Improved Clinch Knot
OK, so you really don’t like the regular Clinch and need to tie the Improved Clinch. But before you do, the question is why does there need to be an Improved Clinch? Well (1) for those that insist on pulling the short end of the tippet, the improved Clinch will work. (2) When the wire in the hook is substantially larger in diameter than the diameter of the tippet. As a good rule of thumb we can say when the wire is 2X or more the diameter of the tippet. When this happens, the coils of the Clinch Knot cannot adequately hold the short end of the tippet locked against the wire in the hook eye. But the Improved Clinch works all the time, regardless of the difference in diameters between the hook and the tippet. That’s because the Improved Clinch locks against itself.
So the question becomes, why not just use the Improved Clinch every time? The answer is, you may if you wish, but each time you tie it, you lose about 4 inches off the end of the tippet. Change the fly 3 times and you’ve lost a foot–time to change tippets. With the regular Clinch, the short end need only be 1/8 inch long, and the knot holds just fine.
I use the Improved Clinch when tying on heavy wire salmon hooks to a relatively light 2X tippet, for example. Of If I need to lash a hopper onto 5X, an Improved Clinch is the better choice. And once you know the regular Clinch, the Improved is just one step away.
Step 1. Tie a regular Clinch know but don’t’ pull it tight. Leave the short end longer than usual.
Step 1. Tie a regular Clinch and leave the short end longer than usual.
Step 2. Put the short end back through the loop of the Clinch. Now the short end will be locked in the loop of the knot rather that against the wire in the hook eye.
Step 2. Put the short end back through the loop of the Clinch.
Step 3. Pull the short end and the long end to get the knot started. Lubricate it with a touch of your tongue to the knot, then pull the long end to draw the knot completely tight. Stretch the mono of the tippet and hold it stretched out for a second or two. Trim off the short end, which you notice isn’t so short.
The Improved Clinch pulled tight. Trim off the short end.