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swampsinger

Fly Knots

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Would or should you use some sort of loop knot or a solid knot like an improved clinch for saltwater flies? I'm thinking of bend backs, clousers or streamers. Fishing inshore and flats.

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I know many people who recommend a non-slip loop for streamers and minnow imitations - the thinking, I believe is to get a better swimming imitation. As for my own experience, I like a standard clinch knot.

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Imo they will fish much better with more movement if you use a loop knot, and the heavier the leader/tippet you use the bigger difference it will make.

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I fish a lot, and have for a longtime. Almost exclusively I use a Homer Rhode non-slip knot with one more loop. I call it the Homer Rhode and a Half. It increases the strength of the knot from 50% to 95 %.

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I use the improved Homer Rhode knot for most purposes (it works for everything from light tippet all the way up to an 80 or 100lb bite tippet... I use it with lures, and flies almost always -but never on hooks with bait (live or dead...).

 

That said -there are some occasions when I don't want the fly to hinge on the leader (particularly when fishing really shallow where I want a small fly to sink as level as possible down to the bottom where it will sit until a big bonefish is close enough to see that one little twitch that makes it visible..). That's also how I used to rig skimmer jigs - and for the same reason...

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I fish a lot, and have for a longtime. Almost exclusively I use a Homer Rhode non-slip knot with one more loop. I call it the Homer Rhode and a Half. It increases the strength of the knot from 50% to 95 %.

How do you test the strength of a knot?

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I fish a lot, and have for a longtime. Almost exclusively I use a Homer Rhode non-slip knot with one more loop. I call it the Homer Rhode and a Half. It increases the strength of the knot from 50% to 95 %.

How do you test the strength of a knot?

 

Easy. Now that I no longer have access to a knot-testing machine, like I had when I worked for Orvis, I tie a hook with the knot to be tested on a length of line. On the other end, abot 3 feet away, I tie a knot which is listed in Lefty's and Sosin's Practical Fishing Knots on the other end. Each knot in that book has the breaking strength listed. I then hook one end to an immovable object and pull. Presto! The weaker knot fails. By testing several times with different knots, you can determine pretty close what the breaking strength is of the knot you are testing.

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I use the improved Homer Rhode knot for most purposes (it works for everything from light tippet all the way up to an 80 or 100lb bite tippet... I use it with lures, and flies almost always -but never on hooks with bait (live or dead...).

 

That said -there are some occasions when I don't want the fly to hinge on the leader (particularly when fishing really shallow where I want a small fly to sink as level as possible down to the bottom where it will sit until a big bonefish is close enough to see that one little twitch that makes it visible..). That's also how I used to rig skimmer jigs - and for the same reason...

Uncle Bob,

Of course I respect your opinion, but without a controlled scientific test, which is impossible, I just can't imagine that that minuscule difference, will change the outcome of getting a bite from that big bone. But, we all have faith in our choices, and that makes fishin'!

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I use both a fixed knot and a loop knot for the situation I think I need it. Fish are around but

you haven't found them, loop knot to get as much action as possible. Clousers benefit from a

loop knot, tyed on a jig hook then a fixed knot. Next, fish are around and you're catching,

a good fixed knot (I have been using a clinch and improved clinch since I was 14,

I'm old now... the knot it stills holds).

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I use both as well, depends on what I'm fishing and how I fish it. I use a perfection loop most of the time but use a uni-knot for all my fixed nots. I like fixed knots best when throwing small minnow flies like surf candies and using a really fast retrieve for macks and blues.

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What do you guys think about the Kreh Loop Knot? I just recently learned that one for some inshore gear fishing. Anyone use that for fly fishing?

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Ok, I found some online tutorials, and I got the improved Homer down pat. I find it really chews up the tippet material , but i suppose all loop knots will. On smaller flies, different situation, I use the davey knot which I find doesn't use 2" of tippet to change flies.

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Everybody uses what suits their specific needs, and that's fine. I switched from an improved clinch knot to a non-slip mono loop many years ago for the simple reason that the clinch knot failed often enough to make me want to try something better. (Another plus with the loop is that the fly swims with more action.) You can get away with standard freshwater knots under a lot of circumstances, but when you're dealing with heavy/powerful fish in strong current, they can be problematic. It's extremely frustrating to hook a big fish in a 10-knot current, then feel the line go slack, and find the telltale curlicue at the end of your leader. It took a lot of trial and error, but my system works as well as I could hope for under difficult conditions. (I also use Bimini loop-to-loop connections in leader construction) Whatever you use, it's impossible to overstate the importance of tying your knots PERFECTLY every single time. If something bothers you about the way the knot is seated, then cut it off and try again. Letting it go will cost you, and you'll wind up kicking yourself in the ass. If you haven't mastered all the important saltwater knots, (or even if you have) Lefty Kreh and Mark Sosin wrote a book some years ago that covers them all, and it's a valuable resource. I think it's called "Practical Fishing Knots." I've been doing this for a long time, but I still refer to the book every so often, just to be sure I haven't forgotten something.

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Perfection loop for line to leader to tippet.

Clinch knot at the fly.

 

Works well for me and so far, I cannot credit a single lost fish to the knot failing.

I've had knot failures, to be sure, but rarely is that because of the knot.

If I am putting 12 pounds of pressure on a 10 pound test line ... I can't blame the knot for being the first link to let go.

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