New Video: A Better Way to Tighten Down the Improved Clinch Knot

Long-time readers of the blog probably know that I have been on a several year crusade against the improved clinch knot for connecting carp flies to tippet.  After significant effort and time I finally decided that the no-slip mono loop knot is the best alternate.

That being said, even I still use the improved clinch in a couple of scenarios.  Occasionally I am in such a hurry to get a different fly to a tailer that it is worth the risk of losing a pound or two of breaking strength to gain a second or two.  I am also using it on the top-side of a new super strong leader system I have been working on with a tippet ring, a bimini twist and a hand-shake knot.

Since knot even I  (pun intended) can completely abandon the improved clinch, I decided to put together a video showing improved clinch stalwarts how they might be able to squeeze a smidge more strength by tightening this knot differently.

Especially if you use flourocarbon, adjusting how you tighten down the knot can increase the strength of this knot dramatically.  Give it a shot.

Whip Finish Fly Line Loop Video

If you want or need to add a new loop to the end of your fly line to attach your leader to this is the best way. The resulting loop doesn't really float so this is not your best choice if you are drifting indicators to trout - but for most fly fishing for carp situations it is ideal.  The resulting loop has a low profile, gets through your guides easily and smoothly and is virtually indestructible. 

Non-Slip Mono Loop Knot For Carp

As you may be aware I have been working on breaking the clinch knot habit for several years now.  If you do any research, any research at all, you quickly find out that the clinch knot is really the weakest commonly used fly connection but a wide margin.  Unfortunately I have been tying it since I was 12 and am very comfortable with it.  I can tie it rapidly and repeatedly and certainly get the maximum possible strength out of it but still wanted to change.

I tried the 16-20 knot for a while.  It was very strong when I got it right, but difficult to tie and very difficult to tie repeatedly.  I would either get a very very strong knot or a disaster.  I then tried the Double Davy Knot for a bit.  It was much easier to tie and once again tested very favorably in head to head strength competitions with the clinch, but I had similar issues with repeat-ability.  Neither knot managed to overcome my clinch comfort zone.

In all my research the Non-Slip Mono Loop kept popping up as an intriguing alternative.  Not only is it one of, and possibly even THE strongest fly connection knots, it has several other advantages because it is a loop knot.  I first learned of this knot from Captain Brian Horsely on the Outer Banks in North Carolina on one of the few guided trips I have ever taken and from Lefty Kreh's knot book.  It is yet another example of a knot that grew in popularity with saltwater guys that should be embraced in freshwater whenever you need light line for big fish.  In other words carp!

This time I have managed to get on the wagon and stay there.  The loop knot has been my go-to knot for carp for the past 6 months and I am extremely pleased with it's performance.  I am absolutely positive that this knot has saved me a carp or two or more.  Here is an instructional video in how to tie the Non-Slip Mono loop knot.

 

Funny Story About the Rio Carp Line

Yesterday I got a brand new shiny RIO Carp Line in the mail courtesy of RIO and CarpPro.

I am looking forward to putting it through it's paces.  I plan to tomorrow as a matter of fact.  While rigging it up I was reminded of two things.  First I was reminded that welded loops are sliced bread.  Secondly I remembered a funny story that made me laugh at myself.  I thought perhaps you all would enjoy laughing at me as well.

This is not my first RIO Carp line you see.  Five years ago I got one as part of a Carp-Slam swag bag.  The next spring as I put it into action I was dismayed to find that I couldn't cast it.  At all.  It was (or seemed to be at the time) the most odd casting line I had ever touched.  I couldn't figure out if it was the line or the cheap rod I was trying it out on but eventually gave up on both.

A couple of months later as I was cutting it up for spare parts to make a multi-tip shooting head system for a saltwater trip I finally figured it out.  I had put the damned thing on backwards!  How somebody who has been fly-fishing since he was 12 could even manage to pull it off, let alone fail to figure it out is beyond me.  And with that I will leave you with one final thought:

This end dummy

      

Bimini Twist for Carp

I use the Bimini twist to attach my tippet to my leader for carp or any other big fish on light leaders.  The Bimini twist is a 100% knot and when tied correctly it will always be stronger than your fly connection.  The opposite is true for most other tippet knots.

I read a story about somebody losing a very special carp at their tippet knot recently so I finally got off my butt and made a video to show you the process.  It really isn't that bad and may save you a trophy down the line.

Ode To Stank

Thy name be Stank,

your odor is rank,

my wife will never get you.

