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Braided Loop Line Conncectors

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I find it odd that you had any trouble with braided mono loops, they're so easy to install. Slide one on, then tie a nail knot out of 3X mono or something similar near the frayed end, clip any of the frayed ends sticking out beyond the nail knot, and you're done. If you want a smoother knot you can coat the nail knot with UV knot sense or something similar, but it's just fine without it.

 

I find it "odd" that you find it "odd" that I had trouble with the braided loops. I believe that my fly line diameter was too large and/or the loops I have were designed for smaller diameter fly line. Like I said, I did not choose these loops. They were given to me and I have no idea what size line they were designed for. Evidently they were not designed for mine.

Joe

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that photo above has to be one hell of a hinge when casting

 

you dont have to thread the fly line into the entire length of the braided loop

 

i cut the connector to a managable length and add a couple of nail knots

 

Braided-Loop.jpg

 

Sorry to disappoint you, but no "hinge" when casting. In fact, it casts just fine.

Joe

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I make my own braided loop connectors. Here is how.

Getting Looped | Dan Blanton » Fly Fishing Resources

The braided loops that I make are made of Cortland braided clear monofilament OR braided yellow monofilament in 50 and 30 lb test. I doubt the short section of braided mono loop makes a difference, so there is no need to color it. If you want to color it, you can use a Sharpie.

Cortland has stopped making the braided mono so if you want or need it, you better buy it now. I have. I also use the braided mono to make bodies for the Gary Borger » Braided Butt Damsel.

Cortland Braided Mono Running Line

To make the braided loops and put it on a fly line, you can use the method below or the one that Flytire showed.

 

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Braided loops like Chinese finger puzzles work well on lighter weight flylines, or so far on the back end of a fly line that gets attached to the backing. Have had a number on #8 weight fly lines break losing leader & in some cases fly too. Went to whipped loops with 3 - 10 turn rod guide wrapping knots with #10 mono tippet on every fly line from #6 weight up. Used to coat the knots with Pliobond back in the day, now Loon Knot Sense & a drop of Zap-A-Gap to the very end of the fly line which had been sliced on an angle to prevent water intrusion.

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Does the Knot Sense last a long time in your pocket after opening? I have thought of buying some but would only use it it a few times a year.

Is there an alternative UV resin that has the same characteristics?

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In most cases now I use furled leaders bought from a friend of mine who makes the best ones in the country IMO. These have a tippet ring on end and for the most part it's just 4-6' of pound test needed for fishing done. 6# for panfish and when it get too short from tying flies just add a new hunk of tippet. These leaders have a loop to mate to line and if line doesn't have a loop I tie one in by folding over and using a couple of UNI knots with 4# mono to lock in the loop.

 

For my couple of bass rods with heavy mono self tied tapered leaders I Nail Knot them for better transition from shooting head to leader. I usually taper a short leader of 30-20-15 with a tippet ring and finish it with a couple foot of 8-12# depending on fly. Now just to heal enough to get out and use them again.

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"Loon Knot Sense & a drop of Zap-A-Gap to the very end of the fly line which had been sliced on an angle to prevent water intrusion."

 

I always thought that water migrated into the end of a fly line until I met Leon Chandler, who spent 51 at Cortland Line Company and retired as Vice President. I met him on the Missouri River at Craig. He was spending an entire summer there in his camper, fishing from a personal watercraft.

 

I'm pretty sure some of the photos at the very end of the article below were taken on the tailwaters of the Missouri River between the Holter Dam and Craig, Montana.

 

https://www.amff.org/history-makers-leon-chandler-3/

 

Leon passed in 2004.

 

http://warwickonline.com/stories/leon-chandler-a-fly-fishing-gentleman-and-unassuming-expert,15858

 

I asked him about the water migrating into a fly line and he told me that Cortland did experiments, submerging fly line in water and found that there was very minimal water at the very end of the fly line core. It cannot sink the fly line.

 

I gave this some thought and concluded that for water to enter the core of a fly line it has to displace the air in the spaces between material comprising the woven core. Where does that air go? It cannot escape since any water at the tip end of the core would act as a plug keeping the air from leaking out. The air must stay in the core so any a small amount of water enters, the remaining air in the core keeps additional water from entering.

Can't the air migrate to the other end of the fly line attached to the backing and leak out? I suspect the knot tying the backing to the fly line compressed the fly line including the core prevents his. Plus for air to migrate, the water must be under some pressure to push the air through 90 feet of fly line, which it is not.

Secondly, for something entering the core of a fly line to cause it to sink, it must have a specific gravity greater than water. It must be heavier than water. Since water cannot be heavier than water, water cannot make floating fly line sink in water! Since the water does displaces a bit of air, it can make the fly line (tip only) FLOAT A BIT LOWER but CANNOT SINK the line.

Water has a volume and CANNOT enter a CLOSED volume unless it displaces an equal volume from the closed volume OR the water is under pressure so it pressurizes the volume. Since water at the surface is NOT under pressure, it cannot pressurize the volume of any air in the core of a fly line.

So water CANNOT migrate into any CLOSED container. Since the interior of a fly line is a closed container, significant water cannot migrate into a fly line from an exposed tip.

 

 

There is no harm in sealing the end of a floating fly line, but it really is not necessary.

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Accidents happen, I have had braided loops come adrift in the past. I think it is important to be able to make adequate running repairs to your equipment as far as is reasonable. In short any competent angler IMO should be able to make a line to leader connection whilst on the water. If your connection involves heat shrink tubing and whippings then you are not going to be able to make a new connection while on the water. I use a knotless tapered leader inserted into the end of the line and superglued. I cannot do this "on the water" but I can still tie a nailless nail knot if needed. No one wants to have their day's fishing curtailed because of a leader / line connection failure. Make sure you can fix this when it happens... No matter what system you choose.

Cheers,

C.

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Accidents happen, I have had braided loops come adrift in the past. I think it is important to be able to make adequate running repairs to your equipment as far as is reasonable. In short any competent angler IMO should be able to make a line to leader connection whilst on the water. If your connection involves heat shrink tubing and whippings then you are not going to be able to make a new connection while on the water. I use a knotless tapered leader inserted into the end of the line and superglued. I cannot do this "on the water" but I can still tie a nailless nail knot if needed. No one wants to have their day's fishing curtailed because of a leader / line connection failure. Make sure you can fix this when it happens... No matter what system you choose.

Cheers,

C.

 

I agree!

 

Joe

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Crackaig, how is that leader inserted into the line? I know I've seen that in the past some place and time but I can not recall the details.

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For me I only use braided loops on larger rigs when I'm pursuing larger game and I use the method SilverCreek outlined and generally the 50# braid is much easier to work with than the lighter stuff. I too like the OP was gifted some pre-made commercial loops and found them to be nothing but a pain to work with due to the smaller diameter. Braided loops are not only useful for leaders mind you but also can be used to join heads to running lines. I really dislike the sound they make when going through the guides, but they do get the job done.

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Braided loops are not only useful for leaders mind you but also can be used to join heads to running lines.

Best use for any loop to loop connection.

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