Fly Fishing - I Know Knot What I Do
by Rick Chapo
When it comes to fly fishing, tying a knot is not
the most glamorous of subjects. Without a knot,
however, youll not be snatching the Muskie of your
dreams.
Fly Fishing Knots
First thing first, we need to get the lingo down
since we wont be using illustrations in this
article. Three basic terms will cover practically
any aspect of the knot tying process. "Tag end"
refers to the last ten inches of so of line you are
holding in your hand, to wit, the pointy part you
will be pushing through and wrapping around things.
"Standing end" refers to the rest of the line. Yes,
very complicated and difficult to understand. "Wrap"
refers to the action wherein you move the tag end of
the line one full revolution around the standing
end. The wrap can also be called a turn, but you
have the general idea.
As with practically anything in fly fishing,
there are an infinite number of variations to knots.
Mysterious variations include the Steroidius Double
Flip [good for catching professional athlete fish],
the Marigold Hammer [good for catching the neighbors
plants while practicing in your back yard] and the
Wifeous Annoyous [a complex knot that gets you in
trouble with the wife since youre supposed to be
painting the garage], but you probably start with
the "Aarrgg, Dammit..." knot common to beginners.
Fishermans Knot
Other than tying your shoes, the easiest knot to
learn is the fishermans knot. Get your hook in one
hand and tag end in the other. And a one and a
two...
1. As you proceed, keep everything slack. We will
be passing the tag end through loops we create. DO
NOT tighten anything until told to!
2. Pull the tag end through the eye of the hook.
3. Bend the tag end back to the standing end and
wrap four or five times. Make sure you do not
tighten the wrap. [You should now have a closed loop
through the hook.]
4. Take your tag end and push it through the loop
formed by the wrap. Do not push it through the hook
eye, just the bigger loop of line.
5. You will have just created another loop and
should pass the tag end through again.
6. Slowly pull on the hook and stag end until the
knot is tight. Watch those fingers.
Congratulations! If youve tied the perfect knot,
it is time to hit local fishing spot. If youve made
a mess of it, try again. Either way, you get to
avoid painting the garage.
Rick Chapo is with
http://www.nomadjournals.com/flyfishing.cfm -
makers of writing journals. Fly fishing journals are
great fly fishing gifts for anglers and fly fishing
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