What knot would you reccomend for a tapered leader , also rings i was using a surgeons loop, but find it bulky in the tip ring.
Also do you just use a bloodknot for riverge seamless rings or are there better knots to use?
Col
I've been using a perfection loop for the butt end. As the ring connection ends up being in place for as much a few months sometimes, I keep meaning to experiment with some of the better knots but so far the bloodknot has been fine.
I now needle knot the leader to the main line then simply water knot various tippets to the business end. No loops, no glues, no rings. everything is silk smooth. If the leader is inside the tip ring it casts out, no need to pull it. I carry a nail knot tool and a few sewing machine needles with the spare leaders. Thanks to Alex for getting me onto this method it has helped me overcome the psychological block I had to taking the leader inside the tip when netting a big fish. Not really an issue for wee fish I suppose. I don't know why I didn't get onto it years ago.
I use a needle knot like Fred to connect my leader to flyline, then two turn water knots to join any other bits of tippet.
When using the wee rings I've always just used tuck blood knots.
cheers
Paul
I think I'm missing something here. If you attach the fat end of a tapered leader to the fly line using a needle not don't you end up with a bulky knot on the fly line where the needle knot is secured? Or are you just super glueing it inside the end of the fly line.
Hi John,
The leader goes about half an inch up the inside of the flyline then pokes out of a hole and is pretty much whipped round the fly line, so there is no bulky knot at all. I usually varnish it for extra security and smoothness through the rod rings.
http://www.fishandfly.co.uk/knots/needle/index.html
Uni knot for connecting to riverge rings.
Billy
Yeah, I get that Paul... I use a needle not myself, but attach a short lenght of level mono that isn't too thick. I then attach a tapered leader to this mono - but how can you attach a tapered leader directly to the fly line using this method given that the fat end of the leader would result in a bulky needle knot?
Sorry John :oops: Didn't realise you used the needle knot.
I don't use shop bought leaders but needle knot a length of 15lb mono to the flyline.As long as the wraps of nylon lay side by side on the flyline it barely has a raised profile at all.The mono also cuts into the flyline a bit. Like I said I also varnish it to make the whole knot smoother.
Apologies again, didn't mean to teach my granny to suck eggs :)
Paul
Quote from: paulr on April 20, 2010, 01:06:03 PM
Sorry John :oops: Didn't realise you used the needle knot.
Dinnae worry Paul, I'm not that sensitive! :lol:
Quote from: River Chatter on April 20, 2010, 12:01:47 PM
I think I'm missing something here. If you attach the fat end of a tapered leader to the fly line using a needle not don't you end up with a bulky knot on the fly line where the needle knot is secured? Or are you just super glueing it inside the end of the fly line.
I wondered about that too. In practice the knot (3 turns) is compact when tightened. Using a needle to thread the leader up through the end of the line ensures a straight, central pull that does not snag. I use no glue at all.
Can't add to what these guys have said, needle knot/nail knot for tapered leader. No knot whitlock join is cool too.
For the ring try the 16/20 knot or the orvis knot I posted in the nylon thickness thread. The orvis knot especially is amazingly strong. Just tie it on and forget about it.
Like buzz i've got a thing for a loop as well, I really prefer the direct connection but the advantages of loops are so convenient. I tried various nylon tied loops on the end of my leader and never found one I was totally satisfied with, i don't like braided loops either. The welded loops are good but I can't get a really nice small profile loop in the thick end of a tapererd leader and I can't neatly tie a tapered leader onto a welded loop :(
I nail knot 18" of heavo mono onto the fly line end. The leaders are uni knotted onto that.
My nail knots are inserted through the line centre since the time a nail knot pulled a collar of line plastic covering off and failed while pulling from a tree.
That's on the lake. I change for the floating line on the river.
My river setup is the same for sinking lines, but for floaters I use a leader loop to a figure of eight in the flyline end.
Quote from: col on April 20, 2010, 06:00:11 PM
thanks, ive made a loop with the braided core of my fly line, is this compatible with nail knot?
No Col, it isn't.
If you have whipped the fly line core to form a loop I would simply tie a half blood in the butt section on to the loop. Three turns should do it. Maybe even two.
Alex
Bri,
QuoteIs there a point when you judge that the diameter of your leader and the diameter of your tippet will not make a comfortable knot or do you just keep shortening until you get to a point when you think the leader has lost it's effectiveness.
Yes, there becomes a point where the diameter of the leader is getting quite chunky. What I then do is to add a sacrificial length of around 8lb and knot my tippet/point to that.
I'm not sure how many times I fit a totally new leader, because I use a few different lines. Usually I fish a 4 or a 5 in sumer and a 6 in winter or spring. I'll guess and say I replace each leader twice or three times in a season, but that is a total guess. It follows that I lose about an inch off the tip of the fly line every time I change.
I do usually add a wee touch of flexible superglue, but it is more to keep the mono inside the flyline straight and stop it curling up, rather than to seal the tip. Wicking may happen, but as I mostly grease up the leader butt anyway (maybe twice or three times in a day), I just extend that on to the tip of the line, so the tip floats ok.
I tend to use the needle knot method on the light lines and a factory welded loop on the #6s. I don't think there is anything to choose between the two methods as far as hingeing is concerned. Both are good, but the needle knot I find slides through the rings more easily when a fish takes line.
The loop is undoubtedly more convenient when it comes to changing set ups, so it is matter of personal preference and what works best for the fishing you intend to do. Both methods work :)
Alex