I just set up a reel from scratch for the first time and had a question.

I bought a fly line with premounted loops either end. The premounted loops were held on to the line with a small plastic tubing but I pulled on the loop to see how strong a connection they were and the loop pulled off! Why was this so weak? I couldnt put the loop back on because although it is easy to slide the plastic tube onto the fly line it is impossible to get the loop material back in the tube. How do these work?

Anyhow, I tied an Albright knot on to the backing and tied a perfection loop on the other end for using looped leaders. So all is well.
Craig

In answer to your question, "How do braided leaders work?", the answer is evidently, "Not very well". While a perfection loop tied in the business end of the fly line will be very secure, it will also be very bulky and create quite a bit of disturbance on the water. You may wish to consider an alternative, and neater, type of line loop. You might, for example, strip a few inches of the plastic line coating before whipping the stripped line core into a loop. You might also weld a loop on the end of the line using a length of heat shrink tubing and the careful application of heat. When the line inside the heat shrink tubing has been fused together, the heat shrink is then carefully removed to leave a smooth welded loop. For an even finer loop, I like to needle knot a doubled length of monofilament line on to the end of the fly line, as shown below:




This results in the finest possible loop-to-loop connection ...

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Very nice loop. How do you go about tying it?

personally I always cut the loops off - and use a needle knot to join fly lines both to back and to leader

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I always wanted to be somebody,but now I realize I should have been more specific.

You live & learn. At any rate you live.

If you put a piece of mono through the loop of the braid then double it up ,then insert both ends of mono through clear sleeve it will then slide back onto the braid.
with the flyline reinserted and sleeve covering the junction,You can then put a tiny drop of superglue at the end of the sleeve,
I don't use the sleeve preferring to put a small whip finish at the juncion of braid /flyline.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

To save some of you having a hard time with John Grays exellent Knot.It can only be used on flylines with a braid core.as many modern lines have mono/solid cores.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Jeltz,

You will find illustrated instructions on the following page:

http://www.trout-salmon-fishing.com/grays-loop.htm

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Thanks John.

Hi' All, I'm not trying to be 'clever' here, that's not my style; but having fished a loing time, with all sorts of lines from silk upwards, I have tried all manner of connections except John Gray's knot, and I note the 'step' between the fly line and the knot. My experience suggests that the line plastic coating is likely to crack at this point. I have tried to taper joints by using Vycoat liquid vinyl in
the past, in order to reduce the 'step' effect, but eventually the coating has cracked. Have tried tapering using very fine tying threads, the line still cracks.
Serious question, John. How long does your set-up last before a crack occurs?
If it lasts a long time, you have a definite winner, and I would change the connections on my fly lines to match. Cheers, TerryC

Terry,

I wouldn't say that there is a "step" between the knot and the fly line. The knot is simply a needle knot but made with a doubled length of monofilament. The knot grips the fly line very tightly. In my experience, the fly line is no more likely to crack on the upper edge of the knot than it would using a normal needle knot. Naturally, any fly line will be most liable to cracking at a point where it has been subject to any kind of stress, for example by the tying of a knot, the addition of a braided leader or a whipping. I have just checked a number of my fly lines and could see no signs of cracking. If used for long enough, however, I would expect the line coating to crack above the knot, but it is likely to last longer before doing so than a whipped loop or braided loop connected using a sleeve. I would generally replace the loop once or twice in a season, depending on use (a quick and simple procedure which involves the loss of no more than a centimeter or so of line), so would not expect to have a problem with line cracking.

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