Fishing:
Getting Started in BTB Fly Fishing - Part II: Getting Connected
Notes for Newbies
Learning to Tie Knots
There are several good sources for learning to tie knots, both in print and on-line. Here are a few print resources that we or our advisors like very much:
| Book: | Book: | Book, video: | |
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Bill's book is not flashy, but contains an awful lot of very good information. Almost too much for a beginning fly fisherman, but it is worth keeping on your bookshelf for later. And here are a couple of great on-line resources for learning knots: |
Pick Your Poison
What knots should you learn? Rather than give you a definitive list of knots, our suggestion is to choose one of the setups described in section 1 of this article and learn to tie the knots well. That means learning to tie them correctly, consistently and quickly. That also means you need to:
Practice, Practice, Practice
In a recent conversation with Captain Scott Leon, he brought up a great point - it's better to know a few knots that you can tie consistently well, than to know a lot of knots that you can't tie consistently. Same thing goes for which knots you use - it's better to consistently tie a knot that's rated to break at 90%, than to inconsistently tie a knot rated to break at 100%. In the latter case, you'll never be able to know exactly when the knot will fail, which prevents you from fighting a fish as effectively as possible.
But What Are All the Knots For?
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) has rules on how world record fish must be caught. For fly rod fish, there are rules on how long certain parts of the leader must be, and records are divided up by how strong a line was used to catch the fish. These "line classes" are 2lb, 4lb, 6lb, 8lb, 12lb, 16lb, and 20lb.
Other than the loop-to-loop connections and the knots to attach the fly to the leader, the various knots in complicated rigs are intended to get the setup as close to a line's unknotted strength as possible, or to allow the fisherman to maximize (or minimize) the length of a section of line.
The loop-to-loop connections are used to make it easier to change out sections of line. This could be the fly line itself, a section of leader, or the leader tippet.
So...unless you're shooting for a world record using class lines, you can actually use a very simple setup in rigging your equipment. On the other hand, if you feel comfortable tying the various knots listed, go for it!
Sorry, No Substitutions!
Just kidding...Like many things in life, there are lots of different ways to get the same result. The knots shown are the ones people have gravitated towards over time, so they tend to be the best balanced in terms of strength and ease of tying, but if you want, you can substitute knots. The main thing to remember is that you need to be consistent, so that you know how much pressure you can put on a fish with your particular rig. And you need to test your rig to make sure you know what appropriate pressure feels like.
Branching Out...
As you become more familiar with the various knots, you will develop your own preferences. Don't be afraid to try different setups, once you feel comfortable that you can tie the required knots effectively. We would recommend learning to tie a 100% double line knot first, like the Bimini Twist, or the Australian Plait next.
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