Who Needs Nail Knots Anyway?
When you’re a beginner fly fishing for the first time, one of the most frustrating things can be figuring out how to attach a leader to your fly line. The most widely accepted method is to use a well tied nail knot, but if you’re not an experienced knot tier, tying a nail knot isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Worse yet, if you don’t practice the knot regularly, you may not remember how to do it if you need to make on stream repairs. You can attempt to tie easier knots, but these often leave too big of a bulge where the leader and fly line come together which then gets caught in your guides when you’re reeling in a trout, tangles during your back cast, or snags on things in the water. Is there a better alternative? With decades of experience chasing trout around the Pacific Northwest, I have tried many different knots and attached my leaders to my fly line in a variety of ways. My favorite method is one you might not expect. One of the least known, but most effective ways to attach
