Have you ever seen one of these. Yeah that is a torture device tool used to tie blood knots. When I started fly fishing I made one of these contraptions using nails, alligator clips with heat shrink tubing, and a chunk of 2X4. Those were the days when I thought fly fishing meant making Brad Pittesque casts to rising trout. Not only is the name "Blood" Knot intimidating, but when you see one of these torture devices, it is no wonder people go running for the hills when they need to fix or, worse yet, build one of their own leaders from scratch.
Luckily, blood knots don't need to be complicated. Analyze the tying process for a minute.
That's right. Forget about blood knots and instead think about tying back-to-back clinch knots; everyone can tie one of those. Yeah, that knot you've been using since you started slinging worms to attach snelled hooks to your line. When you think of a blood knot this way they become much easier to tie. Give it a try the next time you are building a leader, or better yet, use a Uni-Knot.
