I’ll never forget the first time I had a knot break. I still remember that fish swimming off and leaving me with nothing but the curly tail on the end of my line.
So why is it that we will fish, and fish until the knot breaks? The answer is simple we tie a knot and expect it to last forever. If you’re like me I don’t want to take the time to tie a nail knot or even worse a blood knot. Some of us might not even now how. I’ve seen guys go into the tackle shop and ask the guy behind the counter to re-tie their fly fishing rig for them and of course they have to part with the what, where, and why’s of their hot spot on the river, not that I was listening or anything. The point is we spend a lot of time and effort just to get out there to fish. When I’m in the middle of a micro hatch I don’t have the time to get someone to tie a knot for me. If a terminal knot fails a true fisherman needs to be able to tie it right then and there, and most importantly it has to be done quickly and easily. The Winder will tie knots like nothing you have ever seen before. I guarantee you won’t want go fishing without it. Forget those silly line connectors and looped fly lines. The Winder is so easy to use, there’s a reason to learn tie fishing knots, and with the easy to follow DVD you’ll learn how to tie all of the knots needed to rig your rod.
How To Rig Your Rod - Arbor Knot
12/11/2006
By Chris Miles
We will start off with the arbor knot. It is one of the easiest knots to tie. The Arbor Knot is used to attach fly line backing to your reel. Check the manufacturer’s spec or the reel instructions on how much backing your reel should have on it. I usually put on as much as I can to increase the arbor diameter so it will take less effort to reel in my fly line. Wrap the line around the arbor tie an overhand knot around the line. Then tie another overhand knot on the tag end of the line. The knot on the tag end prevents the knot from coming apart.
The Allbright Knot
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
The Albright Knot is used to attach your backing to your fly line. It is used anywhere that requires two lines to be attached that vary greatly in diameter. The Winder makes tying the Albright Knot easier than ever. The cage feature of The Winder allows the Fisherman to rotate the wrappings around the fly line with the simple winding motion of the tool. Here’s a video clip of The Albright. Have a look.
Nail Knot
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
The Nail Knot is used to attach a leader to a fly line. The Nail Knot is one of the most difficult knots to tie. The Winder was specifically made to make ease of this knot. The Winder has the ability to clamp on the tag end of your leader. Because The Winder clamps on less than a half an inch of line it will not waste any of your leader.
Maybe you have used some of the other knot tying tools out there . Some of them actually clamp on the fishable part of the line. You and I both know that one little knick or ding will cause the line to break when the line is placed under strain. Other knot tying tools expect you to use the other hand that you don’t have, and when you go to pull The Nail Knot off of the tool the knot comes apart.
The Winder clamps only on the piece of line that will be clipped off. The unique clamping feature creates the extra hand that you need. The Winder will make perfect Nail Knots that will litterally slide right onto your line. The Nail Knot will never trouble you again. You wont have to worry about the time and effort it used to take to tie a Nail Knot. The Winder will allow you to quickly change leaders to keep up with the ever changing fishing conditions on the river. The Winder keeps you fishing longer. See the video.
The Surgeons Knot
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
The Surgeons Knot is used to join to pieces of line together. It is the quickest method of attaching a piece of tippet to your leader. It can also be used to make a custom leader. The Surgeons knot can be made by laying two piece of line side by side. Then make an overhand knot and pass the tag end and the end of your leader through the loop twice and Pull tight.
The Blood Knot
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
The Blood Knot is one of the most time consuming knots to tie. However, it is very strong, much stronger than a Surgeons Knot. If you watch most people tie the Blood Knot they are usually tying it with their teeth and both hands. Typically it takes a couple of minutes to get it right. The Blood Knot is one of the knots that have become a lost part of the art of fly fishing. There are still many traditionalists out there that tie The Blood Knot. Most people gave up on learning it. The Winder makes The Blood Knot easier to tie than ever. It will allow you to independently wrap each tag end of the line. Simply lock both pieces of line into the cage of The Winder and rotate the tool to create half of the knot. Then Wrap the other tag end in the opposite direction to make the other half of the knot. Finally slide the tag end through the loop that was created, release it from the tool and tighten. It really is that simple.
