The Top 4 Fly Fishing Knots

Probably the Only four Knots You’ll Ever Need to Be a Successful Angler →

There’s a lot of chatter about the best fly fishing knots.  I’ve looked at them all and I can tell you that the key to a good fly fishing knot is for it to be easy to tie year round (even in cold winter months) and for it to cover all your basic needs.

Here are the reasons you’ll need to use a fly fishing knot in the first place:

  1. To tie on a fishing fly
  2. To tie two small pieces of tippet or leader together
  3. To tie two un-equal sizes of tippet or leader together
  4. To tie a a leader to your fly line
  5. To tie backing to your fly reel
Once you look at the following 4 fly fishing knots, you’ll see they are all you really need for any situation.  Then learning these becomes important for you to become a self-sufficient angler.
 

In this article, we’ll cover the top three fly fishing knots that every angler should know: the improved clinch knot, the blood knot, the triple surgeons knot, the perfection loop.

Fly Fishing Knot #1 – The Improved Clinch Knot

Used to Tie on Flies

There’s no more valuable knot to learn than the improved clinch knot.  This is the knot you’ll use to tie tippet or leader onto a fishing fly.  You’ll use this dry fly fishing, nymphing, and streamer fishing.  We’ll provide a quick bonus knot for stream fishing as well, that is just a variation of the improved clinch knot.  First, let’s learn how to tie this knot with some help from this video as well as written instruction below:

The improved clinch knot is a simple and reliable knot that is perfect for tying on flies of all kinds and sizes. To tie the improved clinch knot

  1. Start by threading the line through the eye of the hook.
  2. Then, make four to six twists around the standing line. while creating a small loop or tunnel between the eye of the hook and where the twists are being made.
  3. Next, bring the tag end back through the loop you made above the eye of the hook and then through the large loop you’ve just created.  This is the only tricky part.  When you put the tag end through the first loop you made, you actually make a second loop.  Put the tag in back through the second loop and then you are practically finished.
  4. Finally, wet the knot and tighten it by pulling on both the standing line end and the tag end.  The knot will cinch down right next to the hook eye and you should be good to go.

Fly Fishing Knot Tip: 

Always test your knot before you start fly fishing.  Give a pull and a little snap to the fly to make sure the knot can handle you setting the hook.  Sometimes that knot just doesn’t set right and it breaks easy.  Testing the knot before you fish will save you flies and time.

BONUS KNOT – For streamers, simply before you thread the hook eye on the first step, make a loose overhand knot (like you do when you do the first step of tying your shoe.  Then thread the hook eye and as you make that initial loop, you will keep the overhand knot loop over that loop.  When it comes time to running the tag end through the loop, put it through the loop you made and the overhand knot.  Then come back and through the loop you made and cinch down.  What will happen is there knot will seat itself on that overhand knot which will leave a loose loop in between the eye of the hook and the knot.  This provides the streamer more freedom of movement which will help you catch more fish.

Fly Fishing Knot #2 – The Blood Knot

The hardest knot, use to Tie Small Tippets Together

The blood knot is another essential knot for fly fishing. It’s used to join two pieces of fishing line together, usually of different,but just slightly diameters. Tying 0x to 6x with a blood knot won’t go as well and a triple surgeons knot is better.  However, the time to use a blood knot is when you need to join two pieces of tippet or leader together AND the other ends of these tippets have something attached to them.

A triple surgeons knot is easier and a better than a blood knot, however you can’t do a triple surgeons if you have a fly on the end of one of the tippet lines.   This is when you need a blood knot.

  1. To tie the blood knot, overlap the ends of the two lines you want to join.
  2. Take one end and wrap it around the other line four to six times, then bring it back through the loop you created.
  3. Next, take the other end of the line and wrap it around the first line the same number of times, but in the opposite direction.
  4. Finally, thread the tag ends through the loop created by the wraps and tighten the knot by pulling on both standing lines.

This knot is small and quick to tie with practice.  I use it a lot dry fly fishing when I need to extend tippet.

Fly Fishing Knot #3 – Triple Surgeons Knot

The least known and most amazing knot ever!

The triple surgeons knot can be used anytime you have to tie two pieces of something together.  It works in many applications as long as the diameter of the line you’re using isn’t too large.  For fly fishing applications you can pretty much use this anytime. Let’s watch how to do it, then read the instructions for this knot.

The triple surgeon’s knot is a great knot for attaching tippet material to the end of your leader, or for attaching two pieces of tippet together.

  1. To tie the triple surgeon’s knot, start by overlapping the two pieces of line you want to join.
  2. Then, tie a simple overhand knot in the two lines.
  3. Take one of the tag ends and pass it through the knot two more times.
  4. Repeat the same process with the other tag end, passing it through the knot two more times in the opposite direction.
  5. Finally, wet the knot and tighten it by pulling on all four tag ends at once.

Fly Fishing Knot #4 – Perfection Loop

The Perfection Loop is used if you use a loop to loop connection that often comes on the ends of fly lines and leaders.  It won’t be used as often but is a good one to know for many applications in life.

  1. Start by creating a small loop in the line, about 1 to 2 finger widths as most.  This will be the loop you have when you’re done so size it accordingly.
  2. Hold the loop between your thumb and index finger, making sure it is open and the tag end of the line is facing towards you.
  3. Using your other hand, take the tag end of the line and bring it up and over the standing part of the line.
  4. Bring the tag end of the line back down and insert it through the loop you created earlier.
  5. Hold onto the tag end of the line and the standing part of the line, and begin to slowly tighten the knot by pulling on both ends of the line. Make sure the loop stays open.
  6. Once the knot is almost fully tightened, wet the knot and cinch down.
  7. Finish tightening the knot completely by pulling on both ends of the line. Make sure the loop stays open and doesn’t collapse.
In conclusion, learning these four essential fly fishing knots will greatly enhance your skills on the water. Practice tying them until you can do so with ease, and always check your knots before casting. With these knots in your arsenal, you’ll be better equipped to handle any situation on the river. Happy fishing!

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