From Float to Fly

There are many schools of though on knots and which ones work the best. There is no one knot that can do everything a fly fisherman needs but over the years I have adopted these 2 easy to tie time tested staples.

 While fishing for Atlantic salmon I have been using Berkley trilene low vis green 6lb mono for my leader material and I use the trilene knot for a solid connection to my fly. After breaking a leader with my fly stuck in a tree on more than one occasion I have retrieved my fly (sometimes with great difficultly) to see the knots are still attached to the eye of the fly.  Also in previous blogs I showed how strong the knot actually is with a home made tensile strength test. The trilene knot has never broken during any of my tests while tied on  Berkley mono .

 To tie the trilene knot is very easy and it is all over youtube and other sites so here is what I feel, is a easy one to follow.
 Did i mention that I use the trilene knot to join my leader to my float line... you might be asking your self how is it that I do this? I am not crazy...and If you would be so kind I would like to explain myself.

Years ago I found an old yellow hard cover book while at a public library. The book was called Tying Knots by Eric Franklin. It is a second edition published in 1966 and I liked the book so much and checked it out so many times eventually the librarian let me keep it for only 2 dollars. While leafing through the 170 pages of knots, bindings, whippings and slings some years later, I thought about salmon fishing when looking at a common palm whipping used to seal the end of a cut rope. I had been using the whipping on my camping ropes for some years and had  watched a episode of the Myth Busters where the same wiping was being called a binding and was being used to give bamboo rockets extra strength. Well then I thought if it is good enough for a rocket and good enough for a old time sailor to trust the ends of his all important ropes to it is good enough for me to try or at least until I lose a few fish.

But the thing is that it has never let go and I have been using it for three years now.  So if you would like, please let me show you how to tie it and why it is that I use this awesome binding.This diagram was taken from the internet it shows how to make binding.
Here in the photo you can see how it looks tied on a large rope. This should give you an idea of what you will end up with when you tie it on your float line

Finally this is the finish binding on a float line, notice how small and tidy it is. When the trilene knot is teamed up with this binding I never need worry about my connections.The double uni knot and blood knots are bulky and it always made me angry to see the ripples come from a knot as it hit the water. Also they like to catch in the rod guides. I use 15 foot leaders so often times the leader has to pass through some of the rod guides for me to land a salmon this starts posing me problems. The double uni like all other knots must be retied when changing leaders and every time you lose that little bit of float line. This binding puts a stop to all of that and only needs to be retied once a season.
My fishin bud Trev seen here in the photo is a good fisherman but he is awesome at catching the surrounding bush. I have looked down the brook and Trev is just ripping on the rod and eventually he will break it free from the bush. My point is I tied that same binding on Trev's float line 2 years ago and he has never broke it...Take it for what you will but I am sold.

As you have seen in the photo's this binding is very small and you can add to the strength with a little krazy glue or fly cement. I spent a good length of time on the web trying to find another fisherman who applies this system with no such luck. I guess that means you seen it first right here. So try it out for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments below...FishinDan