Learning The Basic Fly Fishing Knots
By Jon Clouse
There are many different fly knots you might use while you are out in the water. Some of the different knots include the Albright knot, Arbor knot, Blood knot, dropper loop, nail knot, and the improved clinch. There are different reasons you would use each of these knots.

The Albright knot is commonly used to join the fly line to the fly reel backing line. When you tie this knot you need to remember to neatly wind the loops round the loop of the larger line. You should hold the loops under your fingers as you wind the line. This loop passes through guides when you need it to. Some fishermen like to coat the knot with rubber cement which makes it more secure and smoother.

The Arbor knot is used to attach your line to your reel (sometimes called an Arbor, hence the name). When tying these kinds of fly knots, use a second overhand knot and wind your loop twice around your arbor before making the final hitch to secure it. You will increase friction this way, which is excellent for polished reels. This is one of the easiest fly knots to learn and is one you will use very commonly.

One of the most important fly knots is the blood knot. This knot is used when you need too join two lines of more or less the same size - such as when you need to join two sections of tippet or leader. The best way (there are actually quite a few different ways) to tie this knot is by overlapping the ends of the lines and twist them together ten times. After twisting the lines together, make a hole in the center of the twists and pass one end through, making a knot which is symmetrical in the middle. This is another easy knot to lean and will be used often.

One of the other basic fly knots is the dropper loop. You can use this knot to prevent tangles in your reel line. With this knot, you make a loop in your leader as an attachment point for an

extra fly. This loop is made by winding one line around the other at the overlap. This loop should appear to be symmetrical.

One of the fly knots you'll use almost every time you go out is the nail knot. A nail knot is used when you need to tie together two lines of differing sizes. Thread the smaller line through the loops with a straw, nail (that's where the name comes from) or needle. This creates a knot which easily passes through your guides, being that they are smooth and small in size.

These are far from the only fly knots which you will want to learn and use. You should learn as many different fly knots as possible, each situation calls for a separate knot.

Most of the different fly knots are very easy to learn to use and you will use them quite often. You should practice making these knots before you go fly fishing.

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Jon Clouse, the author, often writes on topics such as Basic Fly Knots. If you want more great articles and videos, take a few seconds to visit Fishing FYI