Best Knot for retying salmon flys?

[DKuiper]

Going through the flys and found some that definitly need retying. Bought some 50# mono and have been experimenting with different knots. Nothing that I have tried seems really good so far. Either the lines gets 'curly' from pulling it tight or the hooks don't seem to end up being straight with the fly body with pulled up. How about some ideas? Thanks.

Duane

[1mainiac]

I snell all of mine with 40lb Gamma Flouro leader material not cheap with the Owner hooks but no failure issues in the last 2 seasons. I used to tie them in my fly vise but have gotten to where I can snell them faster free handed. I build my own meat rigs as well and snell on multiple hooks for my own crawler harness's. My J Plug harness's look as good or better than any you can buy.

[Legacy]

dkuiper,

Heres a nice video link for a tournament tie: http://www.fishdoctorcharters.com/videos/video2A.html

Mono retains alot of memory (and that is where your seeing the line curl from), try using some fluoro and see how that works for you.

[Line Dancin]

i try and snell the hooks but if in a tourney i use a palormor. quick and strong.

[1mainiac]

I keep about a dozen pre tied on the boat and have another 10 sitting in frontof me on my desk. I need to pick up some more Gamma and hooks to get thru the season I have had several guys look at my prepackaged hook and leader setups and wonder where I buy them most are suprised when I explain I make my own. I think if you go to a quality Flouro leader material you will never return to mono for leaders again.

[LongLine]

I Snell the hooks but I bend the hook eye up just a little, before tying.

[Priority1]

I snell mine with 50#, then slide a short piece of small diameter clear tubing over the line along with a bead or two to hold the hook space. The clear plastic tubing will slide tightly over the hook eye and protect the snell and line from the fish's teeth. Someone on here tuned me into this a couple of years ago.

Edited March 19, 2009 by Priority1

[Vitalidle]

Great idea Frank! Where is the best place to buy the tubing?

[Yoda]

Snelling about the best wat to go, you will have to bend the eye a bit like mentioned above, and like MAINIAC Said, have a few pre tied on the boat

[DKuiper]

Hey everyone, lots of great info! Thanks a lot. I tied up a few today using Robert's Tournement Tie and it was quick and simple! They look great and the video link was really helpful. Thanks again to everyone.

Now all we need is some fish in the area. Boats ready, gear is ready and I am itching to get out. Mayby early next week if the weather holds.

Duane

[Priority1]

Great idea Frank! Where is the best place to buy the tubing?

I buy it at the hardware store for about a dime a foot. I buy the small stuff and force it over the hook eye.

[Vitalidle]

I buy it at the hardware store

hahaha man do I feel like a Homer:o Gotta love the local hardware:D Thanks Frank.

[Line Dancin]

I just want to gripe a second about that video. That was not developed by the guy named and him taking credit is wrong. It is called and egg loop or a west coast bumper hitch. It is used in steelhead fishing to attach egg yarn or a piece of skein roe to the hook without burying the hook and incorporating a corky to add color and float off the bottom. It has been used on the west cost for thirty years at least as that is about when i learned to tie it from Tom Schneider nicknamed Corky Man from the detroit area. That knot works best with an upbend eye hook like a 37160 mustad. I was tying that knot when they still had the fishing show at the Silver dome. OK off my soap box now.

Just a note i would use a regular snell over this one for trolling.

[1mainiac]

Thanks Arron I did not get the video to work As my Quick time player would not show it guess I need a upgrade. A proper snell is a much better knot for our application and does not require both ends to tie. If you use Franks idea of the tubing a Palomar would also work just fine. I know several fly makers that use a palomar knot on their production flies. A Worlds fair knot is also a fine knot if you want to add fire to the knot wars. I use a lot of knots. The Worlds fair knot is a favorite of mine for tieing mono to lures and swivels and such I prefer the Palomar or Uni for attaching braid to swivels. But for fly rigs I can't beat the Snell for single or multiple hooks in a line. I can snell on a crawler harness to your main line in a hurry when my fingers feel like working. I used to make a stealth crawler harness for walleye fishing When the Flouro super leaders came out a few years ago I would run a 12 to 15 ft leader and just snell on the hooks and gear as I wanted which gave me a no knot setup at the business end.

[Line Dancin]

Here is a easy proper snell:

http://www.animatedknots.com/snell/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com