Knot Tying

There are many different knots to choose from for your Fly Fishing. A few that are reliable and easy to tie are all that are needed. Practice tying your knots so that you can tie them quickly and reliably when you need to.

To attach the nylon backing line to the bare reel spool, make a large loop in the end of the line, feed the loop around the reel spool and then pass the backing-line spool back through the loop - pull tight and wind on the backing line.

The Nail Knot, sometimes called the needle knot, can be tied in multiple ways. A needle or tube can be used instead of a nail. It is used to attach the leader to the fly line, and to attach the fly line to the backing-line.

The Surgeon's Knot is a simple modification to the reef knot. It is an easy to tie know that is strong and reliable. The Surgeon's Knot is used to connect the leader and the tippet. It is important to pull the knot up evenly on all four ends for the strongest possible result. Three turns are needed for fine tippets but for thicker nylon, two will be adequate.

The Blood Knot is a strong, reliable knot but only if it is tied well. It is used to attach hooks to the tippet. Unfortunately many anglers fail to tie the knot correctly. The short end of one line is wrapped 6-8 times around the second line, draw it up slowly by pulling on the tippet. Pull on the tag to be cut off and then pull on the tippet again before trimming off the tag end.