Knot Video--Davy Knot

by **midger** » June 18th, 2014, 12:46 pm

I use this knot a lot as it is a quick one to tie and very small when compared to an improved clinch knot. This is one of the best videos I've seen showing steps in tying them. Once you get the hang of it, you can even tie them in fading light with no problems.

http://www.orvis.com/news/fly-fishing/video-how-to-tie-the-davy-knot-and-double-davy-knot/?adv=352841&cm_mmc=linkshare-_-TnL5HPStwNw-_-1-_-352841

by **briansII** » June 18th, 2014, 2:35 pm

Thanks. I've been tying the Double Davy wrong. :doh:

briansII

by **acorad** » June 18th, 2014, 4:47 pm

Love this knot EZ PZ.

Also love that you can easily adjust the length of the tag/waste end as you tie it, so you don't end up wasting a lot of tippet.

Andy

by **stanbery** » June 18th, 2014, 5:21 pm

Mike
Very nice video.
Jon

by **Rasputinj** » June 18th, 2014, 6:53 pm

I use the double Davy great knot

by **theophilus** » June 19th, 2014, 5:19 pm

This is new to me and I love it! Thanks for sharing the link

by **Rasputinj** » June 19th, 2014, 6:15 pm

Davy is a nice guy I have talked to him a few times via PM another forum

by **planettrout** » June 20th, 2014, 8:27 am

F.Y.I.

The Davy Knot is hardly the strongest knot, although it may be the most currently hyped...

PT/TB

by **briansII** » June 20th, 2014, 10:01 am

planettrout wrote:F.Y.I.

The Davy Knot is hardly the strongest knot, although it may be the most currently hyped...

PT/TB

In my own experience, I would say you are right. The Davy doesn't seem to be much stronger than a clinch. BUT, I've seen other online tests results showing the Davy is close to a "100% knot". It(standard Davy) hasn't been for me, but I will use it because it's so fast to tie. The San Diego Jam IS a strong knot, but not easy to tie, and a tippet wasting knot. I only use it when I care to land the fish, or not lose my fly/lure.

briansII

by **Rasputinj** » June 20th, 2014, 12:54 pm

I have had better luck with double davy. Dave Wotton has long been involved in competitive fly fishing for the UK and US and has guided many years on White River and has used that knot for a long time . I have only found the knot not hold up if the tag end is not in the right spot.

by **briansII** » June 20th, 2014, 4:27 pm

Well'p. I just did a peer reviewed, scientific, double blind test here in my lab. Two standard Davy Knots tested against two, standard, 7 turn Clinch Knots. The Hook was a Eagle Claw 413 -1/0. The line was P-Line Floroclear 12lb test. All knots were seated carefully. All testing equipment certified by the US Weights & Measure Assoc.

Results:

Davy Knot #1 broke pretty doggone easy.

Davy Knot #2 broke at an expected pull.

Clinch #1 broke close to Davy#2's pull.

Clinch #2 broke at a way higher pull than any of the previous knots.

Control knot:

Control Clinch #3 was tested to see if I could get the same results as Clinch#2. I did.

Control Davy #3 broke at a similar pull as Davy#2.

Next I tied a Davy to one hook, and a clinch to another hook. Anchored one hook, and pulled on the other. Repeated(tied two new knots) with anchoring the opposite end. Both times the Davy broke first.

So there you have it. Conclusive evidence that I wasted your time, and mine, with this post/test. :doh:

I've casually tested many knots by pulling on them to failure. No gauges, or machines to do the static pull. Just me and my "feeler gauges/hand". The results are not in anyway conclusive, but I have a lot better idea of what knots I will use.....and how inconsistently I tie them. One misstep can drastically change the outcome.

briansII

by **midger** » June 23rd, 2014, 5:58 am

Brian,
Nice test...........I use the Davy because it's easy to tie. If I lose a big one, so be it, as it's an enabler for talking about the one that got away over the cold beer at the end of the day. In other words, I don't care if I lose one as I'm just letting them go anyway, so a long line release is fine, but I haven't noticed an appreciable increase in those over when I used the improved clinch and it is so much quicker to tie. The double davy takes a bit longer as that fine tippet is hard to twist twice although I've never tried using the tool in the video and doubt I will as I don't need/want anything else to carry.

by **fshflys** » June 23rd, 2014, 7:23 am

I used the Davey this past trip, saw the vid & it made sense, practiced it while sitting in front of the computer to make it easier on the stream. Maybe I'm not tying it right cause I lost a lot of flys where it looked like the knot came undone. I ended up going back to the clinch.

by **briansII** » June 23rd, 2014, 10:24 am

midger wrote:Brian,
Nice test...........I use the Davy because it's easy to tie. If I lose a big one, so be it, as it's an enabler for talking about the one that got away over the cold beer at the end of the day. In other words, I don't care if I lose one as I'm just letting them go anyway, so a long line release is fine, but I haven't noticed an appreciable increase in those over when I used the improved clinch and it is so much quicker to tie. The double davy takes a bit longer as that fine tippet is hard to twist twice although I've never tried using the tool in the video and doubt I will as I don't need/want anything else to carry.

I'm right there with you. For my trout fishing, I use a Davy or clinch. I really don't care if I break a fish off, unless I have a special fly tied on. I do find the Davy a bit challenging with cold fingers and fine tippet. My fingers have better memory for a clinch.

fshflys wrote:I used the Davey this past trip, saw the vid & it made sense, practiced it while sitting in front of the computer to make it easier on the stream. Maybe I'm not tying it right cause I lost a lot of flys where it looked like the knot came undone. I ended up going back to the clinch.

Were you using fluorocarbon tippet? I find some knots don't like the slicker fluoro.

The above test was done with a line I seldom fish anymore. It seems VERY sensitive to knots, and will slip if you don't have enough turns. All the Davy knots that broke, ended up with a "pigtail". Possible a Improved Davy will do better with this line.....I'm pretty sure the extra turn will help. For a clinch, I used 7 turns, and it was stronger than the Davy.

by **fshflys** » June 23rd, 2014, 10:30 am

briansII wrote:
midger wrote:Were you using fluorocarbon tippet? I find some knots don't like the slicker fluoro.

The above test was done with a line I seldom fish anymore. It seems VERY sensitive to knots, and will slip if you don't have enough turns. All the Davy knots that broke, ended up with a "pigtail". Possible a Improved Davy will do better with this line.....I'm pretty sure the extra turn will help. For a clinch, I used 7 turns, and it was stronger than the Davy.

Yes, I was using Fluoro, plus I was cutting the end very close to the knot.