Fly Fishing Knots

& How To Tie Them Successfully…

Essential Fly Fishing Knots

In this sport we love, fly fishing knots and tying knots that do not fail, is an essential composition. There are many different knots in the sport of angling, but, there are some knots that are perfect for the fly fishing application. In total you will need to know about 5 knots, which will be illustrated, demonstrated and explained below. These knots are the most effective and stand the test of time.

Tying Your Backing On To The Spool – The Arbor Knot

Regardless of where you are fishing and what you are fishing for, you should always have backing on a fly reel, ALWAYS. You never know when you might need that backing. Backing is generally jut braid or special fly backing. Depending on what reel setup you have, generally 10-30lb backing should suffice.

To tie the Arbor Knot the following steps should be followed:

1. Double up your backing and place it over the spool of the reel, so both ends are facing you.

2. Grab the ends of the line and cross them over. Tie a normal knot into the braid and gently slide it down to form the knot.

3. Form a loop with the tag end above the knot.

4. Make another knot in this piece of line and tighten the knot so it sits against the spool.

5. Clip the tag ends off.

6. Load your backing on and then get ready to tie your braid to your fly line.

Tying Backing To Fly Line – Double Uni Knot

You will see that I use variations of this knot to tie leader to leader and backing to fly line as well as fly line to leader, it is a quick and easy knot that is very effective. There are a few steps in this one, but once you are used to tying this knot it will be second nature to tie.

To tie the Backing to Fly line uni knot the following steps should be followed:

1. Gather the end of your fly line and the start of your backing.

2. Put them together so they are parallel to one another.

3. Bring the end of the fly line over to form a loop over both the parallel lines.

4. Put the loose fly line end through the loop 3 times.

5. Pull the knot tight.

6. Now take the tag end of your backing.

7. Form a loop and thread the braid through 7 times.

8. Lubricate both knots and pull on opposing sides to bring them together.

9. Cut off the tag ends and continue to load the reel.

Tying Fly Line To Leader – Nail Knot Or Double Uni Knot

The nail knot is the most effective when tying leader straight on to your fly line. Alternatively to this knot you can use a braided loop which forms like a Chinese finger trap, which means the harder you pull the tighter the knot becomes. It is quite a tricky knot to tie, but nonetheless it is very important. A quicker knot that is just as effective, but not as smooth is the Double Uni Knot, which once again I will explain here.

To tie the Fly line to the leader the following steps should be followed:

1. Gather the end of your fly line and the start of your leader.

2. Put them together so they are parallel to one another.

3. Bring the end of the leader over to form a loop over both the parallel lines.

4. Put the loose leader line end through the loop 3 times.

5. Pull the knot tight.

6. Now take the tag end of your fly line.

7. Form a loop and thread the fly line through 7 times.

8. Lubricate both knots and pull on opposing sides to bring them together.

9. Cut off the tag ends and select your leader lengths.

Tying Leader To Tippet – Double Uni Knot

There are many different knots to use when joining leader to leader or mono to mono, however I prefer the double uni knot, once again. It is just so easy to tie and has great knot strength.

To tie the leader to the tippet the following steps should be followed:

1. Gather the end of your leader line and the start of the tippet.

2. Put them together so they are parallel to one another.

3. Bring the end of the leader over to form a loop over both the parallel lines.

4. Put the loose leader line end through the loop 2 times.

5. Pull the knot tight.

6. Now take the tag end of your tippet.

7. Form a loop and thread the fly line through 3 times.

8. Lubricate both knots and pull on opposing sides to bring them together.

9. Cut off the tag ends and select your tippet lengths.

Tying A Fly To Your Tippet – Clinch Knot

The clinch knot is the best, most tidy and smallest knot to tie in light line such as fly tippet. The simple and effective knot is quick to tie and should be known by all fly fishermen. It also gives the dry fly and nymph a good presentation, especially in clear waters.

To tie the tippet to the fly, the following steps should be followed:

1. Put the tippet through the eye of the fly and put your fingers on both parts of the line.

2. Cross the line over to form a loop and take the end tippet and put it through the loop 5 times.

3. Thread the tippet back through the loop.

4. Lubricate and gently tighten the knot.

5. Cut off the tag ends, and now you are ready to go fishing.

Once you know all these knots well you will be more confident in you fly fishing abilities especially when you need to bully a fish.

More Fly Fishing Knots

The below information is from an article I recently found that I compiled quite a while a go. Hopefully this will help anyone struggling with the need to know knots of fly fishing.

How To Tie Good Quality High Strength Fishing Knots That Won’t Break

When angling, the most important thing you need to have is a few knots that you can tie. Knots in fishing are more important than line choice, rod choice, reel choice, baits, lures etc. If you can tie a good knot your gateway to catching any fish species is wide open!

Every angler will eventually have bad lucks with their knots, but the more you practice the less bad luck you will have and the more memorable fish you will land! Below are some diagrams and videos of how to tie knots, step by step. Tight lines…

How To Tie The Improved Clinch Knot?

Improved Clinch Knot

Improved Clinch Knot

The improved clinch knot is one of the most used knots in angling, especially in lighter lines and fly fishing. The improved clinch knot is almost 100% successful in lines of 20lb breaking strain and less, I have used this knot in line of up to 35lbs and had no problems.

  • Put the line through the eye of the hook or swivel and make a loop.
  • Double back over the line and twist around 5 times.
  • Once this is done, hold the coils and take the end of the line and put it through the loop closest to the eye.
  • Put the line through the larger loop you have just created.
  • Wet the knot and pull tight by holding the end of the line and the hook.
  • Cut off the tag end.

How To Tie The Normal Clinch Knot?

The normal clinch knot is a less stronger knot than the one above and can be used for the same applications. It is slightly easier to tie. Follow the steps above and just exclude step 4 and you have the normal clinch knot.

How To Tie The Uni Knot?

The uni knot is a very commonly used knot and is fairly simple to tie. It can be tied into any line diameter. Please follow the steps below:

 

1. Take about 15cm of line and put it through the eye. Double back so you create 2 parallel lines.
2. Take the free end back towards the eye and make 6 turns of the parallel lines.
3. Slide the knot towards the eye, tighten and clip the tag end.

How To “Snell The Hook” – the Snell Knot

Hook snelling is used a lot when heavier line and steel is involved. It is also known as the ‘knotless knot’ and is very effective if tied properly. The way the Snell is tied is basically a Uni Knot tied around the shank of the hook.\

How To Tie Snell Knot

1. To tie the Snell or Knotless Knot, you need to first need to thread the line through the eye of the hook 6 times. Form a loop in the line and hold it against the shank of the hook.
2. Turn the line 6 more times through the shank and the loop.
3. Tighten the knot by pulling the ‘standing’ line in one direction and the hook in the opposite direction.

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