# Fly Fishing knots?



## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

Best fly fishing knots.......................

Tippet (5x) to leader connection? (I want to lose my sweivel connection)

Tippet to fly?

I will look them up on youtube after you give the names.


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## ScottyP (Sep 12, 2007)

Best leader to tippet and tippet to tippet knot is the blood knot. Looks complicated but with practice it isn't too hard. A good rule of thumb with blood knots is to not skip more than 1 size between tippets. Example: you have a 9' leader tapered to 4X. You can lengthen your leader with 5 or 6x but skipping 2 sizes down to 7x will severely compromise your knot. I carry 4, 5, 6, and 7x tippet on my lanyard and can re-build a fouled leader in a matter of a couple minutes streamside. Also, bloodknots with a 3" tag is how you set up a bounce rig.

As far as tying on a fly I just use a clinch knot on all flies and sometimes a rapala loop on streamers. Only other knots I use is a nail knot for fly line to leader or perfection loop for welded loop line to leader connection.

FYI, these knots will disinigrate the second you drag a fish onto the bank, or use too much product in your hair. Fair warning.


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## Flyfishn247 (Oct 2, 2007)

I use a nail knot for fly line to Tippett. I never use the tapered leaders any more. I construct my own. I start with 2' of 2x off the fly line. I then use a surgeons knot to tie on about 3' of 3x followed by about 3' of 4x or 5x depending on where I am fishing and what I am fishing with. I like this versus the tapered leader because if your line is going to break, it usually only breaks the last 3' of tippet. So I save a lot of line and I never have to buy tapered leaders. I use the improved clinch to tie on flies. The improved works much better with small tippets than the regular clinch. For real small flies, I sometimes use a surgeons loop and cinch the line down to the eyelet of the hook. I tie my droppers onto the bend of a hook using the same surgeons loop.


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## Flyfishn247 (Oct 2, 2007)

This site is good for animated demonstrations of knots.

http://www.animatedknots.com/nailknot/i ... dknots.com


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

I use the blood knot for leader to tippet, but the double surgeons is faster and IMO not that much weaker. For tippet to fly, that really depends on what I'm using. For most dries and small nymphs, I use the turle knot because I can tie one about 300 times faster than an improved clinch, especially when I'm on size 18 or smaller. Medium to large nymphs, it depends on how ambitious I'm feeling but I usually use the turle knot for those too. Streamers, mice and other bigger flies I use the improved clinch almost of the time.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I'm in no way a pro when it comes to fly fishing, but I've caught a bunch of fish using unorthodox methods.

The improved clinch is your friend for virtually any fly, lure, or hook. Leader to fly line, a nail knot is perfect. It's great for any time where you need to connect two different sizes of line. It only gets tighter as you pull it.

It's difficult to tie without the handy dandy tool (couple of bucks and well worth it), but it's a great knot to have at your disposal.

If you're out floating and have a sinking line setup, you don't really even need a leader. Just tie several feet (I like 6-9 feet) of mono or whatever line you usually use onto the fly line with a nail knot. Presentation isn't as important when you're dragging bugs from a tube.

When I'm tying on a dropper, I prefer either a clinch knot to the bend in the hook or a modified arbor knot. The arbor knot is like a simple slip knot with a few extra loops. My modification is to do 3 loops instead of two and I don't bother knotting the tag end. It has worked well for me so far.

Also, pulling the tag end will loosen the loop and you can keep the dropper for another fly.

I use that for the dropper, mostly because I'm usually tying a dropper onto a big meaty streamer of some sort and that allows me to cinch the knot down without getting the tail tangled into it.


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## Mojo (Oct 2, 2007)

Books are an amazing resource. Fly fishing, fly casting, knots, fly tying etc. The county library and fly shops are full of these things. You could also Google your questions.


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## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

Mojo said:


> Books are an amazing resource. Fly fishing, fly casting, knots, fly tying etc. The county library and fly shops are full of these things. You could also Google your questions.


Yes the library is amazing! There are tons of books! Sound like I get the jest of it. These knots suggested tonight will go into practice tonight! I hope to get better at it instead of spending my time on the water tying and re-tying knots. More fishin less tyin!


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## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

For me the blood knot, or even the surgeons knot works ok for me along with the improved clinch knot for any end of line stuff, like flies, lures and even droppers, etc. They are just easier for these old thumbs.


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## drsx (Sep 8, 2010)

I stated this in your other thread. Download the ORVIS fly fishing app for android phone, don't know if they have it on iphone. Literally videos and animations of hundreds of knots. Casting techniques, actually flies pics and when to use them.


For me the double or triple surgeon knot is by far the quickest, easiest, and just as strong as any of ther others.

I haven't like the blood knot.


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

The blood knot can be a hard one to learn but it is worth it.
A blood know will slide through your guides smoother than most any other knot.

Once you have learned how to tie it you will like it.


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

A triple surgeons is twice as fast to tie as a blood knot and offers a 10% knot strength advantage over a blood knot. Not to mention you can use lines of different diameters and it still holds the same all the time. Doing that with a blood knot is impossible.


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## drsx (Sep 8, 2010)

flyguy7 said:


> A triple surgeons is twice as fast to tie as a blood knot and offers a 10% knot strength advantage over a blood knot. Not to mention you can use lines of different diameters and it still holds the same all the time. Doing that with a blood knot is impossible.


Amen.


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## lunkerjunker (Aug 8, 2011)

I hate tying blood knots so I usally use a sugeons knot. The funny thing is, I did a search on knots and it appears I've been tying it complety wrong for years. I have no idea what the knot I have been tying is.


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