Written by: Drew Ross, Looknfishy
The Palomar knot is a great for fly fishing because it’s quick to tie, incredibly strong, and the tag end can be used to tie on a dropper fly. As a boy, I learned this knot for bass fishing, but I’ve since discovered that it’s great for dry-dropper, hopper-dropper, and double-nymph rigs.
What makes this such a great knot for dropper rigs is that it solves the problem of hook being pulled downward–as it is when the dropper is tied off the bend (see below)–and and that it is manageable to tie on the water. Most of the tag end is held in your left hand and out of the way, while you make you dropper rig, which saves you time on the water!
Here’s my problem with tying the dropper off the hook bend: Have ever watched a fish eat your dry, but when you landed the fish, it was foul-hooked on the dropper? More than likely, the dropper snags the fish and pulls the dry fly free during the fight, leaving you with a fouled catch. Same thing happens with double-nymph rigs. This happens when the fish takes the top fly because the dropper has a tendency to snag the fish or an object in the water, causing the top hook to pull free.
Tying the dropper off the eye of the top fly, using the Palomar knot, has solved that problem for me. And it does so without adding bulk to the eye of the hook.
Drew Ross writes the Looknfishy blog. His videos appear quite often on the Orvis Fly Fishing Facebook page. Check out his own Facebook and Instagram accounts for more great photos.
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