There has been some question among my fishing buddies about the value of using a loop knot rather than a cinch knot. We agree that it will give the fly more action at the end of the tippet, however the big argument is over which loop knot is strongest when using size 10 to 14 hooks?
I am the most inexperianced of the group having just started, but I am the only one that gets online and is a member of FAOL. I have viewed the knot section FAOL provides, but feel there has to be some great knots out there favored by other members.
I don’t know which is strongest, but I have discovered that the duncan loop works best for me on tippet loop knots. After some practice, I have become comfortable with this knot.
There was a discussion about this on another board. And I have been researching as a result. There are 3 knots that by my own bench testing are pretty close on strength.
One has already been mentioned, the non-slip mono loop, or rapala knot. The lighter the tippet, the more wraps that might be necessary. I am doing 6 or 7 for my usual 4 or 5X.
Another one is the triple overhand knot or triple surgeons loop. This one you have to put the fly through the loop three times so I tend to use it for smaller flies.
All of these are very strong. I used to use the duncan loop but for me it tends to weaken as I open the loop a few times.