What knots do I need to know for fly fishing?

Four will carry you through your first season: the arbor knot to attach backing to the reel, a loop-to-loop connection (or a nail knot) for the fly line to the leader, the surgeon's knot to add tippet to the leader, and the improved clinch knot to tie on the fly.

How do you tie an improved clinch knot?

Thread the tippet through the hook eye and double it back, leaving a tag end of about 15 cm. Twist the tag around the standing line five to seven times. Pass the tag end through the small loop next to the eye, then back through the big loop that forms. Wet the knot, pull the standing line slowly so the coils close up against the eye, and trim the tag.

What is the best knot for joining leader to tippet?

The surgeon's knot is the easiest to learn and is strong enough for trout fishing. Overlap the two lines by about 15 cm, treat them as one, tie an overhand loop and pass both ends through it once or twice, then wet and tighten.

Why should I wet a knot before tightening it?

Wetting a knot lubricates the line so it draws up evenly. Dry nylon heats and weakens with friction as it tightens, so a dry knot is weaker.

How do I practise fishing knots?

Practise with thick cord at a table first, so you can see how each knot is built, then move to real line. Tie each one a dozen times before you try one on the water, and test every new knot with a firm pull.

Fly Fishing Knots for Beginners

8 min readReference← Learn

Quick ref — the essentials

Backing to reel

Arbor knot

Tie once, when you set up

Line to leader

Loop to loop

Link, pull, tug-test

Leader to tippet

Surgeon's knot

Wet it, pull slowly

Tippet to fly

Improved clinch

5 to 7 turns, then trim

Four knots cover a first season. One fixes the line to the reel, one joins the fly line to the leader, one adds tippet to the leader, and one ties on the fly. You will tie the last of them more often than the rest put together.

A page cannot teach a knot; your hands do. Read each step, tie it at the kitchen table with a piece of thick cord, then with real line, until you can do it without looking. The diagrams are sketches of the idea, not photographs of a finished knot: dark blue is the standing line, orange is the end you are working with, and grey is the hardware.

Knot 1 of 4 · Backing to the reel

Arbor knot

It fixes the line to the spool. You tie it once, when you set the reel up, and the shop will usually do it for you the first time, so watch how.

Take the end of the backing around the arbor, the central core of the spool. Tie an overhand knot with the tag end around the standing line (the part running to the rest of the backing). Leave it loose.
Tie a second overhand knot in the tag end itself, about an inch from the end. This is the stopper.
Pull the standing line. The first knot slides down the line and closes snugly onto the arbor, and the stopper jams up behind it. Trim the tag end, leaving a few millimetres.

The arbor knot is usually described as one that lets go of the spool if a fish ever takes every inch of line, rather than breaking. That is the idea, not a promise, so do not rely on it.

Knot 2 of 4 · Fly line to leader

Loop to loop

Most modern fly lines come with a loop at the end, and many tapered leaders are sold with a loop at the thick end. Linking the two takes seconds, and lets you change leaders on the bank without a knot to tie.

Push the leader's loop up through the loop on the end of the fly line, so the two loops are linked like the links of a chain.
Pull the fly line and the leader apart. The loops slide together and seat snugly, one lying across the other. Give it a firm tug to be sure it holds before you trust it.

Check that the loops sit snugly, not slackly side by side. If it looks wrong or slides, undo it and link the loops again.
The nail knot is the neater, permanent alternative, with no loop to catch in the rod rings. It is fiddly to learn from a page, so it is not described here. Ask at a tackle shop or a casting lesson and have someone show you.

Knot 3 of 4 · Leader to tippet

Surgeon's knot

As the leader shortens each time you change a fly, you add fresh tippet. The surgeon's knot joins two lines of different thickness quickly and is strong enough for any trout fishing you will do.

Lay the end of the leader and the end of the tippet side by side, overlapping by about 15 cm (6 inches), pointing in opposite directions.
Treat the doubled section as a single line. Make a loose overhand loop in it, then pass both free ends through the loop. Many anglers pass them through a second time for extra grip, especially with slippery fluorocarbon.
Wet the knot with saliva. Pull slowly on the two standing lines, then on the short ends, so it draws up evenly. Trim the short ends close.

Wetting the knot matters. Dry nylon tightens with friction and weakens.
Pull steadily, not with a jerk. A good knot draws up smoothly.

Knot 4 of 4 · Fly to tippet

Improved clinch knot

It is the knot you will tie most, every time you change a fly, so it is worth getting right. It is reliable for the fine tippets used in trout fishing.

Thread the end of the tippet through the eye of the hook, and double it back along the standing line. Leave a tag end of about 15 cm (6 inches).
Twist the tag end around the standing line five to seven times, using fewer turns on thicker tippet.
Bring the tag end back and pass it through the small loop next to the eye.
Then pass it back through the big loop that formed when you did that.
Wet the knot. Pull the standing line slowly while holding the fly, so the coils close up neatly against the eye. Trim the tag end close.

Tug it. Always test a new knot with a firm pull before it goes in the water. A knot that slips will do so at the worst moment.
Do not trim the tag flush: leave a millimetre or two, because a knot trimmed too close can pull through.

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