Learning to Tie a Fly Fishing Line Knot

When a fly fisherman is just beginning, some of the first things he is going to need to learn in order to get out on the water are to learn to tie fly fishing line knots.  Often the dealer that sells the fly fishing pole or the reel dealer will tie some of the knots for the fly fisherman and tell him what the best fly fishing knots might be for the different sections of the line.  This is not always the case, however, and the fly fisherman must be ready with a handful of different fly fishing line knots for the different sections of the line.

Basic Knots

There are about five basic fly fishing line knots that a fly fisherman needs to be familiar with and be able to tie efficiently so that he does not loose parts of his line and his flies in the water when a large fish pulls on it.  In addition, there are some basic knot-tying rules that will help him to tie solid knots every time and reduce the risk of a knot failing for whatever reason.

The first type of fly fishing line knot is used to attach the backing to the spool of the reel.  This is an important section of the line and is one that is sometimes tied already by the fly rod or fly reel dealer.  The type of fly fishing line knot used in this area is usually the Arbor knot and this helps to prevent a large fish from running the fly line.  The next type of fly fishing line knot is the Albright knot, which attaches that fly line to the backing, which is also critical.  This is a tricky place because the two lines are made of different material: one of Dacron and one of plastic.

The next fly fishing line knot is used to connect the fly line to the leader, which helps to turn the fly over when the fly fisherman is casting.  There are sometimes two loops that are already built into the lines so instead of requiring a Nail knot, there is the need for a loop to loop connection.  A Double Surgeon's knot is needed to connect the tippet to the leader, which affects how the fly turns in the water, and an Improved Clinch knot is the type of fly fishing line knot that is used to connect the fly to the tippet, which has to be a strong knot.

When tying any of these fly fishing line knots, the fly fisherman should always wet the knot before tightening it, which helps to strengthen the knot.  In addition, he should pull evenly when tightening it so that the knot is uniformly tightened, not leaving any loose sections that could be yanked out by a fish.