You've have suffered my noggin, 

all the years I've been floggin

the verdant brown waters of carp.

A treasured gift from a carper, 

though your look has been sharper,

so too has mine.

While some find you horrific, 

The carp know your terrific, 

And someday I may even wash you.

Thunder, Thunder, ThunderNet Hoeeeee!

Some kids wanted to be a fireman or Superman.  I wanted to be a ThunderCat.  Two weeks ago I went out and bought a new mongo over-sized triangle folding net (35 bucks at Bass Pro Shops) and rigged a back-sling for it.  It feels like I have a huge double-handed broadsword ready and waiting.  Living the dream baby.

Thunder, Thunder, ThunderNet Hoeeeee

How big is ThunderNet?  Freaking huge compared to my old one that is for sure.

So far this setup is a little awkward when I have to bushwhack.  When ducking under branches the net bunched up behind my head likes to get caught.  Branches no bigger around than your little finger have almost dropped me like a damaged prize-fighter several times now.  I will get used to it.

My old net was pretty cramped.  Carp 17lb and over like this one from last month would barely fit.  

This fish that I caught today were all at least 5lb lighter than that one but ThunderNet is like the lap of luxury for any carp unlucky enough to book a room.  

If you were thinking to yourself that this whole entire post was just an excuse to post a picture of my latest Mirror carp I deny everything.  Here is another picture though. 

  

Seriously though, at least when it comes to the fish-handling angle, this net is the bomb.  I can't wait to try it out for something a little bigger.  And another picture.  Just in case.

Matt's Bucket, The "Double" Davy knot and Synergy

A couple of weeks ago I posted a little bit about the 16-20 terminal knot.  I was hoping to generate a discussion and create some synergy with that post to the point where I was a little more argumentative in the comments than I would normally be comfortable with.  Based on those discussions it would seem that most people are in the same boat I have been in.  They have tied the improved clinch since dirt was invented and are reluctant to bust a move, particularly since most options seem to have serious draw-backs beyond strength.

A gentleman named Matt has started a new blog.  So far he is focusing heavily on gear reviews and how-to type content.  Good stuff if you are looking for a more technically bent blog.  He has brought my attention to a couple of recent posts that really have me excited; Tying the "Double" Davy Knot and Knot Testing.  Matt worked hard on these posts and they significantly expand upon my own puny attempt at knot testing.  I am sure he started his testing campaign before my post, but nevertheless, this is the kind of synergy I was hoping for. 

I have actually been using the 16-20 off-and-on in live action.  So far it has held up OK but I did lose one really nice carp where I felt like the knot did not hold up well.  Frankly it seems to be a good knot when tied correctly, but a difficult knot to tie and a very difficult knot to tie consistently.  And the Davy Knot?  Super fast, super easy, uses minimal tippet and would appear in my own preliminary testing to beat the improved clinch AND the 16-20.  I will have to work with it some more, but I think there is a new favorite to take over the business end of my rig.  Thanks Matt!

Carp Kit Update

My getup for fly fishing for carp has evolved a little bit since I first posted about it earlier this summer and here is an update with a little more detail.  This is actually pretty embarrassing when I list it out.  Somehow in the past 5 years or so I have evolved from a guy who openly scorned techno-weenies to a total poser. 

Rods/Reels:

Rig 1:

• 9' 8-weight St. Croix Avid. 
• Billy-Pate Bone-Fish Anti-Reverse Reel.  Once you have gone AR it is hard to go back.
• 8 weight Scientific Anglers Expert Distance line.  Which probably means I can cast 71feet instead of 70.  Pathetic.  My lame excuse is that I like the taper for carp.  Allot.

Rig 2:

• 9' 7weight Sage One rod.  (Carp Slam Loot!)
• Lamson Lightspeed Hard Allox Reel.  (Carp Slam Loot!)
• 7 Weight Rio Gold fly-line.

Accesories:

1. Micro-fibre lens cleaning cloth for cleaning glasses and camera lense
2. Flybox 1 - Standards
3. Flybox 2 - Oddballs
4. Flybox 3 - Prototypes and flies on the list to try 
5. Flourflex plus tippet spools from 0 to 5x
6. Knot-Sense UV glue.
7. Various Flouroflex tapered leaders
8. Hook Sharpener
9. Cuticle scissors
10. Hemo's
11. Various indicators.  Rarely used.
12. Some small BB lead weights.  Rarely used.
13. Electronic scale.  50lb capacity, I am either an optimist or a fool.
14. Promar Collapsible Trophy triangular series net.
15. Olympus Tough Underwater point and shoot camera.
16. William Joseph fanny pack with magnetic latches and no zippers!  I hate zippers.

