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| Here
are fly fishing and fly tying techniques that can make your days
on the water more productive and more enjoyable |
King
Sling
A
method of tying the King Sling using hemostats
developed by Bruce E. Harang making properly tying the
knot in fine tippet material much easier.
In general, whenever you tie knots in mono-filament
you need to thoroughly wet the knot and draw it up
with a single smooth tightening motion. This applies
whether the monofilament is nylon, fluorocarbon, or
any other monofilament polymer or co-polymer.
The following discussion and knot selection is for
freshwater fishing. In saltwater there are several
alternative knots, which are, in some cases, more
suitable.
The knot is started in the same manner whether or not
you are using a set of forceps to assist with tying
the knot.
Form
a double loop at the end of the line by folding the
end of the line back on itself forming a loop. Then
fold the loop back on itself forming a second loop.
Grasp this second loop with your forceps
(the forceps are not shown in these images but you
should be able to understand how to use them to tie
the knot from these images and the written
description). See Figure 1
below
Now
rotate the second loop end and the forceps around the
double line three times. See Figure 2 below.
Next,
push the second loop and the forceps holding the
second loop through the first loop. Then release and
withdraw the forceps leaving the second loop extending
through the first loop. See Figure 3 below. Note: you
can also reverse the procedure by placing the closed
forceps through the first loop and then grasping the
second loop, wrapping the forceps and grasped loop
around the standing line and tag three times. Finally,
draw the forceps out of the first loop along with the
second loop.
Wet
the knot and using one hand to pull the single loop
and the other to pull both the standing line and the
tag end start to draw the knot tight. Once the knot
forms, even out the knot loops on each end of the knot
itself. See Figure 4 below.
Finally,
complete drawing the knot tight. Clip the tag end
leaving a short stub and the loop knot is complete.
See Figure 5 below. Note that in Figure 5 the tag has
not yet been cut off.
This
is one of the strongest, safest loop forming knots in
the fly fisherman�s arsenal. Learn to tie this easy
loop knot and you won�t loose fish to failed loops.
I have tied this loop knot in monofilament up to 50
lb. Breaking strength with a diameter of 0.028"
with no problems getting the knot to tighten.
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The
Eugene Bend
A
method of tying the Eugene
Bend using hemostats developed by Bruce E.
Harang so as to make properly tying the knot
in fine tippet material much easier.
In general, whenever you tie knots in
mono-filament you need to thoroughly wet the
knot and draw it up with a single smooth
tightening motion. This applies whether the
monofilament is nylon, fluorocarbon, or any
other monofilament polymer or co-polymer.
The following discussion and knot selection
is for freshwater fishing. In saltwater
there are several alternative knots, which
are, in some cases, more suitable.
The knot is started in the same manner
whether or not you are using a set of
forceps to assist with tying the knot. Start
the knot by running the tippet end through
the hook eye and back up the line. Form a
second loop in the opposite direction with
the tag. Hold the tag end and the hook eye
between your fingers (Fig. 1).
Insert
a closed pair of forceps through the second
loop and rotate the closed ends of the
forceps around the standing line three
times. This automatically also wraps the
second loop around the standing line three
times (Fig.2).
Now
grasp the tag end of the tippet with the
forceps and pull the forceps out of the
second loop thereby pulling the tag end of
the tippet through the second loop (Fig. 3).
Pull
the tag end until the end loops of the knot
are small enough that they cannot slip over
the hook eye. The knot should be snug, but
not tight, and should be located several
inches above the hook eye (Fig. 4).
Wet
the knot to lubricate it and protect the
monofilament from frictional heat damage.
Then with a smooth steady motion, pull the
standing line until the knot slides down the
standing line to the hook eye and seats. You
will know the knot is properly seated when
you hear and feel the knot click into
position. In addition, a properly tied and
seated knot will have the tag end forming a
very pronounced V with the standing line
(Fig.5).
The
knot works best with monofilament lines of
about 12 pounds breaking strength or less.
It also works better with soft lines than
with hard stiff lines.
By
using a pair of forceps (hemostats) to
assist with tying the knot you will find
changing flies with very light tippet and
tying with wet hands to be far easier and
the cause of many fewer impolite words on
stream.
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Quick,
or Simple, Blood Knot
While
this knot has been known as the quick blood knot or simple blood
knot, it is not a blood knot because the tag ends come out the
ends of the knot instead of in the center as they do in a true
blood knot. It is, however, easy to tie, and very effective. The
only drawback over the true blood knot is the bulk of the knot.
Wrap
the tag end of one line seven or eight turns around the tag end
of the second line (see Fig. 1) to start the knot.
Next
the tag end of the second line is wrapped around the tag end of
the first line seven or eight times (see Fig. 2).
To
tighten the knot, grasp the tag ends and slowly draw the knot up
until the tag ends stand out at right angles to the knot. Do not
draw the knot so tight that the length of the knot is less than
about 5/16 inch long (see Fig. 3).
