The surgeon's loop, based on the square (reef) knot, owes its name to its widespread use by surgeons to secure threads in a suture. Although originally a surgical knot, it has found wide use in fly fishing to effectively tie the leader to the tippet. It can combine two lines of equal or different diameters, and it can also be used in lines made of different materials.
The Surgeon's Knot is easy to tie and is useful for joining two fishing lines of moderately different sizes, such as tying a tippet to a leader. It is actually tied as a double knot, which explains why it is sometimes called the Double Surgeon's Knot.
The Surgeon's Loop allows you to choose tippet size to fit the size of the fly, with the same leader.
Usage Areas
Fishing
Quilting
In the medical field
In life jackets
Attaching a fly line to tippet or leader
In beadwork, jewelry bracelet and necklace making
Alternative:
As an option, the two lines can be passed through the top knot a third time to create the Triple Surgeon knot.
Blood knot< /span> – More difficult to tie but works best with ropes of the same diameter.
Nail knot< /span> – A slimmer version but more complex. It needs something like a nail to fasten it.
Advantages:
Easy to tie.
Good for joining two different sizes of fishing line.
Disadvantages:
It is quite bulky compared to the Blood Knot and forms a slight angle.
The gel can slip when tying a spun braid to a fluorocarbon or mono leader. Double uni node performs better.
It is not durable on light lines. The blood knot is safer.
How to Tie the Surgeon's Knot?
Place the leader and tippet side by side.
Use both ropes to create enough loops to tie a double knot at the top.
Put both ends through the loop twice.
Wet the knot and pull it tight.
Clip the ends.
