Fly Fishing Knots

All of us need to know a few good fly fishing knots to fall back on. Tying fly fishing knots isn’t the glamorous or exciting part of fly fishing, but it is the thing you’ll be spending a good majority of your time doing, so let’s learn to do it as efficiently as possible!

Written By: Jamie Melvin
Last Updated: July 8, 2021

You’ll have to connect up your backing, line, leader, tippet, and fly on every fishing trip, so memorizing a handful of fly fishing knots is essential.

It’s not as hard as it seems, don’t worry. Just follow the instruction on tying fly fishing knots below, and you’ll be all set to head out on the water.

To get you started on knot tying click any of the fly fishing knots below to learn exactly how they’re tied.

Davy Knot

Improved Clinch Knot

Turle Knot

Arbor Knot

Surgeon’s Knot

Snell Knot

Non-Slip Knot

Perfection Loop

Surgeons Loop

Slim Beauty Knot

Nail Knot

Palomar Knot

Needle Knot

Uni Knot

Albright Knot

Tenkara Knot

Blood knot

Orvis Knot

Loop to Loop Knot

Fly Fishing Knots FAQ

How to tie fishing line?

Every fisherman has to be able to tie a fishing line and rope. Many people think that it’s too complicated, but it’s not actually too hard.

First, you need to know which knot to tie. Are you tying your backing onto the reel, your line onto the backing, or your fly onto the tippet? Then, you can decide which of the fly fishing knots to tie.

Above, you’ll find step-by-step instruction for many common fly fishing knots used out on the water. Follow the steps, and you’ll soon master the different fly fishing knots used to tie fishing line.

How to tie a fishing knot?

There are many fly fishing knots around, but most fishermen only use about 5 different knots regularly. Check out the tutorials above for the most common fly fishing knots. Practice a few times, and you’ll soon be tying those knots like a pro.

Tying It All Up

So there you have our complete guide to tying knots for fly fishing. With these fly fishing knots under your belt, you should be prepared for every fishing situation. Go ahead and bookmark this site so you can refer back to it whenever you need to. Why not give it a share on Facebook too, if you found it helpful!

Feel free to drop us a comment below on our site to let us know which fly fishing knots you use most often! We’d love to know! Check out many more fishing articles on the Fly Fisher Pro site.

Jamie Melvin

Growing up fly fishing on trout streams in Kenya and the UK, Jamie has traveled the world in search of fly fishing nirvana. From his time managing bonefish lodges in the Bahamas and running fishing safaris in East Africa, all the way to guiding on the flats of Seychelles, there aren't many species or environments he hasn't experienced firsthand.

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