Next
wet the knot and grasping the two standing lines pull quickly
and firmly to tighten the knot (see Fig. 4).
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Gaiter Saving Tip
My favorite gaiters for use when wading are made of
neoprene and utilize a Velcro brand fasting system. They are easy to put on and take off
even when your hands are cold and numb. However, after losing one in fast water I was
reminded quite graphically that neoprene floats. And after having to shell out another $25
dollars for a new pair I decided that the boot speed lace hook put on by the manufacturer
had to be replaced by a better security system. With this in mind I stopped in at the
local outdoor shop which carries camping and packing supplies. There I found some small
engineered material (graphite filled nylon or some such) snap swivel clips. A pair of
these and a foot of nylon webbing of suitable size for the clip loops cost a mere $2.35
plus sales tax.
At home I used a seam ripper to remove the nylon webbing holding the boot speed lace
clip from each gaiter. Then I cut and melted two pieces of the nylon webbing to provide a
loop about the same size as the original from the one foot strip. I placed one snap on
each piece of webbing and used a standard home sewing machine to stitch the nylon webbing
onto each gaiter in the same location as the old webbing.
Now when I put on the gaiters I snap them onto my boot lace at the toe of the wading
boot and even if the closure lets go or is torn open the gaiter is locked to my wading
boot. This will also work for any other style of gaiter which opens into a single layer of
material.
The illustration below will give you all the information you need to make this simple
improvement on your neoprene gaiters. Hopefully, you will try this before having to spend
$25.00 to replace one lost gaiter.
� 1998, Bruce E. Harang
Tying the
Clinch and Improved Clinch Knots Tip
by Bruce E.
Harang
Clinch Knot
| I prefer to attach my fly to the
tippet using a clinch knot or an improved clinch knot. Tying these knots in fine tippet,
especially in the rain, can be a frustrating exercise. To solve this, there are available
a number of special tools to do just this job. My fishing vest already weighs in at a
quarter ton. So another tool attached to it is out of the question. After reviewing what I already carried
that might serve, I realized that my hemostats could do the job. Tying the clinch knot is
remarkably simple using hemostats (see illustrations below). |
| If you do not draw on
the tag end when tightening the knot, you produce a perfect clinch knot every time. If you
do draw the knot tight by pulling on the tag end, you roll the knot over itself and the
knot will cut the tippet like a hot knife. This is true no matter whether you use only
your hands or a tying tool.
I have now used this method for
over 7 years very successfully and without knot failure.
� 1998, Bruce E.
Harang
Improved
Clinch Knot
But how could I tie the improved
clinch using my hemostats? The answer evaded me for a long time. Then, while tying a
clinch knot during a day on the water, the answer leaped out at me. Instead of releasing
the tag end from the hemostat jaws after drawing it through the first loop, continue to
hold the tag end and push the hemostat jaws through the new (second) loop formed by
drawing the tag through the first loop. Now release the tag end from the hemostat jaws and
withdraw the jaws. As with the clinch knot, hold the tag end and the fly in one hand and
draw the knot tight after wetting by pulling on the standing end of the tippet. Having
used this procedure for over two years now I have found no problems with tying perfect
improved clinch knots. See the diagram for a visual explanation.
These procedures
are also very helpful for tying these same knots in heavy stiff leader materials more
commonly used in saltwater fly fishing.
� 1998, Bruce E.
Harang
Boot Lace
Tip
by Bruce E. Harang
Here is a method to
"tie" your wading bootlaces without the need to tie and untie knots. Place a
small plastic spring-loaded closure (used on stuff sack draw cords) on your bootlaces.
This will hold the laces tight while you are fishing and allow quick easy
"untying" of the wet (frozen) laces at the end of the day. Even cold frozen
fingers have no trouble releasing your laces using this method.
Total cost is about $2.00 for the
pair of closures you will need. These are readily available at most camping/hiking shops.
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� 1998, Bruce E. Harang |
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30 Second Nail Knot
If you are
like me, tying a nail knot is a chore you experience as seldom as
possible. Getting the knack of holding the fly line, the backing
line or leader butt and a hollow tube while at the same time winding
the backing or leader around the fly line is a never ending source
of frustration. Well, there is a solution. Joe Dion of Orvis has
devised a method of tying a nail knot which produces a real nail
knot without the need of a tube. Further, you don�t have to wind
things back upon themselves or turn things inside out. Orvis
representative Leigh Oliva showed me how to tie the nail knot using
this novel method.
Give this one a try, it is simplicity itself.
This is so easy you can actually tie the nail knot on the stream in
less time than it takes to tie a blood knot. The following figures
clearly show how to tie the nail knot using the Joe Dion method in
30 seconds.
The Orvis Company has given permission for the
free use of the method and knot.
The copyright protected
drawings of Bruce E. Harang may be freely
used for non-commercial purposes as long as the original copyright
notice is included and each set of drawings is used together as a
unit.
30 Second Nail Knot � Joe Dion Method
� 1995 Bruce E. Harang |
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