[HELLFIGHTER5308]

Lately I have been asking numerous questions and many of you have graciously responded with an answer or advice. For this I am grateful. I have yet another question and I am confident you will provide advice.

I have tied line and leader together using a nail knot. It is neat and looks nice. Several of you have suggested loop to loop connections for the ease of changing leader. Has anyone had a favorable experiece using the "heat shrink wrap" type loop connector for the end of the flyline, or should I stick to the tied loop? I like the idea of the heat shrink wrap type because it looks neat and streamlined. I am somewhat of a neat freak but I am more interested in functionality. What do you all suggest?

I thank you all in advance, Kenny, Jacksonville.

[tie one on]

My first question is : What type of fish are you after ?

If this "heat" connection will hold & casts good then use that
type of connection. If it will not hold for the fish you are after
then use a different type of connection. If you go to Goggle &
type in flyfishing knots you will get loads of sites to help with
tying knots that will work. I myself use the "loop to loop" one.
My flyline has a short butt section of (20-30 lb Maxima) with
a double surgeons loop at the end. I connect to that with
another short section of the same Maxima with a loop. (loop
to loop) After that comes a section of monofilament tied to
the heavier line with a double surgeons knot & is tapered
down from there depending on what species I am targeting.

This Forum along with other sites can be of immense help
with knot tying advice. Best of luck.

Tie One On

[HELLFIGHTER5308]

"My first question is : What type of fish are you after ?"

I have an 8 wt. rod and will be targeting saltwater fish. (Reds, trout, jacks, blues.etc.....)

[Frank Whiton]

Hi HELLFIGHTER5308,

I would not recommend the braided loops for saltwater fishing. If you want to try one I would use some super glue on the braid under the shrink wrap. Make sure the glue penetrates to the line and let it dry before you put the heat shrink on over the glued spot. The glue area only needs to be 1/4" to 3/8" wide. One problem with super glue is the line gets stiff where you apply it. A better choice may be Pliobond as it will remain flexible. You will need a larger glue area using Pliobond.

Frank

PLIOBOND 20 1/2 PINT Solvent BasedPliobond® 20 General Purpose AdhesivePLIOBOND 20 is a general purpose thermosetting adhesive, it provides tough, chip resistant bonds that remain flexible over a wide temperature range; excellent resistance to mechanical shock, oxidation, fungi, mold and bacteria.

[sandfly]

for any thing under 6wt. I use whitlocks leader set up..I insert a piece of leader material into the end of the line with a needle. then super glue where you pull it through slighty..makes a permanent bond..then coat it with softex..(super glue will break down in water, its how the hospital loosens your lips when you accidently glue them together) softex seals everything..I add a small perfection loop to this..Then add my leader..no nail knots = smooth line running through guides..
For salt I just tie a nail knot to the end of the line and add a perfection loop in the mono, then add whatever leader I'm using..Cover in softex to seal and water proof it.. One thing the factorys don't do is seal the ends of the fly lines..Ever wonder why your floating line tip sinks, it draws water into the braided core..seal it off always..If they did it your line would last longer and they would lose money...

[wfosborn]

Hi Kenny,

On my 8 weight, I started out using Cortland's braided loops, but I found they kept coming unbraided on me fairly quickly. I did not try the superglue trick Frank suggested, sounds like it might help.

After giving up on the braided loops, I started using the nail knot and was quite happy with that until I got an interchangeable tip line and needed to move my leaders across different tips.

Now I'm just using simple perfection loops on everything and have had great luck with those. They never pull apart, are very small, and you can tie them in literally a couple of seconds.

Hope that helps a little,

--W

[Fly2Fish]

Originally Posted by wfosborn

Hi Kenny,

On my 8 weight, I started out using Cortland's braided loops, but I found they kept coming unbraided on me fairly quickly. --W

This has also been my experience - not exactly what you want to see when you are on the water. Also, as discussed in another thread on this Forum, heat-shrunk connections have their own problems, like, melting the fly line - and if you don't - how do you know when enough heat is enough?

I probably sound like a salesman for 3M/Scientific Anglers, but it's hard to beat their L2L Reconnector system. For one thing, leader changes are a snap. Secondly, with this connector, there's no hinging effect - a problem which I've had with loop-to-loop connections. And lastly, they're infinitely recyclable by merely using the butt end with its L2L Reconnector as the base butt end for a new hand-tied leader.