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Page 2 of 2  The Blood Knot
The blood knot, or barrel knot, is another knot that is used to connect a piece of tippet to the leader or for connecting two pieces of tippet. Like the surgeon's knot, you can have two pieces of tippet that are different diameters, but it is not advised to have large difference in diameters. So 4x to 5x is ok, but 4x to 6x is not recommended. This knot is harder to tie and not quite as strong as the surgeon's knot, but it is a little more secure and is smoother. Bulky knots definitely affect casting. Lay two lines on top of one another. Remember to wind each line 5 times around the other. The tag ends will go through the same space, but they should go through from opposite ends. The easiest way to tighten this knot is to lubricate with water or saliva, hold the tag ends in your teeth and pull the standing ends. Once the knot is secure, again pull all ends and trim the tags.
 The Surgeon's Knot
The surgeon's knot is a really easy and really strong knot to use when your are tying a piece of tippet onto the end of your leader or when you are tying two pieces of tippet together. It's also very effective in hand building leaders because it connects two lines of moderately different diameters very will. If one strand of tippet is much larger than the other, it will not hold well. The rule of thumb is stay within one size. In other words, you can attach 5x to 6x with a surgeon's knot, but avoid using it to attach 4x to 6x. Lay two lines on top of one another and form a loop. Now pull both lines through the loop twice - This is why the knot is sometimes referred to as the double surgeon's knot. Lubricate the knot with saliva and pull all the ends tightly. Trim the tag ends. For an equally strong and more secure knot, pass the ends through the loop a third time and you have the triple surgeon's knot.
 Improved Clinch Knot
This is probably the most popular knot in fly fishing for tying your fly to your tippet. It is very easy to tie and is relatively strong and secure. Make sure to wrap the tag end around the standing line 5-6 times. What makes this improved over the regular cinch knot is slipping the tag through the final loop (see fig. 4). I do not recommend using the cinch. The way I see it is if you're going to go to the trouble of tying this knot, why not just add the last step for security. Lubricate the knot with water or saliva before drawing the knot tightly. Trim the tag end close to the knot.  The Uni Knot
The uni knot, or Duncan Loop, is the knot I use to connect my fly to the tippet. I find it to be strong and reliable. The other great thing about this knot is that you can tighten the knot (see fig. 3) and leave space between the knot and the hook eye. This lets the fly have a little bit more natural action in the water. When a fish strikes and the hook is set, the knot then tightens against the hook eye. Don't take short cuts here. You may get away with 5 wraps, but any less and you may as well just toss your flies in the water because the knots wont hold. Practice the uni knot and learn early to be generous with the tippet. If you make your loop to small your going to drive yourself crazy. Wet the knot with water or saliva before you tighten it, otherwise you will stretch the tippet and you'll see it curl (and so will the trout.) Trim the tag end close to the knot.
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