Double Nail Knot
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
The Double Nail Knot is used to join two pieces of line together. It is one of the best methods of attaching a piece of tippet to your leader. It can also be used to make a custom leader. The Double Nail Knot is extremely strong and will even act as a shock absorber in certain instances. Next time that you decide to make a custom leader try this one out it is simple to tie and extremely strong.
The Improved Clinch Knot
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
The Improved Clinch knot is one of those knots that many of us know how to tie. It is used for attaching a fly or a hook to a piece of line. It is very strong, time tested and proven.
By closing the cage on The Winder you can hold those tiny little flies while you rotate the tool to make your wrappings for The Clinch Knot. You’ll never have to worry about the hook getting hold of you again.
Making Custom Leaders
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
Leaders are an important part of fly fishing. For some reason The Industry has really made an effort to steer people away from tying knots. If you have seen the little plastic connectors or the plastic welded loops on the end of the fly lines then you know what I’m talking about. I mean really, who is going to cast a connector using a dry fly line? We are trying to catch a fish not spook it. Tying a knot is part of the tradition of fishing, whether it’s for bait fishing, deep sea fishing, or fly fishing it’s a huge part of the sport. You can’t catch a fish without a good knot. The Winder will be the easiest tool to use that you will ever own. To my knowledge it’s the only tool out there that can tie all of the knots used to make custom leaders.
Most people entering the sport of fly fishing don’t realize that a tapered leader can be made. It is becoming a lost art. I’ll admit that the tapered leaders that we all buy at the store have certain advantages over making a custom leader. Such as, a store bought leader is not as prone to catch on rocks, you don’t have to tie a bunch of knots, the best advantage is that it comes right out of the package and is ready to fish. What happens when it breaks? Tie another one on at three dollars and fifty cents a pop? If it broke at the tip section you can always tie another piece of tippet on the end. This is where the knowledge of tying knots and making custom tapered leaders really comes in handy. With The Winder tying your knots for you you’ll have the ability to repair a broken leader on the stream easily. It will also allow you to quickly modify the performance of your leader to meet the changing fishing conditions. Most importantly The Winder will make you a more versatile fisherman and will do all of this at a fraction of the cost of replacing a store bought leader. All you need are spools of tippet material, the knowledge of tying a blood knot, surgeons knot, or the Double Nail Knot, The Winder, and a pair of clippers.
Before we go through how to make a Custom leader let’s discuss the system used to size line diameters, which can be referred to as the “X” system. When you go to the store to buy a fly fishing leader or tippet, (which is just a term used for the piece of line tied onto the tip section of your leader) you will see spools of fishing line rated from 0X all the way down to 7x. The X number will tell you the diameter of the fishing line. It also refers to the diameter of a tapered leader on the tip. To identify the diameter of the line or the tapered leader use “The Rule Of 11”. “0X” has a diameter of eleven thousandths or .011. Let’s say you want to know how big a 7X leader is on the tip. You say 11 subtract 7 is 4. The tip diameter of a 7x leader is four thousandths or .004.
There are certain rules to consider as a guideline when adding line to any type of leader. The general all purpose method for making a custom leader is the 60/20/20 formula. This method should be considered when repairing a store bought leader. The most commonly used leader lengths are 71/2’, 9’, and 12’. Sixty Percent of your leader will consist of the largest diameters and will be made of multiple pieces of line. It is tied with a nail knot to your fly line. The next 20% of line is attached using a Blood Knot, Surgeon Knot, or the Double Nail Knot. This section rapidly decreases in diameter and will also be made of multiple pieces. The final 20% of your leader may consist of 2 pieces. Often it uses only 1 piece of line. It is the final piece of line that will present your fly, don’t be afraid to fine tune the length on this piece so that your leader will cast nicely. Many times a leader will be made or repaired and the leader will not cast properly. The leader will hinge on the tip section, and other times the leader will hinge at the butt section. It is best if the sections of line don’t vary from one another by more then .002 (excluding the fly line diameter). This will allow proper transmission of energy and maintain knot strength. It is usual to start with a butt section that is about 2/3 the diameter of the tip. Start with a minimum of .019 diameter line to help avoid the hinging problem. While there is not an exact science for creating custom leaders after making a few of them and casting them you will find that you will be able to tweak the leader to match up to the fly and the rod that you are using. Remember if you are a nymph fisherman use fluorocarbon to make leaders, it will sink. If you are a dry fly fisherman use monofilament it is for floating leaders.
