Welded loop broke. Re-weld or snell knot?

[adamcu280]

I recently cracked the coating on the welded loop of my favorite 6wt and now I'm going down the rabbit hole of either re-welding the loop or putting my leader directly on with a snell knot a la Flip Pallot (early fishing hero from when I got up early to watch ESPN Outdoors in the early 90s).

Flip's argument


Re-welding


What would you do and why?

 

[_WW_]

Which end of the line?

 

[adamcu280]

Which end of the line?

The leader end. Sadly not a lot of action on the backing end of the line.

 

[Zak]

I'd tie 6-8 inches of 20-25lb mono on with a nail knot and a loop in the mono.

 

[_WW_]

I would just use a nail knot. I cut most of those loops off.

 

[clarkman]

Having played around with welding loops in a decent number of sink tips, here's my opinion....BTW, nothing is more ridiculous than someone saying, "I've done xxxx for xxx years" to sound like an expert, which most are not,so yes, I see the irony in my statement above....but I still laughed when I wrote it cause an expert i am not...lol. anyway, I've found Airflo lines to heat weld the easiest (by far), followed by SA (takes a bit more trial and error) and lastly, if it's Rio, don't bother....in fact, just toss the line and get a new one.

Even the Airflo took some experimentation with the heat gun & shrink wrap (which you cut and peel off when finished for a cleaner look).

Outside of that, Albright knot has never failed at that junction...nail knots have (for me). They can be a little bulkier than you're used to, but that can be alleviated by using some UV knot sense, then looping that mono....smooth as butter.

For trouts, it doesn't matter much....

 

[mcswny]

I would just use a nail knot. I cut most of those loops off.

I'd tie 6-8 inches of 20-25lb mono on with a nail knot and a loop in the mono.

This is what I do

 

[Divad]

I was taught this process by Bjorn from the former Fly Fisher. If it’s a fly line I plan to use polyleaders with I tend to go this route.

If it’s a line I plan to only use mono/fluoro, nail knot will suffice. Though I still prefer to put a loop back in it.

 

[Wetswinger]

Nail knot 10# Maxima Ultragreen from the line, to a tippet ring. Make it any convenient length you like..

 

[_WW_]

I never understood putting a delicate taper on a fly line and then at the end double it up (increasing the weight). Just nail knot the freaking leader on there and get busy.

For custom length sink tips looped onto Skagit heads I will form a loop and wrap it it with 30# spectra and apply a thin coat of UV resin to remove the bump.

 

[_WW_]

And if you're wondering how I wrap the spectra on, well duh! Nail knot!

 

[Mike Ediger]

On a new line I will probably use the loop, but at some point I always seem to end up cutting it off, using a nail knot to mono, and have never had a failure.

 

[doublespey]

Have tried all of the above and recently found a solution I really like. Strip the coating and use the core (either braided or mono) to tie on a large tippet ring. Coat the knot (I typically use an improved clinch) and you're good to go. So far haven't had one fail, either fresh or salt use.

 

[SSPey]

Well-used fly lines do not weld well. Though PU lines (like Airflo) fare better than PVC, all well-used lines struggle to adhere when reheated. Better off knotting.

 

[krusty]

Never ever had a nail knot fail, and have been using them for over 60 years. With a bit of heavy butt mono and a tippet ring you've got a lot of convenient terminal rig options.

Tom Rowland has a compelling video where he demonstrates the virtually identical appearance of the Snell knot and nailknot, and tests out as equivalent in terms of breaking strength.

Personally...I think they're just two slightly different ways of tying the same knot.

 

[WonderBrad]

Nail knot with a thin layer of nail polish to smooth it out and hold it solid. Tying a nail not is a trick every fly fisher should master.

 

[krusty]

Nail knot with a thin layer of nail polish to smooth it out and hold it solid. Tying a nail not is a trick every fly fisher should master.

Prefer Loon UV, but nail polish or Pliobond also work fine.

 

[Bagman]

Prefer Loon UV, but nail polish or Pliobond also work fine.

How about a braided loop. You can look it up on line.

 

[SurfnFish]

How about a braided loop. You can look it up on line.

x2..Gudebrod 50# hollow braid or similar, super fast and easy to make a braided loop to fit, slip it on, coupla nail knots with 10# Max or similar, dabs of UV...bulletproof. You can also buy them pre-made on Amazon

 

[_WW_]

x2..Gudebrod 50# hollow braid or similar, super fast and easy to make a braided loop to fit, slip it on, coupla nail knots with 10# Max or similar, dabs of UV...bulletproof. You can also buy them pre-made on Amazon
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I use the thread whip finish on those. Again, these things add weight and stiffness right to the end of a tapered line. Okay for a Skagit belly, not so much for trout dry lines.
Humorous that you mention using a nail knot on the loop instead of just nail knotting the leader.