Fly Fishing 411

Posts Tagged ‘Knots’

A poorly tied knot may mean losing a prized catch.  Therefore, you want to make sure you tie them properly.  There are a few things you should keep in mind when tying fly fishing knots.  This article will give you a few tips.

Lubrication

After you have tied the knot, you will obviously need to tighten it.  However, before you do so, you should make sure the line is well-lubricated.  When you tighten the knot, the friction creates heat that will weaken monofilament.  Lubricating it beforehand will help decrease the amount of heat generated when tying the knot.  Simply dip it in water or put it in your mouth to lubricate it with your saliva.

Hold

It’s best to tighten fly fishing knots using a slow, continuous pull.  After that’s done, it’s best to test it by pulling on the line and leader quite hard.  You want to make sure that your knot will hold before you even try to land a fish with it.

Trimming

After tying your knot, you will need to trim excess material away.  You can simply use nippers for this.  Although you want to trim away material as closely to the knot as possible, you need to make sure that you don’t get close enough to damage your knot.

Trash

Speaking of trimming, you will probably have excess material lying around afterwards.  This isn’t a problem if you’re tying fly fishing knots at home, as you can just throw them in the trash.  However, if you’re tying them close to the water, you need to put excess material in your pocket or vest.  It will harm fish as well as other animals if you leave it lying around.