Posted by Jim E (24.117.251.11) on October 14, 2004 at 16:47:13:
Got knots ?
Well here is another “can of worms” subject. Everyone has their favorite knot and feel it is better and stronger than such and such other knot and so on and so forth and…so be it. Much research has already been done testing and studying different knots to reveal their strengths and weaknesses. I’ll leave that to people that are much more qualified and smarter than I. My two concerns for knots are, ease of tying and one that won’t slip. Beyond that I don’t feel that a “double overhand somersaulting ten twist Oscar knot” is necessary for fly fishing and it would fail my “easy to tie” test, if there was even such a knot.
A fly rod is designed with a very soft tip to protect light tippets and, therefore, also the knot. We shouldn’t be setting the hook like a bass fisherman does and then skating the fish on the surface all the way to the boat. Breakoffs are often talked and bragged about but truly they are almost always because of fisherman error or inattention, leading to leader, tippet or knot failure.
For now I will focus on knots for tying on flies.
-Clinch knot- I use this knot for smaller hooked flies say #18 and less.
-Improved Clinch knot- This is the first knot that I ever learned for fishing (My father taught it to me) Fly hooks wire gauge increases as the hook size does. I have found that the clinch will often slip when using hooks around #16 and larger. To prevent this, I run the tag end through the upper loop therefore making it an Improved Clinch knot.
-Trilene knot- This knot is essentially the same as the Clinch knot with the exception that you go through the hook eye twice. Next, twist the tag end around the main line 3 times, after which, pass it through the two loops formed right above the hook eye and then cinch down. This knot I use for hooks larger than #12. Once again finding that the Improved Clinch knot can slip as hook size increases. I believe this to be somewhat of a unique problem to fly fishing. Having small tippet diameters doesn’t allow the mono to really cinch down on its self because of the hooks wire gauge.
You might be asking why I don’t just use the Trilene knot all of the time. Well, with small hooks, which of course require a smaller X tippet, that knot fails my “ease of tying” test. Imagine cold, wet fingers trying to go through all of the motions of tying a complicated knot on a #30 dry midge pattern, all the while not crushing the hackles.
As I wrote at the inset, many have set their ways on this subject and I have too. If you have a knot or knots that work for you and have confidence in them, don’t change. But if you are like I used to be and struggled with some knots in certain situations, you might want to try something different. There several tools and products available for aiding in knot tying, of which none I’ve ever tried. But I would always recommend moistening your knots right before cinching them down with your own homegrown salvia and taking the time to tie it correctly and smoothly will always do you well.
Thanks for reading and comments are always welcomed.
Jim Enns <*;))))))))))))><