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  • Basic Knots for Flyfishing

  • All good anglers know that properly tied knots are critical elements of the tackle system as important as a good rod, reel and flyline.

  • Click on the links below to learn how to tie some of the most useful knots employed in flyfishing.

  • The Arbor Knot
  • The Nail Knot
  • The Blood Knot
  • The Albright Special
  • The Surgeon's Knot
  • The Improved Clinch Knot
  • The Uni-Knot

  • Note: You might need a DivX plugin to run these lessons on a PC. They have been tested on a PC using Windows 10 and the latest version of Explorer. They have also been tested on Macs running OS 10.14.6 and the latest Safari browser; they will not work using Firefox for some reason.(If anyone knows how to remedy this problem, please contact the webmaster.)




  • The Arbor Knot

  • Used to attach the backing to the arbor of the reel.



  • The Nail Knot

  • Used for joining the backing to the fly line.



  • The Blood Knot

  • Used to join a tippet to the leader. Also used to build leaders.



  • The Albright Special

  • Used to join the backing to the fly line.
  • Also used to join materials of greatly different diameters.



  • The Surgeon's Knot

  • Used to join a tippet to the leader.
  • Can also be used to make a loop at the end of a leader.



  • The Improved Clinch Knot

  • Used to tie a fly to the leader.



  • The Uni-Knot or Duncan Loop

  • Used to tie a fly to the leader.
  • Can be used as a loop or can be drawn tight to the eye of the hook.

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