BLOOD KNOTS

Tim,
Relax, don’t go nuts!
I assume your reference to tying blood knots is because you are preparing to tie the leader according to the formula Jason Randall gave us at the AFF Pastor Retreat developed by Devin Olsen.

Is that correct?  I don’t want to respond unless I understand the context of your question.

Jim

In my humble opinion, fly fishing is an art, not a science.  So, when you ask Kenny a question, you often get the answer we all love, “It depends.”  For that reason, and another I can explain when we get together, I suggest you don’t have to be super exact with this formula.  But, let’s say it is a science and examine the basis of your frustration from that point of view.

Just to recap, here is Devin Olsen’s leader formula we got from Jason Randall.  Using Maxima Chameleon, tie the following segments together using blood knots.
1.     28″ of 20 lbs.
2.     24″ of 15 lbs.
3.     20″ of 10 lbs.
4.     16″ of 8 lbs.
5.     12″ of 5 lbs.
6.     12″ of 4 lbs.
Then tippet ring to tippet.

This is a total length of 112”.  Then, as you say, what if you are off 1” in each segment?  And from that you surmise that would be 5”- 6” for the entire leader.  Two things:
1.     First, at most you will only be off 4”.   That is because after tying segment 1 to segment 2, you can trim segment 1 from the end opposite of the knot end to the exact length you desire.  Same for tying segment 5 to segment 6.  You can trim section 6 to the exact length you want.  That leaves only four segments in play.  So, if you are off by 4”out of a total of 112”, that is only 3.6%.  Seriously, that is pretty close.
2.     Second, I found I could significantly increase the accuracy of each segment by doing the following.  Start by cutting ample lengths for sections 1 and 2, say 38” and 34”, respectively.  You won’t need this much excess as you get the hang of it.  Tie section 1 and 2 with a blood knot.   Then trim the fly line end of section 1 leaving enough tag to tie a nail knot to the fly line or a perfection loop to attach to the welded loop of the fly line.  Now, measure 24” from the blood knot you just tied and use a sharpie to mark on section 2 the target location of the next blood knot.  Cut a 30” section of line for section 3.  Begin tying this blood knot by crossing the lines of segments 2 and 3 and pinching the two lines together with the sharpie mark on section 2 between your pinched fingers.  Tie the blood knot; concentrate on seating the knot on your sharpie mark.  You will get the hang of it.  That is the end of section 2.  Now repeat.  Cut a 26” piece for section 4.  Measure 20” from your last knot for section 3 and use a sharpie to mark the location for the knot location at the end of section 3.   Cross the lines of segments 3 and 4 and begin tying the blood knot by pinching the two lines together with the sharpie mark on section 3 between your pinched fingers.  Tie the blood knot; concentrate on seating the knot on your sharpie mark.   Keep going.  Only two more knots to tie.

Hope that makes sense and helps.

JRC

Yes, It depends!! Need I say more? Jim, is correct. This is not an exact science. If I gave a “pro” two different leaders with one off by a total of 4 inches, I’ll bet the mortgage he would not be able to tell the difference. AND I hate blood knots! I find them difficult to tie. You can also mark the exact location on the leader with a Sharpie to help you know where you want your knot to be.

Yes, I have made “the” leader in question and fished with it for two days. I used two uni-knots to connect them and I was off on a couple of lengths by one or two inches. I used it on my 4 wt medium taper rod and used small flies to swing. As we found out from Jason later – if it’s windy it may not cast as well and you may have to cut it back to make it shorter and more weighted(?) meaning the 4x end may need to be a 3x end, etc… If you cast heavier flies you may have to shorten the leader to a “heavy tippet” like 3x or more. So to get it exact and be an awesome leader system you may have to play with it whenever you fish and depending on how you will fish – as Jim said – it’s not an exact science.

Also, I used UV thin cure on each knot to form a “tear drop” look and covered them with Sally Hansen’s “Hard as Nails” to preserve the UV cure. This way the knots HOPEFULLY will not get caught up in the guides but “slide” through better.