Fly Fishing Knots: How to Tie an Albright Knot

The Albright Knot is a useful knot that any fly fisherman should have in their arsenal. The tight, barrel shape of the knot allows it to easily move through guides, which is a huge advantage of this knot over most others. Best of all however, this knot does something that other don't, it gets stronger with the more tension you apply. The nature of the knot takes an opposing force on either end of the rope, and uses it to tighten the knot. With this being said, this information does you no good if you don't know how to tie it. Read below for more information.

The knot begins with two pieces of line (or rope) laid in parallel, overlapping approximately 5-6 inches. For the purpose of this article, line 1 will be the top line and line 2 will be the bottom line. Pinch the end of line 2 and cross it under line 1 approximately 1-2 inches from the end of line 1. While still pinching line 2, bend it back on itself about 1-2 inches, crossing over the other. Now pinch the end of line 2 where it ends in parallel with the same line 2, and pinch the end of line 1 with your other hand. Pull a length of line 1 (about 5-6 inches) through the loop created by line line 2, and cross it under the end of line 2. With the end of rope 1 pointing toward yourself, pinch the end and begin to wrap it around the folded portions of rope 2, as well as itself. Your should notice that as you wrap the line, the loop created by line 2 should become smaller. After completing approximately 5-7 wraps, take the end of line 1 and make sure it is pointing toward yourself. Hold the end of the line and feed to through the eye of the loop created by line 2. At this point the two ends of line 1 should be pointing in the same direction, and the two ends of line 2 should be pointing in the opposite direction of line 1. Now grab all 4 ends of the lines and pull outward from each other, tightening the knot. Now trim the ends of the lines as needed.

If one correctly you should see a knot which resembles a barrel, and conforms to the circular shape of the string. By pulling on the ends of the string, you can see that the wrapping of one string around the other creates friction which prevents the inner string from slipping out of the knot.

Interested in learning more about Fly Fishing Knots? Then check out the Clinch Knot to see more examples of easy to tie knots every fisherman should know.

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