What knot do most use to connect the backing to the fly line?
Jeff
nail knot.
An Albright…but havn’t tied one in so long I’d have to get the old knot book out.
Regards
nam
Does the Albright travel well through the guides of the rod, or does it hang up? Is that what you use on the working end of the line too?
Jeff
An Albright is bulkier than the nail knot…but cause a problem with hang ups? Well I’ve rarely seen my backing to date so my experience is limited. 
Line/leader…I use a perfection loop with just recently the Castwell. See topic Question-line to leader connection…dated May 9th.
Regards
nam
[This message has been edited by namekagon (edited 13 May 2005).]
I’ve started using the needle knot, where the leader butt comes right out of the center of the fly line. Coated with Loon’s Knot Sense, it makes a very smooth, low profile connection. So far, so good.
Emerger
The knot you used depends on the situation. For trout and smaller fish, a nail knot works fine. It has to be tied correctly, though. Most of the time people tighten with the backing and tag end. This is a problem; it leads to a knot that will slip. To correctly tie a nail knot, tighten by holding the fly line end and the tag end of the backing first, then the tag end and the backing. This will cause the “uphill” end of the knot to tighten first, keeping it from slipping.
For bigger fish a nail knot can be a problem; you can lose a fly line with heavy tippet. For bigger fish I like an albright, double-nail knot, or loop-to-loop. Albright is the easiest and very strong but it is bulky. Double nail not bulky but a bit of a pain. Loop to loop nice because you can change out your fly lines but the biggest pain of all to do and I think the loops are probably the most unreliable method strength wise.
A long winded answer to a simple question but I hope it helps.
-John
[This message has been edited by ktokj (edited 14 May 2005).]
In the very few times a trout ever took me into the backing, the Albright knot worked fine for me.
Can’t seem to play the animated versions of the knot link from JC…help…
If your fishing for big fish, do not use a nail knot! They can fail!
I have fished Tarpon for 15yrs, we double the end of the fly line over and tie 2 nail knots to create a loop. Then double the backing over twice (you have two loops) and tie a surgeons loop. I have never had it fail, or ever seen it fail.
Josh White [url=http://www.rogueflyshop.com:cb87f]http://www.rogueflyshop.com[/url:cb87f]
Loop to loop, because I change fly lines. I make the fly line loop with whip finishes, as Caster recommends. I use a Bimini and double surgeon’s in the backing.
I use a nail knot on my line to leader connection, but with added protection:tie an overhand knot with the fly line around the leader material before beginning the nail knot. Pull that overhand knot tight, using pliers or the like, and then wrap the nail knot. When pulled tight it will snug up against the overhand knot, making an absolutely secure, and surprisingly small, connection. I put a perfection loop in the leader material and go with loop to loop forleader connections.
I use the same knot for backing to flyline that I use for flyline to the leader butt section, a Nailless Nail Knot.
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
i use the albright–easy to tie and a nice, neat knot.
fishin’ fool…
Here is a connection developed by Michael Callahan using a Bimini Twist to a Nail Knotted loop in the fly line that allows quick change of fly lines and strength. It also eliminates the possibility of forming a girth hitch around the fly line loop: [url=http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/DickM/Bimini-To-Fly-Line-Loop.jpg:a026a]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/DickM/Bimini-To-Fly-Line-Loop.jpg[/url:a026a]
![http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/DickM/Bimini-To-Fly-Line-Loop.jpg[/url:a026a]](http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/DickM/Bimini-To-Fly-Line-Loop.jpg%5B/url:a026a%5D){kind=link}
Thanks for all the replies. On my trout rod I think I will use the needle nail knot where the backing goes through the fly line and then ties around it. For all else, it looks like the Albright knot will do. Thanks for all the help.
Jeff
I understand the needle nail knot leader to line connection (with braided core line) but it must be very difficult to tie that knot backing to line.
I use the nail knot setup for 5wts and below and use a rig similar to what Caster suggested for the heavier stuff.
I make the loop in the end of the flyline and secure it with two or even three nail knots with 12-15lb mono. I make the loop in the backing with a spider hitch, commonly used as a weaker but much less time consuming substitute for a Bimini. I make the loop big enough to where a fly line on a spool can be passed through it. Were I going after a fish where the weakest link in the system were stronger than 30lb, I would probably bother using a Bimini instead.
Caster and JC, what can you tell me about the wisdom of using a spider hitch versus the doubled double surgeons mentioned above?
Dpollipo,
It ended up being harder than it probobly should, and I think I may have modified it a bit, but it’s been zap a gapped and it’s on a 5 wt. that most probobly isn’t going to see a fish with the cahonies to pull the juntion apart.
Jeff
I use a nail knot on my nylon lines and loops on my silks so I can interchange/remove them to dry/store
“The more widely one observes nature, the more it appeals to one’s soul. Why? Because there is a music there; and the wider one’s outlook on life becomes, the deeper one’s understanding of life, the more music one can listen to, the music that
answers the whole universe.” --Inayat Khan
If you have arthritic hands, like me, you should purchase a good knot tying tool. By the way, I prefer the nail knot.
Eric “nighthawk”