{{start}}

Just behind poor fishing technique and inept netting technique the most prolific reason for fish being lost is a problem with a knot. There are more knots than you can poke a stick at that can be used in fly fishing and over time you will settle on a few that you tie well and have confidence in. Over the years I have tried a lot of different knots and currently I have settled on the following 5 knots. I say currently because all aspects of my fly fishing are constantly evolving and if a find a better knot for any of the applications described below I will have no hesitation in swapping over to that knot.

This is the ideal way of attaching your leader to your fly line. First you will need a nail loop knot on the end of your fly line as described below. The benefit is that by pushing the end of the leader back into the knot you can easily release your leader from the fly line. This makes changing leaders and fly lines easy.

A	Tie a nail loop knot on the end of your fly line Tie a simple double overhand knot in the end of your leader. By double I mean go through the open loop twice. Pull the knot very tight. I wrap the leader around my hand and grip the tag end with my haemostats or pliers. Trim the tag end close to the knot. Pass the knotted tag end through the loop on your fly line from the top, take the line to the right then over the top of the loop, back under the loop and through the opening of the loop. What you finish up with should look like a loop to loop connection with the tag end that has the double overhand knot in it sticking out. Tighten the knot carefully so that the double overhand knot buts up against the loop on the end of the fly line. You will find this loop to open loop connection is very strong (I have had one fail in hundreds of uses and my guess is that I didn't complete the last step properly). The benefit is that by pushing the end of the leader back into the knot you can easily release your leader from the fly line. This makes changing leaders and fly lines easy.

{{end}}