Outer-Wear:

1. My lucky greasy and smelly Carpe Carpio hat.
2. Costa Del Mar "Wave Killer" sunglasses.  Glass lenses, amber tint, blue mirror finish. 
3. Simms wading socks. (Summer)
4. Columbia wading shoes. (Summer)
5. Columbia fishing shirts.  Definite poser gear but are nice in the heat.  (Summer)
6. NorthFace pants. (Summer)
7. Simms waders.  (Off-season)
8. Korkers wading boots.  (Off-season)

The 16-20 Knot? Never Heard of It.

For some reason fly fishermen put significantly less time and focus into their knots than our saltwater brethren.  Even those that play in both fresh and saltwater will tend to use more sophisticated rigging when fishing the salt.

Obviously freshwater fish are usually smaller and weaker than saltwater fish.  Most of the time it just doesn't make much sense to put to much time and effort into rigging for freshwater.  Those of us that fly fish for carp, salmon, steelhead and a couple of others need to make a better effort.  As a matter of fact I need to make a better effort.

I am pretty happy with my tippet knot.  I use a Bimini twist to a double surgeons and basically never lose fish at that connection.  Where I need work and help is at the fly.  I have been using the good old improved clinch since I was about 9 years old.  It is not the best option, but I am comfortable with it and can tie it quickly and very very consistently. 

It is time for a change and has been for quite some time.  Unfortunately I have had a hard time making a switch.  The main problem stems from my unholy and probably irrational addiction to flourocarbon in the 2x to 4x range for carp.

You can find lots of great data (and I mean data not conjecture) on the Internet for flouro in heavy saltwater gauges.  The answer seems simple and that is the San Diego Jam Knot.  Unfortunately I have worked and worked with that knot but either can't get it tied correctly or it just doesn't work in smaller sizes.

You can also find a ton of information on the internet comparing knot strengths in mono.  This article by Art Sheck is simply amazing.  If you use mono read this (pay special attention to what he says about tippet knots) and stop there.  The problem is that flouro and mono just do not and I repeat absolutely positively do not perform at all the same when it comes to knot strength.  I spent several hours the other night running similar trials with 3x Flouroflex plus.  Either I am not tying most of the fancy knots in his article correctly or they just dont work as well in flouro because the good old clinch smoked them all....except the 16-20!  With the 16-20 it killed the clinch on the first trial and every trial after that where I got the knot to pop when I sinched it.  Sweet. 

Anybody else use this knot?  I am pretty pumped about it.

WINTER FLY-CARPIN RESOLUTION #1:   MASTER THE 16-20

Getting The Sage One and Lamson Lightspeed Stankified!

One of the cool things about Clint and I winning the Carp Slam V  is that the amatuer champion gets showered with cool prizes.  Among those prizes was a Sage One 4 peice 7 weight rod which was delivered to Trout's Fly shop this week.  When combined with the Lamson Lightspeed reel and Scientific Angler SharkSkin line I also won it is undoubtedly the most state-of-the-art combo I have fished in years.  The rods and reels I currently favor date to before father-hood and even before the turn of the century!  I couldn't wait to break this rig in on some carp and stankify it!  Mission accomplished!  Big thanks to Sage, Lamson and Scientific Anglers for supporting the slam and in the process bringing my rig into the 21st century.

My New Sage One Rod and Lampson Lightspeed Reel Get Stankified!

I didn't just break in a new fly rod and reel, I also learned a couple of lessons.  These would not necessarily all be new lessons but are important ones.

Trout's doesn't open until 11:00AM so I had a little bit of time to hit the river prior to picking up the rod.  I arrived at the river at 9:00AM anxious and in a hurry.  In my rush I immediately walked right in and right through a small pod carp feeding in 8" of water.  I did manage to hook and land a decent carp an hour later so all was not lost but those would have been the easiest shots of the day by a large margin. 

LESSON 1:  Fly fishing for carp and being in a hurry just don't mix!

Upon arriving at Trouts I received my new rod and also had them switch the Lamson reel to right hand retrieve.  They seem to be good guys there and I could have probably gotten them to put on the Scientic Anglers Shark-Skin line and adjust the amount of backing but once again I was in a hurry.  I made a bee-line to the river and threw on the super-cheap (15 dollar cheap!) shortened 7 weight line I had on my cheapo backup rod.  I guess they didn't spend much time developing the 800 plus dollar Sage One to cast 15 dollar lines and the line and rod really did not work well together. 

