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