Page 92 - Joseph B. Healy "The Pocket Guide to Fishing Knots"

Fishing the Improved Turle Knot

by Tom Keer

Ever watch a dry fly with a down-turned ring eye ride nose-down in the
surface film? Or have you seen a salmon fly with an up-turned ring eye
ride whopper-jawed? I have, and I was the one who tied them on the line.
Let me tell you this from experience: no self-respecting trout or salmon

will hit a fly looking like that. At least they’ve never hit mine. Our modern-
day problem was solved a long time ago thanks to a nineteenth century
Brit, Major William Greer Turle. While this gentleman did not invent the
knot named after him, he did popularize it. Why? To solve the same
problem you and I face with nose-down riding flies.

The Improved Turle Knot is a loop tied and seated behind the ring eye.
A loop, which is essentially a lasso, is tied at the end so that when the
knot is seated it retracts to secure against the head of the fly. Because
the knot is attached to the head, dry flies ride perfectly on the surface.
Instead of having a pressure point where the knot meets the hook ring,
the lasso approach spreads out pressure points, thereby offering 95
percent breaking strength. Since the monofilament passes through the

ring there is a degree of movement in the fly, too. It’s not a lot, but it’s
more than a fixed knot will allow. To me, the biggest point is that the
leader and the hook shank are directly in line. And that is why your dry fly
floats exactly where it was designed to ride: high on the surface or
directly in the surface film.