When tying loop-to-loop leader systems, there are only a couple of knots that make good sense. One is the Surgeon's Loop -- which can be tied with 2 or 3 turns, depending on tippet diameter and desired strength -- and another is the Perfection Loop. While the Surgeon's Loop is very strong and easy to tie in light monofilament or fluorocarbon, it makes a large and uncomfortable knot in the thick stuff. That's where the Perfection Loop shines.

Watch MidCurrent's new video on Tying the Perfection Loop.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Speaking of "Location X," we found an interesting new knot on Tom Rowland's "Saltwater Experience" Web site the other day. It's called the "X Knot" (we think), and was authored by the guide who pushed the boat around in HowardFilms's "Location X" film (we think). Since the folks at HowardFilms and Capt. Rowland are all under gag orders about the film, we can't say much else about the knot or it's creator except that it appears to be an interesting variation of the Sheet Bend, a classic sailor's knot for quickly tying two lines together. It doesn't appear to be a knot designed to provide 100% breaking strength -- there is too much exposed double-line on the finished knot and the knot itself is not actually tied with doubled line -- but it is an interesting idea.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Knots that are quick and simple and do a great job of attaching flies to light tippets are few and far between. One such knot is the Davy Knot. It's worth considering if you want to try something stronger than a clinch or turle this season. Zach Matthews provides an excellent streaming video of tying the Davy Knot on Itinerant Angler.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The more one reads about knots and more practice one has in tying them, the easier it is to understand why how well a knot is tied makes as much -- or more -- difference in its strength than its purported "percentage." So whenever I read an article that touts a particularly suspect knot -- in this case the Improved Clinch -- I try to quickly lose my Knot Professor's grimace.

Truth be known, I still use an Improved Clinch sometimes, and I have never had one fail. Does that make it a good knot, or is it a bad knot because if I put it on knot-testing machine it fails at 74% of labeled line strength? As with flies and most things fly-fishing, it's often about confidence and technique. But if you are teaching someone terminal knots, do them a favor and chose the Palomar or Trilene or some variation of those. GlobalFlyFisher has one of the better sets of "2D" instructions for tying these and other knots.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"'No, don’t bother,' he said with a smile. 'The trout don’t care about the leader going in one side of the fly. Why should they care about it coming out the other side?'" This piece on getting real about the efficiency of knots reminds me of a conversation I had with an old-time guide in Key West when I was first starting out. I asked him, "What kind of leader should I use for tarpon?" He said, "Well, first, tie four feet of anything to the fly line." John Merwin in Field & Stream.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"My failure was pointed out when twice I lost hooked fish, only to pull my line in to find the end of my tippet curled like a pig tail, right where the knot came undone. The lesson, somewhat painfully learned, is that when you are fishing for big fish you should make sure your knots can handle the pressure. This applies when fishing for trout or any other kind of fish." Jeffrey Mayor talks about how knots kept him a novice for longer than he would have liked. In the Tacoma, Washington News Tribune.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New on MidCurrent: If you are a saltwater fly fisher chances are you've heard of or even used the Slim Beauty knot. That's a remarkable thing to say about a knot that gained prominent use among Key West tarpon guides only in the last five or ten years.

There are, of course, folks who believe that the classic Bimini-to-Huffnagle or even modified improved blood knot are better ways to attach class tippets to shock tippets. Often the choice becomes personal taste, but more often than not — I believe — how well a knot is tied determines its usefulness. The fact is that, of any of the class-to-shock or class-to-butt section connections you might tie while on the water, the Slim Beauty is probably the easiest to tie well.

To help you see why, MidCurrent offers a new video and step-by-step article on Tying the Slim Beauty Knot.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Adkins, a retired sheet-metal worker from Barboursville, has revived the old-fashioned practice of making 'furled' or 'twined' leaders. The originals, which were standard-issue angling equipment in the 1800s, were made of horsehair or silk. Adkins makes his from modern polyester and nylon threads." This Barboursville, West Virginia fly fisher has discovered that furled leaders have all the best characteristics of other well-tied leaders -- plus they seem to last forever. John McCoy in the West Virginia Gazette-Mail.

For a take on tying saltwater furled leaders, don't miss Bob Brown's MidCurrent article.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bill Kiene posted a link on his forum to this page on the Orvis Web site that shows steps for how to tie 8 knots, including the Clinch, Blook Knot, Nail Knot and Non-Slip Mono Loop. (By the way, if you haven't seen the Kiene's Fly Shop site lately, it's worth checking out the new bulletin board; lots of knowledgeable folks post on fly fishing topics there.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brant Oswald follows up last week's introduction to fishing with indicators with a detailed look at the options for rigging fly fishing indicators. "One of the most commonly seen ways to rig yarn is to place a piece of yarn in an open slip knot loop and close the slip knot down to secure the yarn in place. This method will certainly work, but it has an number of disadvantages. If the loop is kept fairly open (around a thick chunk of yarn), the yarn may fall out or be launched out during casting. If a smaller piece of yarn is used, and the loop is drawn up tight, the leader will be kinked in the process." New on MidCurrent.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this new primer on using wire on MidCurrent, Chico reports in his usual comprehensive way on the why's and how-to's of building shock tippets from single-strand wire. Essential reading if you're pursuing barracuda, mackerel, sharks and other toothy critters. Read "All Wired Up."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the past 12 years, the "Slim Beauty" has become one of the most popular knots in saltwater fly fishing, due to both its simplicity and its performance. The Slim Beauty allows leader material of different diameters to be connected with minimal fuss and results in a high-strength knot with a very small profile. These qualities have led to it being adopted as a replacement to other classic tippet-to-shock and tippet-to-butt connections like the Albright and the Huffnagle. MidCurrent presents this story of the knot's origins by the guide who invented it, Captain Simon Becker.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I once asked a new client from France how many permit he had caught on fly. His response, there in the middle of the Marquesas, was "23." He proceeded to pull a small, label-less tube from his fishing bag and soak my permit fly with the contents. When I asked what he was doing, he informed me in a conversation-ending tone that "you can't catch permit without scent."

John Merwin takes a more enterprising (American?) look at the practice of breaking the rules in fly fishing in this month's Field & Stream.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to land a big tarpon on my 16-year-old Sage RPLx 1190. Sticking to the 15-minute rule (fish to the boat) was challenging, and I had to seek endorsement for various special time extensions from my poling partner. It made me wonder: were 11-weights ever suited for big fish? Do rods get softer over time, as some of my anglers once suggested?

The fight ended when a the 6-year-old nail-knot attaching my butt section to the flyline pulled--last thing I would have predicted, and a good lesson about knots and age, since that knot had held for many, many fish.

One day, after the kids are grown, I plan to re-tie the knot with my wife. I don't expect it ever to break, but there will be exhilaration and exultation in snipping the old one, perhaps tossing it into a box with the long-suffering first shoes of our son, and testing out the new one (I always stand on my butt section knots and pull as hard as I can).

Here's to good knots and the pleasure of tying them.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)