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Feb 02 2015

Rigging With Wire – The Jam Knot

Fly Fishing for Barracuda
Andros South guest, Chris Jordan, doing work with wire. Photo: Chris Jordan

We really like throwing flies to barracuda at Andros South. They’re big, aggressive, and amazingly fast. They also have a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, which we think just adds to the excitement.

Monofilament doesn’t last too long around barracuda, so we make sure to use a leader ending in 18 inches or so of heavy wire. There are many great wire materials out there, but one of our favorites is RIO’s Powerflex Wire Bite Tippet. It’s strong, nylon coated allowing knots to seat, and is supple enough to tie knots directly to the fly.

However, a common question we receive when rigging up for barracuda is what knot to use when tying on a fly with wire? The beauty of knotable wires like RIO’s Wire Bite, is that most standard tippet to fly knots can be used. However, our favorite knot to use is even simpler.. It’s called the Jam Knot and its super strong and super simple to tie. Check it out below!

Rigging Flies with Wire
Step 1: Tie a simple overhand knot and draw tight. Trim excess leaving a small knot at the end of the leader.
Rigging Flies with Wire
Step 2: Create a second over hand knot in the leader but don’t draw tight.
Rigging Flies with Wire
Step 3: Push the first knot through the eye of the hook and through the second over hand knot.
Rigging Flies with Wire
Step 4: Draw the second overhand knot tight. Pull the standing end of the leader to lock the first knot into the second knot. Done!

More on Knots

  • Fishing Knots You Need
  • Hand-Tied Leaders for Saltwater Fishing
  • The Becker (Orvis) Knot

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bob Bentley says

    February 2, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    Thanks for the tip – looks nice and easy.

    Am curious what knot you like to use to then connect the leader ( mono or fluro ) to the wire?

  2. Kyle Shea says

    February 3, 2015 at 6:07 am

    Hey Bob,

    Glad you found it helpful. I prefer to use a standard albright knot when connecting the wire ‘tippet’ to the leader. It’s simple, strong, and The nylon coating on the wire seems to allow the leader to ‘bite’ providing a nice connection. However, I have seen others use a double nail knot, a nail knot in each material, allowing the two to butt against each other when tightening for a solid connection as well. Hope that helps!

  3. Sean Gilligan says

    February 4, 2016 at 10:37 am

    Do you also use a Jam Knot on the trailing hook?

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