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acceptable leader to line knot

6K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  BigDave 
#1 ·
Been reading some fishing books where nail knots and needle knots are suggested for connecting leader to line.
Any objections for the braided nylon connectors, for tippets 3x-5x, average size rainbows??
Would anybody recommend over this a homemade connector with a butt section of a regular nylon leader?

My reasons for using braided nylon are: no knots, and, since my leaders don´t last anything, no eating up my fly line every time I tie a nail knot.
any thoughts?
thanks

cheers
 
#2 ·
Jero,

I use those braided mono loops for 6 wt & under trout rods. etc... they work great for that type of work in my humble opinion. I use a nail knot with some fine Mono thread to secure the end instead of the heat shrink tubing stuff the send with the kits.

As far as the mono loop. If you have a leader tied onto your fly line & it is beyond repair. cut off all bit the last six inches or so & tie a surgeons loop or a perfection loop in the end and then use that loop as you loop to loop connection. I have a few lines that that has been done.

Or tie one of Juro's loop connections. http://www.flyfishingforum.com/flytalk4/showthread.php?t=21921
 
#3 ·
jero said:
My reasons for using braided nylon are: no knots, and, since my leaders don´t last anything, no eating up my fly line every time I tie a nail knot.
any thoughts?
thanks

cheers
I tie my nail knots starting with a 20" length of 60 lb test Rio Powerflex and coat them with aquaseal or more recently Loon knot sense. I put a perfection loop in the leader to give a 4" length. To this I loop in my 10' of Airflo polyleader with 5' tippet. The actual nail knot lasts the life of the line.
 
#4 ·
Warren said:

Just to be clear, this loop design I cooked up is for combining different fly line segments mid-length in the head to create hybrid (float/sink) systems.

The most common approach for leader to line is a nail-knotted butt section with a perfection loop.

Some new lines (e.g. Rio outbound) come with a loop already in the line which is great.

Braided are also good but very visible and prone to loosening when the line is under pressure (fish) and the back end hits a guide.

Use either a perfection or surgeons loop on the mating end of the leader butt.
 
#5 ·
Juro,

Well you may have had something else in mind when you devised your loop thingy. However, it sure works good to attach leaders as well. The monocore covering cannot help bit make the loop strong and give it some abrasion resistance. I sure like it

Jero,
There is also the Lefty's whipped loop. I have several lines with that have a whipped loop & they work good. Google up Lefty's whipped loop & there is a bunch of stuff you can read.
 
#6 ·
I just fold the fly line back on itself and nail knot it. You get a small reusable loop that is strong and easy to do. This is the only method I use any more for loops in the end of the fly line and have never had one fail. Just as strong is not stronger than a nail knot but much more convenient to attach leaders to.

-sean
 
#7 ·
Different leader attachments

Howdy,

Does anyone use a small steel eye-pin that you insert into the end of the fly line? It has small barbs on the pin shaft and this digs into the inside of the fly line. I've been using these for years and never had any problems with them.

Do any of you see any drawbacks to using these?

I also recently bought some nylon connectors for my saltwater line to leader connection. I tie a simple overhand knot in the fly line and it nestles into a notch and another overhand knot on the end of the leader which also nestles into another notch. It's a little bit of a bump on the line, but it seems to slip through the guides and it doesn't seem to cause too big of a splash when it hits the water... that being the only drawback I see with it. But, do you think an overhand knot is not that strong and that would be the weakest link?

Thanks... from warm and sunny southern Thailand
 
#8 ·
For trout fishing - a plain old nail knot is hard to beat. The braided loops will spray when you false cast. Bad for dry fly fishing. My experience is that they also sink which makes it harder to mend properly.

As others reccomended you can leave a permanent butt section of 4-6 inches and tie a loop in it or blood knot new leaders to it.
 
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