When welded loops became common place on the terminal section of most premium fly lines, the perfection loop went from being a rather obscure knot, to one that is a must have for fly anglers of all skill levels.

For our upcoming trip to the Bahamas, we’ll be tying some of our own leaders specifically for barracuda. Although some anglers dislike a loop-to-loop connection between their fly line and leader, we’ve found over the years, the benefits of a loop-to-loop connection far out weigh the drawbacks.

The first knot that we’ll tie in our barracuda leader is the perfection loop. It is incredibly easy, fast and efficient way to attach the leader to our fly line. It is also a fairly seamless connection that slides through fly rod guides easily.

The best part of this knot: it is incredibly quick and easy to tie.

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.

Step 2:

Form a second, smaller loop in front of the first by bringing the tag end in front of and then behind the first loop. End with the tag on the right again. Keep the loops in place with thumb and forefinger.

Step 3:

Pass the tag end between the loops and hold in place.

Step 4:

Pull the second loop through the first loop with right hand. Make sure tag end does not slip out of position. Lubricate and tighten by pulling on second loop and standing part of leader. The knot works best when loop is kept small.

There you have it. Stay tuned as we put the perfection loop together with an Albright Knot to construct a barracuda rig.

Using a perfection loop to start this leader in conjunction with the Albright knot is a great way to connect leader and tippet material of varied test and tensile strength. When you put this all together with the perfection loop we just demonstrated, we’ll have our Bahamas barracuda rig. This same rigging can be used for other toothy species like pike and musky.