Mesh Tube for holding soft bait within lure / lure making.

[Springbuck1]

Here’s 1 way to use some of that up. This jig has a real similar hollow tube used as the body.

  That looks like a heck of a panfish fly, with a plastic bead head instead of lead.

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I've got an idea about like yours. Drop a couple crappie nibbles inside the tube, and tie a bug like EyLayo posted.

Or, like you said, it expands and contracts like an accordion. Tie the front end behind a jig head with a few wraps of thread. Leave the back end loose and slightly frayed so you can push it up an insert your soft baits, like a little stick of dried Powerbait or whatever, then cut half the body off a curly-tail jig, and thread that on behind. The tubing will relax back out to length, the plastic jig body will act to plug the back end some, you'll have an action tail, sparkle, scent, and some mid-body flu-flus for extra action.

Last idea. Do the worm thing you mentioned, tying the front end to a long Aberdeen wire hook, or an actual plastic worm hook, but also run a line full length inside the tube, and tie a tiny spinner blade like the kind on a beetle-spin, on at the tail end of the worm.

I'll buy some to mess with, too.