Useful Knot for Ancient Eyes and Trembling Fingers

As we age our eyes become less able to focus on details and our loss of finger coordination causes us to lose our nimbleness. There is a knot that is pretty handy for ancient eyes and clumsy fingers. It is a knot named for a Welsh fly fisherman of some fame from back in the fifties, so it has been in use for seven decades roughly. He is said to have invented it because it is fast and easy and does not use a lot of material. Fly tippets are of finite length and every knot shortens them further. I am sharing it with you because there may be some folks that would benefit immensely.


Search ANIMATED KNOTS for the DAVY KNOT. Their illustration shows just how simple this knot is. Read the text below that video for further understanding.

I will warn you that this knot is very simple, and because of that will slip if not properly formed.

Easy to miss something. I form the initial wrap, then pinch the line to do the second, then pinch the tag end and the object being tied to cinch it down. Then once finished I give it a pull to test it. Not a hard -try to break it - pull, just a good pull to ensure I got everything correct. If I did not, the proof comes quickly. I also watch the knot form up and cinch down. Anomalies are easily spotted. Memorize how the tag end juts away from the knot to provide further confidence.

Tied correctly it is more than a match for our light lines. The line breaks away from the knot only after the line has deformed. People talk about 100% knots, but really most any of our knots are more than sufficient, with the only real issues being poor skills, lack of attention, and mis purposed applications. I pre test every knot I fashion to see if the material responds to the wraps well. As long as the line snaps away from the knot I feel that I am good to go.

Mono has about 20% stretch, average I guess. You stretch it and then when you relax it recovers. This is what gives us durability. If you over stretch it, the line will elongate and not recover. So when testing a leader I plan to fish with I am careful not to test it too enthusiastically and ruin it’s strength. A good tug to ensure I wrapped it right and done.

I have tied thousands of UNI knots and no matter how careful, the line gets kinked as the constriction tightens. The Davy knot does not damage the line like that. It does not require lubrication to cinch down.

Again, be very careful in forming it, because it is so simple it is very easy for it to slip if you make a mistake. I can fashion it up very quickly, and use it for attaching swivels and such. If you have difficulties forming your old faithful knots, try this one. Good luck.

Thank you for posting this, will definitely be giving it a try as I don't always remember to have my seeing eyes handy and taking forever to retie gets frustrating to say the least.

If you're like me and learn best by watching here is a video showing the Davy Knot. Thanks for introducing us to this knot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0e1DmJRXv0

Thank you for the post. As time goes on, my knot repertory diminishes. At this point I use a palomar, Kreh non slip mono, and a double surgeons. Between these three you can join two lines, have a very reliable loop knot, and a nice knot for crank baits, jigs or whatever. There are very few 100% knots (such as Bimini twist) out there - just tie them correctly, wet them, and snug them down. Always remember, if the knot can slip it will fail.
Bob

Here is another way to reduce knot tying in general! If you like to switch baits these work well with jigs and are very sturdy!

Amazon.com

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Originally Posted by thaDudeAbides

Here is another way to reduce knot tying in general! If you like to switch baits these work well with jigs and are very sturdy!

Amazon.com

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I bought some and used the Davy knot to fashion them up onto leaders. Seems weird but the jigs hung better than on loop knots. I like them.


Just follow the direction exactly and the knot works. I can tie the knot faster than I can insert the line. LOL

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Originally Posted by BobC

Thank you for the post. As time goes on, my knot repertory diminishes. At this point I use a palomar, Kreh non slip mono, and a double surgeons. Between these three you can join two lines, have a very reliable loop knot, and a nice knot for crank baits, jigs or whatever. There are very few 100% knots (such as Bimini twist) out there - just tie them correctly, wet them, and snug them down. Always remember, if the knot can slip it will fail.
Bob

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I used the Lefty Kreh knot when making loop knots for circle hooks when surffishing. It’s ok I guess. I can get same reliability using surgeons knot loop. Basically it is a Figure 8 knot, as is this Davy knot, and much faster than the Lefty. It also provides insurance against those misadventures with mono. Very forgiving, where the Lefty not so much as you know.

I have read many times that we are supposed to lick our line to prevent burns. Ummmmm.....I don’t buy that. However, when cinching down a complicated or constriction type of knot, the lube helps it to cinch tighter than if dry, and that makes it worth licking the stuff. :)

Palomar is a great knot, but would be almost useless if not for the double line pass to start. Once mastered, it would serve anyone for life with no need for a replacement. However, there are so many options out there that it seems silly to stick with it. I like the UNI much more.

I experimented with what knots work best with a baited circle hook, and a snell and a loop always won out, especially over Palomar- not for raw strength, but for hookups. A UNI can be fashioned, then using a fingernail pull the knot away some forming a nice loop. Easy to do. And if you wanted something stronger than a Palomar, do a two pass UNI.

I like knottings and see them as a skill set all of us would do well to develop. Thanks and hope Spring shows up early for you.

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Originally Posted by Micanopy

surgeons knot loop.

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Yep...the Surgeon's loop is the easiest and fastest loop of all.

looks to tight on the eyelet for my liking ,but it seems easy enough

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Originally Posted by thaDudeAbides

Here is another way to reduce knot tying in general! If you like to switch baits these work well with jigs and are very sturdy!

Amazon.com

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I have those and they work great. Just be sure not to get the tiny ones or you will have a very hard time holding on to it to tie on your line. The whole clip is hidden by my butterball fingers on the smallest ones!

That was a great second write up, Micanopy. Knots are an interesting topic for fishermen, and my knot Bible is Practical Fishing Knots by Sosin and Kreh. A really good source book that should be in every fisherman’s library but I believe unfortunately is long out of print. You only need to know a handful, but tie carefully and have confidence in the knot. During the winter from time to time I grab some heavier line I keep and spend an evening tying. You want something streamside that is quick, and being able to tie it in the dark is a bonus. It hurts when you lose a real nice fish and when you look at the end of the line it is the knot that has disintegrated. Granny knots need not apply for the job!:Rofl
Bob

I just had an opportunity to watch the animation of the Davy Knot, and it sure is simple enough. Should work well with size 8 hooks, which I use a lot. With a moments extra work you can tie a Double Davy, which was stated be better for larger hook eyes. I’ll give it a try for sure. The animation site said that the break strength will be an average of about 90%. Using American 2lb mono which is a true 4.7 or so you would still have a break strength of over 4 lbs. Not trying to split hairs, the knot should be a good one in the Arsenal.
Bob