blood knot vs. double surgeons knot

rscheckler

rscheckler

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Jan 9, 2008
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When tying your tippet to your leader do you use a blood knot or a double surgeons knot?

I personally use a surgeons.

Also, if you want to share your reasoning behind it, please share it with us!
 
blood knot for me too, I like the diameter of the know and find it easy to tie, and very very reliable
 
I like the double surgeon's knot.

I've never tied a blood knot. But I have read that a blood knot is less bulky, and less strong than a triple surgeon's.

Orvis Knots

I personally like the double better than the triple. I believe the link above says that the triple is supposed to be stronger than the double. I guess it all depends on who is tying them, because I have had triples break way easier than doubles. Guess that's why I stick with the double.

jb
 
i used to tie a blood knot but i wasn't great at it and it took me a long time, thus i dreaded adding new tippet. I know I know practice makes perfect.... but i began lookin for a new knot, found the double surgeons and never looked back.

To me its really easy and fast to tie and I've never had a problem with it breaking.
 
Blood Knot for me. I broke off two nice fish with a surgeons knot one day. It's probably a confidence thing.
 
loop to loop most times, dont want to keep cutting back on my leader...other wise triple surgeons being that the double cants to one side and the triple lays straight..
 
I learned about the surgeons knot 2 years ago and now use it exclusively when tying on tippet. I'll use the blood knot on all but the last 2 or 3 sections of the leaders I build. With the Frog Hair leader kit, they give you a tool that makes tying the blood knot very easy.

For those that tie the surgeons, a little tip I learned has saved tons of time and made it possible to tie when the fingers are somewhat frozen. Steal a croche needle from someone in your family. Or buy one at a craft store. They are cheap. Get one that is a pretty small diameter. After you make the initial loop, you can use the needle, which has a hook on the end, to grab the leader and tippet. Then pull it thru the loop and repeat. I know it's a pretty easy knot to tie but with the croche needle, it's even easier. And quicker. I know because I raced my friend that swore he could tie it quicker without the needle. He was wrong.
 
Blood knot is my preference...but when connecting two greatly different sized diameters of mono, especially if one of them is stiff like Climax, I'll go with the double surgeons knot...how cold my hands are also plays into that decision...
 
Being new to the game, I have been using a triple surgeon's knot. It is pretty easy and lays pretty straight. I went to the fly shop to look for a blood knot tool, they didn't have any but the guy there recommended the triple surgeon's knot. Blood knot looks too hard for me to tie on the stream--at least right now.
 
I've never really tied a triple surgeons knot. Perhaps I'll give it a try, but by this point I can tie a blood knot in my sleep.

For greatly different diameter lines, I use an albright special: http://www.netknots.com/html/fishing_knots.html
 
I had been tying the nail knot with a tie-fast knot tool the last few years for the blood knot, but it was taking me too long and I was having trouble getting it to work consistently. I switched to the triple surgeons knot this year and find it much easier and faster to do. I haven't had one break yet this year and I am not looking back.
 
I was taught to use the blood knot so many years ago. It can be a pain but I have grown pretty accustomed to tying it. I don't have any problems tying it for the most part. A friend kept telling me the surgeons knot was better, so I gave it a shot. I personally didn't see much difference and I am more proficient with the blood not anyway.
 
I prefer the blood knots for reasons already stated. Can tie leaders at home on a desk with realitve ease but I too have dreaded rebuilding leaders on stream.

I have gotten better at it. With getting better at knots it will allow you switch tactics (say nymphing leader to dry leader faster and easier) if you want to add extra tippet for your dry fly.

I made a tool that helps tie blood knots at home from stuff I found in the garage.

Simply get a 2x4 or similar piece of wood maybe a foot long.

Hammer in 3 nails a few inches apart. (Don't hammer the middle nail in all the way- as you will use this nail to create the loops for the knot and needs to be able to be removed from from the wood.) You can use chip clips or as the say in office lingo "ECCO" fasteners to hold the line in place as you are running the line through the loops.

Copied this from the Frog Hair Blood Knot Tool design. Just google it as that will probably be easier to understand than my lack luster description.

Paul
 
acristikid has been loafing too long; those are ACCO fastners he uses, commonly called "binder clips."
64022-full.jpg
acco%20binder%20clips.jpg
 
I always use a bloodknot. I got really good at tieing them.

I have two questions though for others that use them.

1) You are supposed to pull all four ends evenly. I use my teeth to hold the tag ends and pull the other two with my hands. What tricks do you guys have for this?

2) How many times do you cross your line over both sides? I usually do 4 or 5 depending on what I'm fishing for.

BJ
 
I saw a knot in one of the FF mags - they said it was easier and faster than the blood and more reliable than the surgeons - both of which I previously used.

lay the lines parallel and form a loop

put your forceps thruogh the loop and twist 3 or 4 times

with the forceps grab then tag ends and pull through the loop

moisten and draw tight

fast & reliable, especially easy when hands are cold as the forceps become your fingers
 
thats a surgeons loop...the article was all about easy overhand knots...or as I like to call them cold weather knots..
 
Double Surgeons. Way easy to tied on the stream and perfect for an "all thumbs" newbie like myself.

acristickid: Hilarious picture!!!
 
bjkaledas,

Just to get my terminology standardized so this makes sense:

I'll call the four "pullable" parts of the knot "LL" for left side line, "LT" for the tag end of the left line, and the same two for the right side.

After everything is twisted together, I take LL in my left hand, and put LT in my teeth, I take RL and wrap it once around the base of my right hand, or pinch it against my hand with the base of my thumb. I take RT and pinch it between my index and middle fingers. I then do my damnedest to pull in four separate directions while spitting on the knot. Once it's almost tight, I release the tag ends and just pull on the two line sections and it locks into place.

Pretty hard to explain, and kinda nasty, but it works. :lol:
 
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