[SERE Nate]

Does anyone use a bowline knot for attaching flies when you want a loop at the end or for attaching leader material to the fly line?

I had been using a double surgeons knot to attach my leader material to my sink tip on my spey rig and i broke that knot 3 or 4 times when I was snagged. Never broke off the fly, it always broke off the whole leader.

I was a Survival instructor in the Air Force for 9 years and I used a bowline for everything and it never failed me. Yet, I have never seen it mentioned as a fishing knot.

I was watching a video on the perfection loop and it seemed very similar to the bowline.

 

[Jim B]

They do look similar, with the bowline being easier to tie....I wonder what the knot strength of the bowline is when tied with mono:

http://www.animatedknots.com/bowlin...png&Website=www.animatedknots.com#ScrollPoint

http://www.animatedknots.com/perfection/#ScrollPoint

 

[SERE Nate]

The reason that the bowline was a good "survival" knot is that it's easy to tie and untie. Minimal lines crossing over themselves to create weak spots. I have never had one come untied unless I wanted it to.

Very easy to attach a hook to if you start off with a slip knot with a long tag. Put the hook on the tag line, then run the tag back through the loop of the slip loop, forming 2 loops. Then you pull on the running line of the slip loop and it pulls the tag loop back through forming a fixed loop.

 

[Nick Clayton]

The bowline is not a good knot for tying flies IMO because the way I understand it is its designed to have constant tension and can back out when left slack under the right circumstances. At least I've been told. I use it a lot on the boats I work on for this reason... It'll hold nicely but can be untied with very little effort when not under heavy load.

IMO the non slip loop knot is all you need for flies around here. Simple to tie and I've never had one fail. Not once. I don't see much reason to look any further.

 

[Cody Bitterman]

I tie a figure 8 tarpon loop for my flies unless its a skater or traditional

 

[Jaydub]

If you look at a non-slip mono loop knot, it's similar to a bowline with multiple turns around the standing line. I think those extra turns make it a better knot for mono or flouro fishing lines.

 

[FAQ!]

Yup. Non-slip loop is the way to go. I only use perfection loops on 12-lb or stronger leaders off a sink tip; any smaller and they break really easily. When I use the non-slip loop, my leader always breaks at the fly knot. I also use the non-slip loop to tie on flies that I want to have a lot of movement. When you do that, make sure to use a couple fewer wraps on the fly knot, so that knot will generally fail before your tippet loop when you get hung up or handed your ass by a mean fish.

 

[Don Freeman]

It's about the materials. All the old sailors knots, including the bowline are good for rope, and are what we used in tree work. But for fishing line, those are not appropriate. If you can tie a perfection loop and the family of Uni-knots, that's all you'll ever need for fluoro carbon.

 

[freestoneangler]

I tie a figure 8 tarpon loop for my flies unless its a skater or traditional

I had to look that one up... thought you were being funny. 100% strength. That is a pretty big claim.

http://intheriffle.com/fishing-videos/knots/figure-eight-tarpon-loop-knot/

 

[Cody Bitterman]

I had to look that one up... thought you were being funny. 100% strength. That is a pretty big claim.

http://intheriffle.com/fishing-videos/knots/figure-eight-tarpon-loop-knot/

I havent personally tested it, but you would be hard pressed to find a group of anglers more hardcore about knot strength than tarpon guys. Its a cool knot because it is just as easy to tie it 12lb maxima as it is with 100lb seaguar fluoro.

Ive had a few hangups with with that knot at one end and always snap the leader away from the knot. Quick, simple, strong.

 

[freestoneangler]

but you would be hard pressed to find a group of anglers more hardcore about knot strength than tarpon guys.

No argument there.

 

[Birdbrain]

Does anyone use a bowline knot for attaching flies when you want a loop at the end or for attaching leader material to the fly line?

I like loop knots for flies. I use a bowline for attaching all flies except small dries. For me, it's faster and easier to tie than a non-slip loop knot, and I've never had one come undone. When used for fishing, the bowline is called a "Canoe man loop knot". The way it's tied onto a fly is different than the way it's usually tied with rope. Watch this vid:

When I want a loop on either the butt end or the tippet end of a leader, I make a perfection loop. When you buy a tapered leader that comes with a loop on the butt end, that's a perfection loop. (The reason I put a perfection loop onto the tippet end of a leader, is to attach my tippet, which has a matching perfection loop. This way, changing tippet pieces never shortens the leader.)

 

[SERE Nate]

That's exactly how I tie it.