Page 15 - Joseph B. Healy "The Pocket Guide to Fishing Knots"

fishing day. No less an authority than Joe Brooks of Outdoor Life wrote in

his book Salt Water Fly Fishing, first published in 1950: “The leader
requires a minimum of care but that minimum is extremely important.” He
recommended feeling along the leader after landing a fish, to check for
nicks and cuts; if needed, cut away the weakened part of the leader and
retie. Periodically retie your hook, as casting can weaken the terminal
connection, Brooks advised. “All these things take only a minute to do
and may save you many a nice fish,” he wrote. Remember—this was first

published in 1950!
A friend of Brooks, Ben O. Williams of Livingston, Montana, reminisced
with me about visiting with him in the 1960s and ’70s. Ben worked at Dan
Bailey’s Fly Shop in Livingston during his summers off from teaching
school, and he met many outdoor legends, such as Brooks, Lee Wulff,

and Charlie Waterman. (And Ben’s no angling slouch himself.) He recalls,
“I started tying knots when I was a kid in the Boy Scouts. I’ve always
been fascinated with knots. Then, I joined the Navy and I learned every
knot you could possibly tie because it was required.” He says even when
he was teaching drafting or science classes at school, he would address
the importance of knots. He credits Brooks with teaching so many. Ben
suggests using a section of clothesline or other thick rope when

practicing knots so you can visually see them coming together: “You want
to see what the knot really does.”
Another inveterate angler and friend who I met through editorial work is
Jerry Hamza, author of Outdoor Chronicles (available from Skyhorse
Publishing), and a brother from another mother who grew up in Central-
Western New York, the same region I did. He says he uses two knots in

fly fishing—a Nail Knot to assemble a leader, and the Improved Clinch
Knot for the terminal connection. He jokingly (I think) adds that it helps to
tighten down the Super Improved Clinch Knot (his name for the Improved
Clinch) if you’ve had a Scotch and that mixes with your saliva, but he
says it has to be good Scotch, otherwise it’s a Barely Improved Clinch
Knot. He feels the Improved Clinch Knot is dependable and has been
around so long simply because it works. Jerry’s fished around the world

for countless species (which you can read about in Outdoor Chronicles).
All the knots included in this book are tried-and-true. You may find a
couple that best fit your fishing. Practice and master them, since you’ll
want to be able to tie them in the dark, when it’s cold, in rough seas in a