nymph's

[NewSal]

Swattie87 wrote:

NewSal wrote:

edit: just to be clear, real men use blood knots int:

Lesser men (like me) are ok with catching more fish while you're tying your blood knot. :hammer:

Practice makes perfect man! Doesnt take long at all once yah get the hang of it

 

[krayfish2]

+1. Old school blood not still my way to go

 

[ryansheehan]

I have an electronic stringing machine accurate to a 10th of a pound. I'm not sure how familiar you are with racket stringers but they clamp down on string and will tighten to a tension. All I did was tie a knot I wanted to test, secure one end to a clamp and put the other end into the tensioner. The display tells you the tension and I would increase by a 10th of a pound until it broke. Pretty simple, I was just messing around one day to see my knot strength, I was less than impressed with all the ones I tried. They were no where near %100.

 

[jifigz]

ryansheehan wrote:
I have an electronic stringing machine accurate to a 10th of a pound. I'm not sure how familiar you are with racket stringers but they clamp down on string and will tighten to a tension. All I did was tie a knot I wanted to test, secure one end to a clamp and put the other end into the tensioner. The display tells you the tension and I would increase by a 10th of a pound until it broke. Pretty simple, I was just messing around one day to see my knot strength, I was less than impressed with all the ones I tried. They were no where near %100.

That's awesome Ryan. Thanks for letting me know how you did that...sounds like a good accurate way to get a gauge of strength. Have you ever tested the Blood Knot since others have chimed in on that one?

And I agree....I'll tie my double surgeon's and hopefully have another fish on by the time you guys are still tying the blood knot.

In all reality tippet rings make sense to me. I've been out of them for quite a while, but......when I last had them two years ago or so I loved them.

 

[ryansheehan]

jifigz wrote:

ryansheehan wrote:
I have an electronic stringing machine accurate to a 10th of a pound. I'm not sure how familiar you are with racket stringers but they clamp down on string and will tighten to a tension. All I did was tie a knot I wanted to test, secure one end to a clamp and put the other end into the tensioner. The display tells you the tension and I would increase by a 10th of a pound until it broke. Pretty simple, I was just messing around one day to see my knot strength, I was less than impressed with all the ones I tried. They were no where near %100.

That's awesome Ryan. Thanks for letting me know how you did that...sounds like a good accurate way to get a gauge of strength. Have you ever tested the Blood Knot since others have chimed in on that one?

And I agree....I'll tie my double surgeon's and hopefully have another fish on by the time you guys are still tying the blood knot.

In all reality tippet rings make sense to me. I've been out of them for quite a while, but......when I last had them two years ago or so I loved them.

The blood knot was a little weaker than the triple surgeons, not a noticeable difference. I've stuck with the surgeons because it's easier than the blood imo.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Since this turned into a knot thread, I don't feel like I'm hijacking:

I use double surgeon's for tippet to tippet connections, and, lately, I've been noticing that if I break off it's ALWAYS at the lightest tippet (usually 6x) immediately below the surgeon's knot. The knot doesn't fail, but the break is always right after it.

Is this normal? I have no understanding of physics, so I was getting worried I might have bought some old tippet that sat on the shelf too long.

 

[ryansheehan]

How far below the knot? The weakest point is at the knot.

 

[hooker-of-men]

ryansheehan wrote:
How far below the knot? The weakest point is at the knot.

Close. There's a tag of maybe a millimeter or two, but not much.

 

[afishinado]

hooker-of-men wrote:

ryansheehan wrote:
How far below the knot? The weakest point is at the knot.

Close. There's a tag of maybe a millimeter or two, but not much.

The lightest line (your tippet) will break first under max load. As Ryan stated above, it will most likely break at the knot. Even with a lubricated knot, the lines being drawn together when tightening the knot cause friction and slight deformation at that point. That's where it is most likely to break....and does! Sounds like you're doing it all right. Lube it up, pull it tight, check it one more time, and fish!

One other note. Keep checking all your knots on the leader, tippet and fly when you're fishing. Knots have a way of becoming fatigued and weakened when stressed by pulling on snags (and hopefully pulling on fish) as well as the line becoming abraded on rocks and other obstructions. I pull real hard to test and cut off and tie new knots very often when fishing. You never know when that big one will hit.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Great. Thank you both for the responses.

My 6x is currently a different brand from the rest of my tippet, and a brand I don't usually use, so I think I was developing a prejudice against it. Good to know that all is well.

 

[jifigz]

To get back on topic with the OP's thread, I find Walt's Worms to be effective nearly all the time. Just vary the size and color and they are one of the only nymphs you need. I regularly carry them in 6 colors or so. By the way, a Walt's Worm is just dubbing on a hook with or without a bead.

Other nymphs that work well this time of year are pheasant tails, zebra midges, brassies, and scud imitations (I generally use Walt's Worms for these.) From Autumn to Spring though I fish a lot of buggers.

 

[afishinado]

jifigz wrote:
To get back on topic with the OP's thread, I find Walt's Worms to be effective nearly all the time. Just vary the size and color and they are one of the only nymphs you need. I regularly carry them in 6 colors or so. By the way, a Walt's Worm is just dubbing on a hook with or without a bead.

Other nymphs that work well this time of year are pheasant tails, zebra midges, brassies, and scud imitations (I generally use Walt's Worms for these.) From Autumn to Spring though I fish a lot of buggers.

Agreed ^ about a Walt's worm. It's hard to accept, though if you are a fly tyer; just dubbing on a hook works just as well as (or even better) than an expertly tied nymph with a wing case, legs, tail and segmented body.

 

[hunter1]

Here's what an old fly fisher showed me and i use it if the fly line dosen't have a loop. I tie a 10" piece of 20# mono to the line with a blood knot. then put a loop on the end of it once I get it to the size i want about 2" between line and loop. Then I use loop to loop connections for leader, tippet.