One of the most common and useful knots for joining sections of leader or tippet material is the blood knot or barrel knot. Although most anglers and guides typically use the double surgeon’s knot I prefer the blood knot as it keeps the completed leader straight during turnover which helps from having the leader ‘dogleg’ or turn over with an angle in it. The blood knot is notoriously difficult and time consuming. In this quick fly tying how-to video I demonstrate how to twist the two ends of material simultaneously, making the knot much faster to execute and just as strong.

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