Trouts Fly Fishing

The Slim Beauty Knnot

I was in the process of getting ready for a trip to the Florida Keys in mid-June, when a customer brought this knot to my attention.  It is super easy to learn and tie, is great for tying leaders and tippets of varying diameters together, and is a strong as hell.  It may not be a knot you’ll use everyday on the river (or flats), but I guarantee it will come in useful sometime during anybody’s angling career.

STEP 1:

Tie a double overhand knot shock tippet or other large diameter monofilament material, leaving it about 4″ – 6″ from the end of the tippet.   Slowly pull the running and tag end apart so that the line forms a figure 8 (as shown on the right).

Read More…

The Albright Knot

The Albright Knot may not be a standard knot in most anglers tool box, but it will open up a ton of different options when it come to rigging your line.  The Albright Knot is most commonly used to attach fly line to backing, but it can be used in a variety of other applications.  I regularly use this knot when fishing the Rocky Mountain Arsenal where I use large gauge shock tippet at the end of my leader to ensure that the pike don’t bite off my fly.  In this application, I tie 5′ – 7′ of 15lb fluorocarbon off my fly line, and then attach 12″ – 16″ of 30lb shock tippet to the fluorocarbon using the Albright Knot.  I then will attach my fly to the end of the shock tippet.

Step 1: form an open ended loop with your fly line or large diameter monofilament.  Pass the backing or smaller diameter monofilament through the loop, leaving a tag end roughly 6″ long.

Hint: anchor the tag end by holding it between your thumb and index finger that are creating the loop.

Read More…

Perfection Loop

When welded loops became common place on the end of premium fly lines, the perfection loop went from being an obscure knot, to one that is a must have for fly anglers of all skill levels.  Although some people dislike a loop-to-loop connection between their fly line and leader, I have found over the years that it’s benefits far out weigh any of its drawbacks.  It is incredibly easy, fast and efficient to attach your leader, and it also is a pretty seamless connection that slides through your guides easily.  The best part of this knot, it is incredibly easy.

Step 1:

Form a single loop by bringing the tag end behind the standing part of leader. The tag should be on the right-hand side.

Read More…

Bimini Twist

This is definetally one of the more intimidating knots I learned to tie, mostly because everybody seems to make it out to be this impossible thing to do.  The reality is the Bimini Twist is a very easy knot to tie, and has many applications.

Step 1: begin by making a loop and twisting it 15-20 times.  Be sure to make the loop big enough to get a reel or spool of line through

Read More…

The Blood Knot

The blood knot is most commonly used for joining monofilament of similar diameters together.  Most people will use this knot instead of the classic double surgeons, as it tends to finish a bit cleaner.  When you first tie this knot you will a bit challenged and uncoordinated, but like any other knot, with practice you’ll quickly get the hang of it.

Step 1

Lay the lines on top of one and other facing in opposite directions.   Cross one end over the other, and wrap this line three or four times around the other.  Then place the end of this line in the crotch or the V formed by the two lines.

Read More…