KNOT'S ANYONE?

These are proven knots and if you learn them they will serve you well. The secret is to tie them and tie them often. Nothing will make you more comfortable with a knot than practice. Carry some string or a length of monofilament with you and tie it in off moments, tie it on the water, tie it when you're waiting for a phone call or in a doctor's waiting room, whenever, but practice you must or you will not be able to tie it when you need it.

Rather than try to write clear, concise instructions I have made a video of each knot in the hope that the video will prove to be the better way to communicate the proper technique for tying these knots. You may want to turn the speakers on if you have them off as there are spoken instructions to go along with each video.

Video is something I never would have undertaken without some help. And that help came from Jeremy Cameron of Simple Solutions. If you need help with any technical problem, particularly those dealing with multimedia applications, you should give him a call. You can visit his website at www.ineedasimplesolution.com - check him out.

Blood Knot	Once you have tied it a few times you might wonder why it seemed so hard when you first learned it, however, at first there is a lot to keep track of and it can be hard. The big advantage of this knot is that the standing line comes straight out of the knot with no kick to the side as do the tags. You may want to leave the stiffer tag for a dropper. For tippet knots it shouldn't be used with materials that differ in size more than .002" in diameter.
Surgeon's Knot	This is one of the easiest knots to tie and quite strong. The knot's rating is about 95% of the material line strength. You can use it to join materials of different sizes and it is particularly suited to replacing tippet material. When used in heavy materials the knot causes the added material to cock off to one side.
Perfection Loop	If you need to put a loop in a leader butt section this is the knot to use. It makes a very quick, strong, neat and easy to trim knot. The leader also pulls straight out of knot with no kick to the side. When you tie this knot correctly the tag sticks straight out to the side at 90 degrees after the knot is tightened ready to be trimmed.
Surgeon's Loop	Like the Surgeon's Knot this is a strong easy knot. It's bulky and the standing line kicks to the side but neither trait is a problem with tippet material. The knot is especially suited for tippet loop to loop connections. Use it anytime you need an easy strong knot - easy and quick are important just at dark.

If you like these knot videos, or don't like them, and want to let us know please e-mail.