Tying a Nail Knot without needing 3 hands

When starting out in the sport of fly fishing one of the challenges you quickly encounter is learning the knots required. Over the years we learn the improved clinch knot, the surgeon's knot and the nail knot.

TIE-Fast Fishing Line Knot Tyer

The clinch is one learned early on in life as it is required even for fishing with bait or lures. I was fortunate to have Dan Bryne's take the time to teach me the surgeon's knot which saved me a ton of money on tapered leaders. The nail knot however was one I just couldn't master no matter how many YouTube videos watched or books read. It seemed you needed 3 hands to tie a nail knot.

One day while one Amazon's site I came across a tool that alleged to make tying the nail knot a simple process. Skeptical, I ordered one figuring it surely would be returned in the near future.

Upon delivery I opened the package to see this puzzling looking device. Fortunately the maker had included a link to a video showing how to use the tool. Watching it once, twice and then a third time I felt ready to give it a shot. While my first attempt ended in failure (user error) I persevered and on the next try managed to secure my fly line to a piece of monafilment!

Since then the tool has been used on multiple occasions, for me the nail knot comes in handy when attaching my fly line to a stiffer piece of monafilment that I'll put a perfection loop knot on enabling easy connections to my tapered leaders. To date, I've had zero instances where the nail knot failed.

Tie-Fast Knot Tool Video

If you are like me and have had trouble tying a nail knot this tool can be a great aid. It's currently listed on Amazon at $9.55. Bookmark that video! Since I don't tie nail knots on a regular basis the video provides a great refresher.

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