salmon
 
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Fly Line to backing or leader union, the Nail Knot
by Adam (Ditch) Hoelper

Materials

Stif mono approximately equal to the diameter of the fly line, nail knot tool(shown) straw or nail, uv cement, or ply bond.

nail knot tool

Step 1) Pass 8-12 inches of mono through the tool

nail knot

Step 2) Double the mono back on it's self, folding the loop to lay the mono parallel. Proceed to wrap the mono over the tool and loop. Start forward and work towards the rear making 6 warps.

nail knot

Step 3) Pass the tag end under the six loops just formed and insert the fly line or backing from the rear.

Nail knot tutorial

Step 4) Pull both ends of the mono until they seat and become tight.. As you pull on the ends gently remove tool pulling it toward the rear(will remove from line later). Once the know is on the fly line or backing continue to pull until the know is seated, tight and packed together.

fishing knot

Step 5) Clip the tag end short as well as the extra fly line.

knots for fishing

Step 6) Apply plybond or uv cement to union to achieve a smooth transition through the guides. CA will work if a quick union is needed.

nail knot

loop connector

Nail Knots benefits

  1. Efficient in transferring energy through the fly line, giving excellent leader turn over.

  2. It is resistant to hinging

  3. The knot holds almost no water and has very little spray

Disadvantages:

  1. nail knot connections make replacing the leader a tedious task - especially in low light conditions, however can be resolved by using the nail knot to attach a leader loop as pictured above

  2. Can easily snag on top guide if accidentally wound through when playing a fish, can be reduced by using uv cement to smooth edges

 

 


 
 
 
      All images copy write A.S. Hoelper 2006-2007