Quick Question - Braided Loops for Salmon

[Corin4]

Very quickly. I yesterday attached a braided connector loop to the business end of my Salmon fly line, shuvved the whole way to the the top of the braid and superglued.

Only to discover that the loop was rated to 20lbs. The leader will be 6ft of 15lbs flourocarbon.

Do I need to worry about the braided loop? Is it strong enough or should I replace.

I only ask as I am unliley to have the time to get a new one before hitting the Tay this weekend.

cheers

Corin

[Willie Gunn]

Quick answer, dump it now.

[Corin4]

Cheers Willie Gunn

Much appreciated.

Corin

[Corin4]

Aquasure and proper loops it is

[munro]

I have just returned to the fold after not fishing for 10 years. What a lot of changes! Point is having just bought new lines for Salmon and decided that needle knots seemed to be old hat I put on braided leader loops on them all I used up several packs by different makers only 1 of which said Salmon on the front, the rest didn't specify what they were and I just assumed they would do.Willie Gunn's got me worried now. Should I start again.

[John Gray]

I'd stick with the needle knot.

Why not double the nylon and form a needle knotted loop, as shown below.

[munro]

Sounds like a great idea - back to the worktop! Any advice as to the best diameter line to use on a DT10 line?

[munro]

Sorry - meant best diameter nylon

[John Gray]

On a number 10 line, assuming a leader strength of around 15 pounds B.S., connected loop-to-loop, I would use a line loop of 18 or 20 pounds B.S. - good hard, strong nylon like Maxima.

See:

www.graysofkilsyth.com/fishing.htm

[munro]

Thanks for you help.Clicked on your link to Grays of Kilsyth - the diagrams there are excellent and easy to follow .
Great thing about this website is the evident willingness of the regulars to help out new members even when the same old questions must get asked again and again.

[munro]

Following John Grays recommendation snipped off loops and went to buy 20lb line to make loop.When told shop what I wanted it for they looked at me as if needed a visit from the men in white coats.Similarly in Edinburgh yesterday at another store I got the Harry Enfield don't do that do this routine and walked out witrh Rio loops which suggest on the packet that loops can be needle knotted top and bottom.As a relative newcomer to the salmon scene I am now pretty confused
Looking at past threads the consensus on this site amongst the regulars seems to be against loops on salmon lines but apart from losing a fish 30 years ago or the possibility of the plastic tube catching the top ring nobody nobody seems to have explained why they shouldn't be used. Can anybody explain - I've now got both the new loops and the line for the John Gray method. Help would be appreciated

[bennachie]

I always use braided loops with super glue. Never let me down. Anyway knots are not my strong point!

[elwyman]

I also use braided loops with superglue. They have never let me down, but it is worth checking them occasionally to check they haven't started to slip.

I had a couple pull off before I started to use superglue, but no problems since.

[John Gray]

My first thought on trying a braided loop many years ago was that it was unlikely to catch on. In comparison to methods already well established - for example, stripping the line coating and whipping a loop in the line core or a conventional needle knot - the system seemed untidy, bulky and likely to result in a very insecure connection. Much to my surprise, however, braided loops did catch on and, it seems, have since become the most popular method of attaching a leader to a fly line. I think the reason for this is simply that no alternative product was available for sale in tackle shops. The braided loop seemed easy to attach and, since the line manufacturers have made little effort to come up with something better, it has been adopted, more by default than anything, as the standard method of leader connection. The dubious security of the braided loop, as sold in the tackle shop, has been fixed with glue.

Many anglers, unhappy with the early proprietary loops, looked to the manufacturers to provide improved versions of the same and I believe that finer loops are now available. Others took to making their own braided loops from braided monofilamnent backing line, usually secured with glue, and this seems to work well for many.

After rejecting the use of braided loops for my own fishing, I reverted to either the whipping of a loop in the line core or to the traditional needle knot. A length of heavy nylon monofilament needle knotted to the end of the fly line is probably still the best solution for dry fly fishing with a knotted, tapered leader but, for a loop to loop connection, it is still not ideal, involving, as it does, three knots between fly line and fly i.e. the needle knot itself, the knot forming the loop in the butt section of heavy nylon and the knot forming the loop in the leader. In an effort to simplify and improve on this, I took to attaching a nylon loop on to the end of my fly lines. A doubled length of monofilament nylon, usually maxima, was simply tied on to the end of the line by a constriction knot.

MONO LOOP



This resulted in a slightly stiffer loop to loop connection involving only 2 knots.

MONO LOOP-TO-LOOP CONNECTION



To my mind, it is much simpler, finer and safer than a braided loop. Such a loop can be tied to the end of a fly line in a minute (I have just done one in 55 seconds) even on the river bank. It requires no needles, whipping or glue.

For an even more secure, and perhaps slightly neater, loop, I have recently attached the mono loop using a needle knot. This takes a bit longer than the simple knot shown above but it can still be done in a matter of minutes..... isn't that what the close season is for!

NEEDLE KNOTTED MONO LOOP



I have used this method now for about ten years in all my trout, sea trout and salmon fishing without mishap.

[munro]

Thanks guys - thats given me something to think about.
Interestingly enough on the packet Rio doesn't mention glue at all and as an alternative to using the tube recommends tieing a nail knot with 8lb tippet at the end of the braid and one near the loop.