If you would like to get started making custom leaders, and would like a free copy of The Custom Leader Chart, which consists of a dozen or more leaders, just type in your email address in the box to the right and you will receive a free copy in an excel format .xls. If your system doesn’t accept this format, email me personally and you will be sent a copy in Adobe, a .PDF file. I like to send it out in an excel format .xls so that you can add your own recipes to the chart. If you have a good leader recipe and would like to share it, please name it and send it to us, we will give it a try. If we like it we will add it to the Custom Leader Chart form for everyone to use.
Fishing A Looped Line
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
Now that we have talked about making custom leaders, let’s go back and address these factory looped fly lines. It is real nice to fish a loop to loop system. I use one quite often when I’m trolling in a float tube.
What if I want to change my fishing rig a little? Maybe I want to start fishing a different fly pattern which will require me to cast my sinking line. With a loop this might cause too much of a splash. I sure don’t want to cut the special loop off that the factory put on and I don’t want to tear down and rig my entire pole up again with another fly line. Take my advice, cut off the loop and tie a perfection loop on the end of your fly line when you need a loop. These looped fly lines are not versatile, they are a waste of your time, and have no place in a fishing arsenal.
Many times I find fish taking nymph patterns very close to shore. I cant tell you how many times I have ended up positioning my tube 15’ from shore and casting my sinking line as close to shore as possible some times even beaching my fly and then slowly pulling it back towards my tube. When you fish like this you will be casting over the top of the trout. These fish get spooky real fast. One bad splash from a loop on a line is going to run them off.
This knot is so easy to tie you’ll wonder why a looped fly line ever came about. The Perfection loop is one of the knots featured on the DVD The Winder Fly Fishing Knots which is included with your purchase of The Winder. If you would like a free copy of the perfection loop please enter your email address in the box to the right it will be emailed to you .Check back here for more videos of featured knots.
Indicator Loop
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
Are you tired of spending money on strike indicators? It’s important to have a strike indicator that will fish in all types of water. I am not a big fan of the tooth pick and cork indicators. When a delicate cast is required in a clear pool or still water they make a huge ring when they land, not to mention the plopping sound.
That’s why in The Winder: Fly Fishing Knots our instructional DVD we are going to show you how to tie The Indicator Loop. The indicator Loop is used to attach anything to your line that you decide will be a good strike indicator. It will not damage your leader and will allow you to adjust the indicator if needed. After tying The Indicator Loop, place a large Dry Fly or a frayed piece of yarn through the loop then cinch it down. Next spray the indicator down with dry fly floatant. Now it’s ready to fish, this will be the most sensitive indicator that you will ever use to fish with.
The Dropper Loop
12/13/2006
By Chris Miles
Many times Ill fish two flies on the end of my line. One way is to tie your first fly onto your leader using a clinch knot. Then tie another piece of line to the shank of the hook of the first fly using a clinch knot. Next attach another fly to the end of the line that was tied onto the first fly. This is a good rig but quite often I get hits on the first fly which is dangling above the other fly. Needless to say the hook doesn’t always get set right and can result in lost fish. (Fig 1.)
This is where The Dropper Loop system comes in handy. The Dropper Loop is a great way to go if you are going to fish two flies off of one line. It will allow the quick change of flies. I tie The Dropper Loop into my leader 10” to 20” from the tip. Next using a Clinch Knot tie a 12” piece of line to each of the fly types that I anticipate using on my trip. Trim these lines to a desired length and tie a Perfection Loop on the end of these lines. Finally feed the fly through The Dropper Loop on your leader and then feed it through the perfection loop. Now you can change flies in a matter of seconds to match the hatch.
