Maxxon's Ramblings from the OG: Spit and Knots

Welcome to Maxxon's Ramblings from the OG. Fact, opinion, some truth, or BS; you decide for yourself. Today, let's talk about spit. Well, not just spit; let's talk about spit and knots; in other words, the lubrication of your knots.

Why Lubricate?

A lot of this is subjective and a matter of opinion. Back in the old days, we always used to lubricate our knots with a little spit, water, or something to reduce the friction and to keep the material, mainly monofilament, from getting hot.

• Heat is the Enemy: Hot is the number one enemy to monofilament. Friction will generate heat, and that can damage the line. This is especially important when you're using quality tippet material; the last thing you want is heat stress weakening your connection to the fly.
  

• Smooth Cinching: We want to reduce the friction so that the knot cinches up smoothly and easily without doing any damage to the monofilament. Whether you're using our Tapered Leaders or tying directly to backing, a smooth cinch protects the integrity of the material.
  

• General Rule: A little lubrication will make it easier for the knot to cinch up. Whether the material needs it or not, I'll always put a little spit on my knot so that it pulls up easily and snugly.
  

The Importance of Wraps

When we tie a knot, you have to pay attention to the number of wraps you use. Regardless of the material you're using, whether it's freshwater fly line or saltwater setups, you wanna use the proper amount of wraps on that knot to ensure that it doesn't pull out.

Avoid the Pigtail If you pull it in to look at this little pigtail at the end of your line, that doesn't tell you the line broke; what that tells you is that your knot slipped. You want to ensure that you're using the proper amount of wraps to make sure that the knot doesn't pull free or pull out.

Finding the Balance The more wraps that you make in your knot, the more friction you're gonna have, and maybe a little spit may not be enough to reduce that friction.

• Sometimes five wraps, sometimes six on an improved clinch knot will do the trick.
  

• Sometimes four, and it'll pull free.
  

• Keep your wraps to a minimum, but use as many that you need to to ensure that the knot 

• doesn't pull free.

This balance matters even more when you're rigging up a full fly line combo every connection from backing to leader to tippet needs to hold under pressure.

Test It Yourself

When you're tying your knot, test them out. Try it out for yourself and see how many wraps work best. Play around with it and see how many wraps you need. 

Get the Right Line for the Job. A good knot starts with quality material. Shop Maxxon's full line & tippet collection and build a rig that holds — every single time.