Helpful Hints
Lefty's Non-Slip Loop
By Kent Hull
Helpful Hints
Lefty's Non-Slip Loop
By Kent Hull
This knot was described in the June 2005 Rod Tips. It was based on diagrams in American Angler Vol. 20 #1 p.20, which contains an error. The error results in a weaker knot and one which is more difficult to set. Lee Haskin, our September speaker, says it's the only one he uses because of its superior strength and because a fly has better movement on a loop than on a tight hook knot. With a little practice, this knot is no more difficult to tie than any other commonly used fly fishing knot.
Follow the diagrams, figures 1 or 2 and 3. You can start the knot either by tying a loose overhand knot, passing the tag end through the eye of the hook and back through the overhand knot the same way it came out (figure 1), or by passing the hook through a loop in the reel end of the line, forming a slip knot (figure 2).
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Key features of the correctly formed knot:
* the overhand knot is on the reel (standing) side of the loop;
* take seven turns around the reel side of the tippet; eight turns for GSP and six or fewer with tippet larger than 2X.
* the loop holding the hook, and the tag end are parallel - they come out of the overhand knot on the same side of the top loop of the overhand knot marked a.
Close the overhand knot, snug but not tight. This sets the size of the finished loop. Take all the slack out of the seven turns by pulling on the tag end, also snug but not tight. Lubricate the knot with water, spit, floatant, sinkant or knot lube. Tighten the hook and tag end together very firmly against the reel end. Finally, set the knot by tightening the hook against the reel end. Clip the excess tag end.
When you practice tying the knot, concentrate on how you will keep the overhand knot in place while you take the seven turns of the tag end around the reel end, and making sure the tag end passes through the overhand knot exactly parallel to the loop holding the hook.