Double Surgeon's Knot

The double surgeon's knot, also known as the surgeon's knot, can be used to join lines of either equal or unequal diameters. Learn how to tie this quick and easy knot to connect your tippet to your fly fishing leader or to attach your fishing line to your leader.

How to Tie the Double Surgeon's Knot

If you want to connect your leader to your main fishing line, this is one of the best fishing knots you can use because the double surgeon's knot strength is very high. All you need to do is learn how to tie two overhand knots, and then pull the length of the leader through the knot each time. This knot can be tied in just four fast and easy steps.
 

1. Place your leader line parallel to your main line, making sure that they overlap by several inches.
2. Create an overhand knot by passing the long end of the leader and the tag end of your main fishing line through the loop.
3. Form a second over-hand knot by passing the same ends through the loop a second time.
4. Moisten the knot and tighten by pulling on all four ends, and trim the tag ends.

These four simple steps are all you have to learn in order to tie this knot. If you practice tying different types of fishing knots at home, like the surgeon's knot or double surgeon's, you will be able to tie these knots quickly while you are out on the water. Even if you already know how to fish and tie a few knots, it never hurts to try tying new knots that may be stronger or better for certain situations.

Double Surgeon's Knot: Fly Fishing Use

Not only is this knot used for connecting leader to main line though, the double surgeon's knot (fly fishing use) is also often considered to be one of the best knots for when attaching tippet to leader. The double surgeon's, sometimes called the surgeon knot, can even be used to tie on a dropper fly or to connect multiple sections of tippet material.

The steps you would follow to use this knot when fly fishing are the same -- the only exception would be the third step. Instead of passing your leader and main line through the loop a second time as in the steps above, you would pass your tippet and leader through the loop a second time.

Remember, these knots are best used for line-to-line connections with lines of varying diameter. If you want to find out how to tie the best fishing knots for lures, you can learn more about knots like the double surgeon's loop or surgeon's loop knot.