LESSON 2:  Your new super spiffy and super expensive (well, free for me) rod deserves at least a decent line to go with it.  Skip this step and you risk disappointment.  Footnote:  I rigged and tried out the Scientific Anglers Sharkskin today.  That's more like it!

Upon arriving my favorite section of river gifted me with the most amazing sight of five large (all high teen!) carp tailing in plain view.  Based on the lack of cover and some very complicated currents they were actually very difficult shots but based on their body language I fully expected to hook up.  Until I started casting.  These fish were amazingly tolerant and I had shot after shot after shot.  I was a frazzled mess and blew shot after shot after shot.  Bottom line, I needed at least a little bit of practice with the new rod before facing such a high pressure situation.

LESSON 3:  Upon receipt of your super spiffy and super expensive rod the very first cast you make with it should NOT be to a 15+lb carp!

After flailing that pod of fish into hiding things got tough.  The day was getting late, the sun was getting high and the carp were getting sulky.  I kept at it though and eventually got just one more shot.  No worrying about the cast.  No stressing about the presentation.  My mind finally shut the heck up and let my body do what it has done hundreds of times this year.  I threw a perfect lob-drag-drop and had the fishes attention.  One small strip and it charged.  I threw the 4" strip set too early but it was OK because the fish really wanted that Trouser Worm and charged again.  A slight pause on the second strip-set and minutes later the rod and reel were broken in on a nice strong carp. 

LESSON 4:  All it takes is one truly incredibly awesome visual take and all else is forgiven.

Denver Trout Unlimited Carp Panel

As a lead in to the Carp Slam DTU had a panel of experts give a session on fly fishing for carp at their monthly meeting this Tuesday.  Many fly-carpin experts have come by their knowledge slowly and painfully.  It is not always easy to share and honestly it isn’t always fair to even expect them to.  Given this natural reluctance the panelists did a great job and it was fun and I feel extremely lucky to live in an area with such a vibrant carpin community.  The panel was: 

• Michael Gracie (Blogger at michaelgracie.com, part time at Trouts fly shop)
• David Luna (2010 Carp Slam champ x 2, part time at Discount Fishing Tackle)
• Barry Reynolds (Author of “Carp On The Fly”, ROSS rep, )
• Tim Emery (From fishexplorer.com, radio and podcast personality)
• Will Rice (Contributing editor at Drake Magazine.)

I was too busy listening to take notes and too shy to whip out my camera and record so I can’t quote directly.  I can paraphrase some of the key themes from memory though.  Some of my own thoughts on these subjects are also included in red:

How I Roll (My Fly-Carpin Kit)

A recent comment / question made me realize that I have never made any mention of gear or setup in this blog.  I considered keeping it that way because I am not much of a gear-head, but for fun this is my typical kit:

Rod:  9' 8-weight St. Croix Avid.
Reel:  Billy-Pate Bone Fish Anti-Reverse Reel.
Line:  A cheap (about 50 bucks or so) weight forward 8weight of some brand or another.
Leader:  9' 2X (8lb) RIO FlouroFlex tapered leader.
Tippet: Once the tapered leader gets cut back about a foot I add 1 to 2 feet of RIO FlouroFlex Plus 3X (8.5lb) attached with a Bimini Twist.
Net:  Pronar Collapsible Trophy series net.
Pack:  A really cool fanny-style pack I found on a super-sale with magnetic latches (no zippers).
Flies / Fly boxes:  A truly embarrassing variety.  I think I have issues.
Misc (Valuable):  Needle nose pliers, cuticle scissors, fabric tape measure, fishing license.
Misc (Wasted Space):  Hook sharpener, thermometer, various indicators.

If you look carefully the only top-of-the-line items are the reel and the leader / tippet.  The reel is probably over-kill (left over from a past Salmon / Steelhead addiction) but does seem to help land fish.  I feel the expensive leader / tippet makes a little difference for very difficult fish but that may be paranoia.

The Bimini Twist connecting the tippet to the leader is absolutely critical if you are using light tippet for big Carp.  For big Carp you really have 4 options.  Learn this or one of the other 100% knots, use significantly heavier line, use a straight tapered leader or get comfortable with the fact that you are going to break some fish off at the leader / tippet connection.