THANK YOU VERY MUCH,I've struggled with the blood knot for years and just gave up on it. I'm 69 with arthritis in my hands and until now after watching your video I actually did it first time. I'm booking marking your video into my files and if need be I can come back to it. THANK YOU so much...😊
🔥Very good! Now I can stop wasting bits of tippet tying new dropper tags. This is a smart way to both add droppers and 90⁰ the dropper tag. Thank you for sharing George👍
This is great logic for my gripe with the surgeons knot dropper formula. I don’t want to have to tie on a new section of tippet once the tag is too short to change flies. I’d like to add that it would be an even more simple setup to use a dropper loop instead of the modified clinch knot.
I am heading to the Crooked for my first attempt at nymphing, and you just gave me an understanding of the point and dropper that I believe I can accomplish. Thanks so much George!
Very informative video George. Keep them coming. I have done this a bit different in the past. Instead of using a clinch knot, I tied a perfection loop and looped it around the main line. I works like what you have shown, but I like your idea better. ill be giving a whirl this season. Tight line my friend..... john surkovic
Great tips! I'll add that if you put in a half clinch below the surgeons knot it will keep the tag end at 90d to your main line. You could also use a uni knot above the stopper and then you don't have to feed the whole nymph rig through a small loop.
Hey I know this is an older video but its so effective. I just got into euro nymphing and this technique is amazing! Caught fish on my first day! With both the point and top nymph. Excellent video thank you!
Tip: Unimproved Clinch/cinch is useful because it can be easily untied (if tippet is getting short). For many other situations like this I use uni-knots because they can be slid-open/larger and taken off of hook bends or the stopper knot like in this video and then stored on foam cylinders/cards.....The uni-knot will stay intact so can be stored and just put over whatever again and then drawn down...rinse/repeat. I pre-tie droppers and trailer like this.....saves a lot of time on the water and a lot of fluoro.
As usual with George, this makes so much sense. Why didn't I think of this way of adding on the dropper tag, rather than letting the main line be the dropper? Also, when the dropper gets short, I've done something similar (Devin Olsen has suggested tying on with a Uni knot), but that's very difficult to do on the stream because it's like you need 4 hands. This way of forming the Clinch knot first and then dropping the fly through makes it much less awkward.
I've always added length to the first piece of tippet. I've never thought of tying the dropper up the point like that. That makes it easy if you want a lighter tippet for your dropper. I just started reading your book and I'm learning a lot. Thanks!!
I find that after the initial surgeons knot for a dropper, tying an overhand knot before tying on the fly helps to keep that tag end at 90 degrees from main line.
Hi George, followin your suggestion, I have used this knot but I lost several flies as the tippet cuts at the junction, loosing two flies each time. After 3 times I decided to make another triple surgeons knot abobe the original knot. I have not lost any flies after that. I was using 3X Tippet and landing trout 15 inch through 22 Inch.
Hi George. Just came to your videos. Your straight-forward, down-to-earth approach is so refreshing. And the info you impart is like gold! One question: you mention at about 1:35 that the length from the dropper to the point is dependent on a variety of variables. Have you done a video discussing these variables? Or could you go a bit into that? Thanks so much - you have a new subscriber and fan!
George, Great video on tying on to the main tippet to add more line for another fly. I was wondering if you have done any fly fishing knot tying videos? The reason I ask is, I think people see how a knot is tied and they tie it that way the rest of their life but, I just saw you tie a surgeon knot by pushing the loops of string through the loop you create. You made tying knots look easy. Can you do a video on the basic fly fishing knots; clinch, Surgern, and blood knots?
I like this as an add-on for a new dropper however, rather than the surgeons knot for the initial dropper (for the reasons you mention), I tie a blood knot for my dropper.
Love the no nonsense technique. Would you advocate using this exact same method for fishing double streamers? I can see how it might be useful for not having to use an additional length on tippet
George great video. I use a very similar rig. Only instead of a clinch knot tag, I use a perfection loop tag for my dropper. Something that I picked up from a Kelly Galloup article years ago. Do you believe there is a strength or possibly some other advantage to using a clinch knot dropper?
Just tie the dropper tippet around the line. Garth hitch, clinch etc Don't need to pass fly through. Tenkara fisherman put a square knot in main tippet as a dropper stopper.
