By Skip Clement with Vimeo by Tim Flagler
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ore than occasionally, teaching an old dog a new trick is a waste of time. However, when that new trick dramatically improves a critical knot in a fly fisher’s fly line/leader rigging don’t hesitate.
There is nothing wrong with a surgeons knot to make a loop – double or triple overhand – both work fine, but they are bulky and can slip if all lines are not tugged equally taut.
Enter, the perfection loop
The Perfection Loop is not only stronger than surgeons’ knots; it is much slimmer. And with a little repetitive tying easy to tie.
Tim Flagler, Tightline Productions, shows in his inimitable way, how to tie it to “perfection.”
A Tim Flagler follower, Kamil Ponikowski, had this to say about the video and subject knot:
“Perfection loop is hands down the most reliable knot I know. I fish with a leader that has perfection loop, blood knot and an improved clinch in it.
Of course, I have often had a situation where I get a snag in some deep pool and intentionally break the line. Sometimes the clinch knot breaks, sometimes the blood knot, but NEVER have I ever had the perfection loop break. . . .
. . . You said that you should leave a tag while tying the perfection loop and in your blood knot video you said that you don’t have to leave a tag tying it. My experience is opposite. The perfection loop is much, much less likely to come undone than the blood knot, so I would say trim the tag flush in perfection loop but leave some in blood knot.”
[vimeo id=”139365724″ width=”620″ height=”360″]
