Tuesday Tip – Value of a Good Knot

No matter how strong you tippet your rig, and ultimately your fishing success, is only as strong as your knots. Knots are technically weak points in your rig and at any given time you may have 4 or more knots in your setup. That’s a lot of weaker point. The key is lots of practice even people who have fished for years sometimes have issues with knots. It’s a lot easier to try new or practice old knots while at home with no variables like wind or bright sun. This is also a good use for old expired tippet. So, if you need a refresher or want to try something new I would recommend checking out this neat knots resource from Orvis:

Orvis – Step-by-Step Animated Knots

There are also some tools that make tying various knots, like the blood knot easier. You can browse those here. With any knot, however the best tool you can utilize is lubrication. Whether it is saliva or water, some sort of lubrication reduces the friction heat, which can drastically reduce the strength of the tippet.

We mentioned this in a Tuesday Tip a few weeks ago, but UV Knot Sense is worth another mention. This Loon product is binding agent that is applied around a knot to improve its strength and durability. It’s used mainly on backing-to-flyline knots and Nail Knots (usually used for flyline-to-leader); when used on knots like these it helps the knots run more smoothly through the rod guides.