This is great advice, one question - Why not use the top tag as the dropper instead of the downward tag of the surgeon's knot? Wouldnt this be more tangle-resistant than the downward tag? Or is there some kind of knot strength reason for always using the downward tag?
absolutely. I just use the modified clinch because it works and is comfortable for me to do, but the penny could easily replace the clinch. Hope SA is treating you well
Love this video. However, I'm confused by the first "clinch knot" you tied to create the original dropper. It looks like you are tying a double surgeons knot and the only kind of clinch knot I know of is from line to hook and I can't figure out how you'd do one joining lines. I've watched you tie that knot like 20 times now. It's not a double surgeons, but I can't figure out what it is or how to recreate it. Any chance you could explain?
Awesome and simple, I keep going back between adding the dropper off the eye of on fly or using the surgeons knot as you have shown. Is what you have shown your preferred method? Would you choose one over the other depending on certain factors? Thanks again.
Hi George, thanks for the many great videos and books. I need some help. I use the clinch knot and can tie it but not fast, especially any tippet less than 4X. I also cannot get the short tag end after the knot has been tightened like you do. I have watched your videos many times but you are so fast I can’t accurately see your technique. Could you please do a video on your fast tying techniques. Thanks
Clarification, please. When you tie the clinch knot for the dry/dropper you make 6 turns with your finger in the loop. But when you do it for adding a dropper for the tag you did 4 turns with the finger in the loop and then 2 with the tag end. Why the difference? Thanks.
No difference, you get six turns either way. Depending on how it feels, how well you have it pinched in your hand, it might me easier to spin with your finger or pass the tag end around the main line. But really it is all the same as far as the knot is concerned.
I've just started learning about contact nymphing...my question is, why not just use a tippet ring here instead of tying two different knots to accommodate a single dropper...then you are only dealing with clinch knots to a ring, and easy to replace a dropper if broken off or snagged?
Question : if you Are fishing your 2 nymphs on a euro rig, and need to go deeper, can you add some tungsten putty between the flies to avoid changing your point fly?
Thanks for tutorial George. I would be curious as to your preferred connection between floating fly line and leader (e.g. nail knot) for sighter nymph rig. For example do you attach fly line to small butt section of leader and create a perfection loop to connect tapered mono leader?
Thank you, George! Question, what are your suggestions for the instances when you change your point fly more frequently than the dropper resulting in the two flies fishing too close together? Do you start from scratch and add a new section of 4ft tippet from the tippet ring and add your dropper as displayed in the video, or do you perhaps have other tips/tricks/suggestions? Many thanks again for the invaluable information and everything you do for the sport.
Justin I see George hasn't been replying here, but I think it would be fine to add more with a surgeon's knot. Doesn't get the benefit of being straight from the main line, but in my experience I run out of room much more quickly on the dropper (since it's only 4-6").
Sorry George but it is a triple surgeon knot not a clinch knot on the first tie on of the dropper. But if you are going to do a dropper there are easier ways the first time to set up the dropper line.
why a clinch knot over something like a small perfection loop like Kelly Galloup talks about in his tutorials or a uni jam knot like Devin talked about in one of the modern nymph videos?
George, thanks for sharing. What are your thoughts on using the surgeons knot as the same stopper but attaching with a loop knot connection allowing you to change flys quickly without having to retie? Also thanks for taking time to stop at the TCO in Boiling Springs a few weeks ago, I enjoyed your presentation.
You mean sort of like having them prerigged? That is an interesting idea..... you could change weights very quickly that way without losing any of your dropper length.
The dropper fly on my tag always seems to get twisted around the lower line that the point fly is tied to. Is this normal? It seems that the flies always come out of the water next to each other. Any way to fix this?
Try tying a single half hitch with the tag end below the main knot. Super simple and you then have the tag end at right angles, just like the cinch knot above the stopper knot he shows at the end.
I do a simple barrel knot and then do a clinch knot to the mainline. I don't like surgeon or blood knot droppers (I have lost too many fish at that spot. Blood knot is 50% the strength Surgeons too many tangles Was doing a perfection loop and adding it to the mainline (I have a pre-tied dropper in my box of 5" droppers with perfection loops and saves fishing time) still don't trust the perfection knot.
