Fishing Knots: Proven to Work for Light Tackle and Fly Fishing
By Lefty Kreh and David Hall
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Fishing Knots - Lefty Kreh
Copyright © 2007 by Lefty Kreh
Published by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
www.stackpolebooks.com
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055.
Printed in the United States
First edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover photograph by Jay Nichols
Cover design by Caroline M. Stover
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kreh, Lefty.
Fishing knots : proven to work for light tackle and fly fishing / Lefty Kreh. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8117-3407-3
ISBN-10: 0-8117-3407-2
eISBN: 978-0-8117-4286-3
1. Fishing knots. I. Title.
SH452.9.K6K738 207
799.12—dc22
2007005731
Contents
Introduction
Glossary
1. Basic Knots
Overhand Knot
Improved Clinch Knot
Tube Nail Knot
2. Connecting Lines
Blood Knot
Albright Knot
Huffnagle Knot
Slim Beauty
Surgeon’s Knot
3. Knots
Bimini Twist
100% Arbor Knot
Uni-Knot, or Duncan Loop
Attaching Line to the Reel Spool
George Harvey Dry Fly Knot
4. Lines and Leaders
World Record Fly Leaders
Two Methods of Connecting a Shooting Line to a Shooting Head
Leader Connections
Connecting the Tippet with a Hemostat
Speedy Nail Knot
Connecting or Repairing Fly Lines
5. Wire Knots
Non-Slip Loop in Nickel-Titanium Wire
Figure-8 Knot
Haywire Twist
6. Finishing
Whip Finish
Alternate Whip Finish
7. Loops
Six-Turn Surgeon’s Loop
Connecting Loop-to-Loops
Whipping a Loop
Braided Fly Line Loop
Non-Slip Loop
Kreh Loop
Surgeon’s Loop
8. Attaching Hooks, Swivels, and Flies
Why a Clinch Knot is Difficult to Close
Doubled Clinch Knot
Fisherman’s Knot
Trilene Knot
Palomar Knot
Orvis or Becker Knot
Snelling a Hook
Cat’s Paw Knot
Hemostat Quick Clinch
Index of Knots
Introduction
The knot is a very important part of the fisherman’s rig. No matter how superb the rod, reel, and tackle, if the knot fails the game is over. Talk to light tackle and fly fishermen about the biggest fish they’ve hooked and lost, and most of the time the fish escaped because the knot failed. Anglers will fuss over rods, reels, lines, lures, or flies, but ignore that most important link—the knot.
It isn’t necessary to know a great many knots, but it is important to know the few knots that will do the job. Instead of including hundreds of knots in this book, I have selected the knots that will work best in any light tackle or fly-fishing situation. I have been studying knots since the 1950s, and the ones I’ve chosen for this book are the knots I’ve fished, tested, and favored over the years.
Some things are true of all knots. No knot breaks until it slips. To build a knot that won’t slip, close the knot as firmly as possible. Sometimes a poorly designed knot that is firmly closed is stronger than a well-designed knot that is not firmly closed.
Here is a simple experiment that shows the importance of closing the knot as tightly as possible. Tie a Surgeon’s Knot with a strand of 15- and 12-pound-test monofilament. (If you don’t know how to tie a Surgeon’s Knot, instructions are found on page 31.) Pull only on the two longer strands to close. Grasp the two long strands, one in each hand, and jerk. The knot will easily break. Make another Surgeon’s Knot. But this time, pull firmly on the two longer strands and then on the two shorter ones. It makes no difference which lines you pull on first to tighten—just as long as you pull on all four strands. Now try to break the knot and you will see it is much stronger. In testing line, I have determined that you can lose as much as 40 percent of the strength of the Surgeon’s Knot if you tighten only the two longer strands, allowing the shorter ones to slip. The same applies to all knots; close them as firmly as possible.
I think it is misleading to list the strength of a knot. When I am teaching students to tie knots, I have them all tie the same knot from the same line on the same type hook. Then when we test each knot, the strength of the knots may vary by as much as 30 percent. The lesson here is that some students close the knots firmly and others don’t. Sure, some knots have greater potential strength if they are tied correctly. And that potential strength is what can be suggested.
Don’t try to tie a new knot while you’re on the water. Practice knot tying at home. Most new knots require little tricks—how to hold the line, how to make certain motions with the fingers. When you’re learning a new knot, your hands will seem clumsy, but with a little practice you’ll soon get the hang of it.
LINES
When it comes to lines, today’s fishermen are lucky; they have many options. Decades ago, we had to choose between silk and nylon monofilament lines. Old timers will remember those silk casting lines and having to remove and dry them each night so they wouldn’t rot. Then in the 1940s, Dupont invented nylon lines, which were transparent and didn’t rot. But they were stiff, wiry, and the early stuff caused lots of casting problems.
Now polymers have helped to improve nylon lines. Just like when you’re baking a cake, you might start with a few basic ingredients—flour,