I need advice on the best fluorocarbon knot for flies. I use the Palomar Knot with lures but the eyes of flies are much smaller and do not allow for the double pass through required when tying the Palomar know. What knot do y?all find works best for fluoro and flies? Thanks!
Do you need different knots for fluorocarbon than monofilament? I use the Duncan or Uni-knot (same knot) for about everything with the exception of using the Double Surgeon knot for joining lines of similar diameters.
For most saltwater flies, I like a loop connection to the fly in order to give the fly more action in the water. In this case, I use a Kreh non-slip loop with 6 turns for tippets smaller than 1x, 5 turns for 0x or 1x, and 4 turns for larger tippet.
http://www.netknots.com/html/non_slip_loop_knot.html
If I don’t require a loop connection, I use a Pitzen knot. Both the Kreh loop and the Pitzen knot test over 90 percent in tests that I have seen.
http://videofishingknots.com/pitzen-knot.html
Regards,
Ted
Pitzen always
I agree with tedshuck: I ALWAYS use a loop knot for single flies. The non-slip mono loop knot he mentions is a great knot for smaller tippets, and I use it for my trout flies, but for larger S/W stuff (you didn’t say, but this is the S/W section) I like the DOA knot:
http://www.doalures.com/uploads/Docs/9102_DOA_10.28__Knot_Page.pdf
It’s not as strong (%) a knot as the NSML, but is a lot faster and easier to tie and on 15-25 lb test line, knot strength just isn’t that critical because you’ll never break it with the pressure you can apply with a fly rod. With a little practice, you can tie it with so short a tag end you won’t even need to trim it.
Leader to tippet , seagauar knot. Over lap the leader and tippet Fold a large loop in both , insert your index finger into the loop stir (twist) the loop 3 times , reach thumb and index through the loop and pull through the tippet and tage end of leader. This is a very strong and fast knot that is good for fluorocabon or mono and is not sensitive to a difference in tippet and leader diameter.
Some saltwater guys call this knot simply a tippet knot
This sounds like a triple surgeons knot, which is always good for tippet to leader.
It is way faster than the triple surgeons and as strong or stronger.