Before becoming a fly angler, spin fishers only needed to know how to tie a Palomar knot. It worked great whether tying on a hook, swivel or crankbait. Fly fishing … a different story. Just looking beyond the end of the fly line, the fly angler has to figure out how to attach the leader to the fly line, add tippet to the leader and finally tie on a fly sporting a hook eye far too small for the comfortably familiar Palomar knot – all complicated by stubby fingers and aging eyes. Don’t panic! Forceps provide the needed edge for speed!Every fly change subtracts from the length of the leader, quickly turning a nine-foot leader into a stiff stub. To extend its life, splice on tippet to replace the length used up over multiple fly changes. The best and easiest knot to use is the Surgeons Knot. Using fingers, this can be awkwardly time-consuming. Grab forceps and create the connection in a few seconds!
Form a “U” with the leader and new tippet. Insert forceps. In this case, the existing leader is yellow, and the new tippet is orange.
Twist the forceps three times while holding the top of the “U
Grab the short end of the existing leader and the new tippet
Pull through the loop
Push the forceps into the loop created by the tippet and pull to the right using the forceps to finish threading the tippet through the loop
Once the spliced tippet is clear of the knot, wet it, grab all four ends and pull tight
