Skip to content

Fly fishing in and around Louisville Kentucky

Derby City Fly Fishers

  • Home
    • Education and Instruction
    • Community Support
    • Contact Us
  • About
    • Board of Directors
    • By Laws
    • Conservation
    • DCFF Logo’d merchandise
  • Membership
  • Events & Trips
    • Events
    • 2022 Club Trips
    • Trip Information and Suitability
  • Derby City Fly Fishers Classifieds
    • Place Ad
    • Browse Ads
    • Search Ads
    • Edit Ad
  • Fly Tying
    • Fly of The Month
    • 2018 Fly Tying Year
    • 2017 Fly Tying Year
    • 2016 Fly Tying Year
    • Flybrary
  • Reference
    • Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife
    • Indiana Department of Natural Resources
    • U.S. Fish and Wildlife
    • Jack’s Knot
    • Fly Fishing Knots
    • New to Fly Fishing
    • Releasing Fish
    • Release Forms
    • Newsletters (Archive)
    • Stream Gauge Links
    • Air Travel with Fly Rods
  • Stream Info.
    • Cumberland River
    • Hatchery Creek
    • Otter Creek
    • Floyd’s Fork
    • Elkhorn Creek
    • Ohio River – McAlpine Dam
    • Kentucky Blue Water Trails
    • “Fly Fishing Kentucky”, a book
  • DCFF Member Login
    • DCFF Member Login
    • Member Registration
    • My Account
    • Lost password
  • Member Discounts

Fly Fishing Knots

If you search the internet you will find hundreds of different types of knots and loops for fishing.  Each one is used for a specific application, but there are only a few that you really need to be familiar with for fly fishing.  At some point in your fly fishing adventure you may need to understand how to tie a Bimini Twist or Plaited Double loop, but those are not every day knots.

 

Knots

Clinch Knot

The clinch knot is simple and is probably the most popular fishing knot for attaching a line to a lure, hook or swivel. When tied properly the clinch knot is very strong with a breaking strength around 95%.The Clinch knot work well for medium sized lines (6 lb – 30 lb). It is a perfect knot to choose for most lures.

 

Improved Clinch Knot

The Improved Clinch Knot is a normal clinch knot with a little improvement to make the clinch knot even more secure. The Improvement is an extra tuck to finalize the knot. The improved clinch knot is used the same way as the ordinary clinch knot to attach a lure, hook or swivel to the line. The improved clinch knot is very popular since it is both strong and easy to tie.

 

Palomar Knot

The Palomar Knot is both quick an easy to tie. It is also very strong and therefor a very popular fishing knot. The only downside is that the palomar knot uses a little more line than other similar fishing knots. So if used in a tapered leader it will shorten the line more quickly. But when the palomar knot is used with small lures, hooks and swivels it is superior to many other fishing knots for being quick, easy and very strong. Also the palomar is so simple that it can be tied in the dark.

 

Loops

Surgeon’s Loop

The Surgeon’s Loop is a popular loop because it one of the quickest and easiest loops to tie. The surgeon’s loop is also very strong so it no wonder that it is popular. The surgeon’s loop will form a perfect loop at the fishing line. It can be used to make a loop to loop connection or to attach a lure that needs to move freely.

 

Perfection Loop

The Perfection Loop is a great knot for tying a small loop at the end of the line. The Perfection Loop is perfectly in line with the standing part of the leader and it is both quick and easy to tie.

 

Joining Lines

Surgeon’s Knot

The Surgeon’s Knot is a great multipurpose knot. The surgeon’s knot can be used for joining lines of both similar and different size. It can also be used with lines of differnt materials and works just as fine with lines of similar materials. The sugeon’s knot is quick to tie and so easy that it can be tied easily in the dark. It retains nearly 100 percent breaking strenght. All in all a great knot.

 

Nail Knot

The Nail Knot is an important fishing knot used to join two lines of different diameters – it allows for line diameters to diminish down to the fly. It provides a good method for attaching your leader, or tippet, to your fly line.

 

Some Good Knots Websites:

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO FISHING KNOTS, HOOKS, BAIT, AND LURES (Supplied by HMY Yachts)

Orvis Learning Center Fly Fishing Knots (Supplied by Orvis Retail Stores)

Animated Fishing Knots (Supplied by Grog)

Upcoming Events

  1. Green River Fishing Trip

    May 18 - May 20
  2. Outdoor Meeting — The Parklands

    May 18 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
  3. Cumberland River Trip (Helm’s)

    May 20 - May 22
  4. Quest Fly Tying Class

    May 21 @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
  5. Fly Tying—-Cabela’s

    May 25 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
  6. Fly Tying Class-Bass Pro

    May 26 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
  7. Board of Directors Meeting

    June 1 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
  8. Derby City Fly Fishers Eat and Talk

    June 8 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
  9. Obey River Tail Water Trip

    June 9 - June 10
  10. Cumberland River Trip (Helm’s)

    June 10 - June 12

View All Events

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org