Basic Fly Fishing Knots

One of the most important bases of knowledge for fly fishing, and maybe the most taken for granted, is knot tying. There are five basic knots that I believe every fly fisherman should know. They are: the arbor, albright, nail, double surgeon’s and improved clinch knot. These are fairly simple knots, but you will know immediately if you fail to tie one of these incorrectly (especially the last few), when that big brown takes your tippet right off of your leader. This list of knots is not exhaustive and some of you may have your own variations or preferred knots, but these are what I typically utilize.


The Arbor Knot
This knot is the first knot used in securing your backing to the arbor of your reel (otherwise known as the spool center). You can tie the arbor knot in three short steps.

1. Take the line around the center of your spool and tie an overhand knot around the remaining line.


2. Secure a 2nd overhand knot on the “tag” end, just a few inches from the first knot.


3. Moisten the backing line as well as the two overhand knots you just made. Tighten the smaller knot, and while holding the spool in your left hand, pull the “standing” line with your right hand. Slide the first knot against the arbor. The 2nd knot will keep the 1st from slipping. Clip the remaining “tag” end off.


The Albright Knot
This knot is typically used to attach your fly line to the backing. Some people also use the nail knot for this, but I’ll stick with the Albright.

1. Make a loop on the heavier (bigger diameter) line and place this in between the index finger and thumb of your left hand. Take the lighter gauge line and bring it through the loop, leaving about eight inches to spare. Pinch the smaller diameter line in with the line you are already holding in your left hand.


2. Add about ten wraps with the lighter line away from you, working from left to right. With each successive wrap, use your thumb and index finger to hold the wraps in place. Do not let up with your left-hand pressure. On the final wrap, bring the line up through the remaining loop. Take this standing line in your right hand and pull. As you are pulling, push the wraps towards the closed loop. Make sure the wraps do not stand on top of one another and that you do not push them too far. Pull the tag end tight and then pull on the standing part of both lines to secure the knot.


3. Clip off the two small tags that remain next to the knot.


The Nail Knot
This is a good knot to know, as it can be used to anchor your fly line to the backing. Another use is to attach your leader to the fly line, although in many cases, you can purchase pre-looped leaders that do away with the necessity of utilizing a knot for this function. Either way, we’ll cover it here, as it is a great knot to know. This knot requires a nail (hence the name) or a piece of tubing or needle.

1. Place a nail (or needle or tubing) in between the leader and the fly line. Take the leader and wrap it back toward the end of the fly line about 6.-7 times.


2. Take the end of the leader and pass it back through the loops that were just made. When the leader is through, pull on the ends of the leader and fly line. Try not to let the loops cross one another. Holding the lines with your fingers, remove the nail.


3. Moisten the lines and pull snug by tugging at both ends, away from one another. Clip off the excess line and leader, which will form a closed knot.


The Surgeon’s Knot
I thought for the longest time that this knot would be the bane of my existence. I was never really shown how to tie it the right way and conversely ended up going online and finding out the correct method. Now, I’ll pass that knowledge on to you. This knot is typically used to secure your tippet to the leader and is perfect for tying different gauges of line together.

1. Your main line (leader) should come in from the left-hand side, while the other line (tippet) should come in from the right. Overlap the two sections of line by about six inches.


2. Pinch this overlapped section on the left-hand side b/w your index finger and thumb. Do the same with the overlapped sections to the right and make a loop, by crossing over itself. Take the long and short lines, which should be in your right hand and send them through the loop you just formed and then around and back through the loop for a 2nd time.


3. Tug on both pieces that are being held in each hand away from one another, closing the knot. Moisten the lines and pull tight.


The Clinch Knot
This is a knot that probably all anglers know. None the less, it bears repeating since it is your last line of defense against a fish pulling away with your fly as if it wasn’t even tied on. Someone once told me that if you loop around the main line seven times before finishing the knot, it was good luck. Not sure if it really is the case, but I can count the # of fish that I’ve lost due to a clinch knot failure on one hand.

1. Take the end of your tippet and thread it through the eye of the hook. Wrap the loose end of the tippet around the standing line 5-7 times (less for heavier test line).


2. With the tag end of the tippet in hand, pass it through the loop between the eye of the hook and the first wrap. Continue on with the tag end back through the loop you just made.


3. Moisten the lines and take the hook in your left hand. While holding the hook, pull on the tag end of the leader, cinching the knot down on itself. Clip off the excess line and go catch some fish!

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm and is filed under Fly Fishing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.