By using a small section of an inkwell of a standard office pen, the line, that is usually passed parrallel to the nail, can be easily passed through the plastic tube, resulting in the same knot.

Furthermore, when this knot is completed, I like to secure it using a dot of nail polish, both securing and waterproof, it locks the knot from fraying, and thereby loosening.

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Due to my busy schedule, I had my brother run out to the store and buy me a leader. The only problem was that my brother is completely unlearned in all areas of fly fishing. Because of this, he bought me two ‘quick connect’ leaders.

Over the past few years I have seen many developments in these units, and have been very skeptical for a number of reasons. Firstly, I was worried about having such a large piece of plastic in the middle of the line, due to the effects that it could have on casting and stripping. I was worried that it would both distract fish from the fly, and furthermore, cause larger pull marks when retrieving the line. Despite my hesitation, I was actually very impressed with such units as a beginner’s tool.

This small connecter allowed me to quickly, and effectively, attach the leader without dealing with confusing nail knots, and although I was worried, I piece did not affect my casting at all. The unit weighed so little that the fluctuation caused by the interference did not show in the cast. Furthermore, when retrieving the line after a cast, the tapered plastic connecter moved smoothly through the water, resulting in no abnormal water marks.

All in all, I think that such units are a great investment for beginners who are not so confident in their ability to tie reliable knots. They make for a quick way to change out leaders, and, despite what one might believe, I have not found a significant, negative result of using such a tool.

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These pesky entanglements can result from numerous occurrences, from dropping a line over itself, to having a gust of wind redirect the line into itself, causing it to become so tightly woven together that not even an eagle scout could untie it. What tends to make these knots so particularly irritating is that fact that tippet material, the transparent line on the end of the leader, is extraordinarily thin. Furthermore, this line has a layer of PVC coating that make the tipper very smooth, allowing the knots that it forms to become very tight, very quickly. When dealing with the problem of wind knots, there are two key things to keep in mind: never pull the line, and never ignore the problem.

I have witnessed numerous fishermen, who, when they receive a knot in there line, and the line has already hit the water, they try to ignore the knot, hoping that it will somehow untangle itself before the next cast. Although this is a common practice, it is completely useless, and will, almost always, result in an even larger mess that if the fisherman stopped what he was doing, and carefully untangled the line.

Secondly, many fishermen, when they finally do retrieve their line, with the intent of unknotting it, they typically go about it wrong. Most people, when they are given the task to remove a knot from their tippet, will immediately pull both ends of the line. Although there may be rare cases in which this may be productive, the majority of the time, it will only tighten the knots, and make them even harder to remove.  

Furthermore, many fishermen will fight with a knot, and then when it they think they have completely removed it, they will find that all that is left is a small overhand knot somewhere along the tippet. If you talk to them, a majority of fishermen will say that they would prefer to simply leave that small knot there, and not have to worry about it, than take the extra few minutes to fully restore their line back to its original condition. What is dangerous about this is that contrary to common belief, those small knots do make a huge difference when fishing. Not only do they cause minor disturbances to the line when casting, which may result in more knots, but they actually make the line visible in the water due to the fact that they disrupt the flow of water down the line, as well as making that small part of the line translucent. Overall, leaving those small knots in your tippet can drastically affect how productive your day of fishing will be.  

So, when faced with the difficult task of knot removal, there are a few simple steps to take that will save you a lot of headache, stress, and money. First, don’t avoid a knot. Always take the time to properly remove knots from your line, and never expect the knots to magically untangle themselves. Secondly, when untangling a knot, do not pull on the lines; instead, allowing the line to form large loops. This will make the problem more apparent, and will allow you to better deal with it. Thirdly, do not leave small knots on your line. As I stated above, no matter how small the knot may be, it can very drastically affect your fishing.

So remember, when you are dealing with a knot, save yourself all the stress and swearing, and work through the problem logically.

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