The different size tubes can be tied individually or you can insert the smaller tubes into the larger ones to allow for different heads.  The extra small tubes fit into the medium tubes and the small tubing fit inside the large tubes. The plastic tubes come in six colors and can be mixed and matched to create the exact color combination for a given fly. 

For tube flies that consist of a single size tube all you have to do is cut a section of tubing and insert the tube into the F.I.T.S. tubing device or most any tube fly adapter, tie the fly and you are done.  The F.I.T.S. heads will fit the extra small and small size tubes.  If you want to use a head on a fly tied on medium or large tubing, then all you have to so is insert the corresponding smaller tube into the larger tube and you are good to go. To connect the two tubes simply cut an angle on the larger tube, insert the smaller tube, and tighten things down with a few turns of thread.