Theo’s Bobbin Knot
One of the things I love about attending the shows and symposia around the nation is the wealth of information that can be found there. At the 2011 International Fly Tying Symposium (held in Somerset, New Jersey, on November 19 and 20), my friend, Theo Bakelaar, showed me a really slick knot that he ties with the bobbin. It allows one to place a knot anywhere along the length of the hook shank. I know, the half hitch is a good knot for tying off the thread between operations, but Theo’s knot is much less cumbersome to tie on the back of a 10X long hook shank, or a standard hook shank for that matter. This is a great fly tying tip; have a look and add it to your bag of tying tricks.
First form a loop over the end of your finger—as in making a dubbing loop or spinning loop.
Then, drop the bobbin through the loop so that the thread is twisted around one leg of the loop—look closely at the leg on the right side. Wrap the thread one, two, or three times around the same leg of the loop.
Pull the knot tight, guiding it into place between the thumb and forefinger of your materials hand.