The Albright Knot

Captain Jimmie Albright, one of the most noted anglers, was also a pioneer and innovator of fly-fishing techniques. His interest and knowledge of the waters in and around the Florida Keys, where he spent most part of his semi-retired life fishing and angling, was astounding and made him an unofficial guru to some of the celebrated anglers of his time, some of them stars in their own right - authors, writers, actors and singers. The Albright Knot that he invented has now become a standard knot-tying technique among salt water anglers; these include those special groups of angling experts that pursue and covet International Game-Fish Association line-class records. The Albright Special and the Nail Knot that he also invented are indispensable to anglers; the Nail Knot is so named because it requires a penny nail to tie it. This is the knot universally used by fly-fishers trying their hand at anything from small Bluegills to large Tuna. The Albright Knot is used to join two lines of asymmetrical diameters; a technique so simple but highly effective and strong. Anglers pay a lot of attention to tying knots and it takes a lot of practice and perhaps some missed catches, to perfect the tying of a fishing knot. The right knot makes all the difference between landing a good catch and ending up with none. Besides the skill and art of tying knots, knowing which knot to use when and how to use it is the difference in skill from a beginner to a master fisherman; this is something that all aspiring anglers should learn. Uses of the Albright Knot Braided lines have grown in popularity enough to make anglers start to fish for heavier fish on lighter fishing tackles making it all the more necessary for strong and reliable fishing knots to be used. Because of its versatility, the Albright has a range of uses. Relatively easy to tie, it is usually used to tie two fishing lines of different types for e.g. a braided line to a wire or a monofilament to a braid. It is also extremely useful for joining two fishing lines with markedly different diameters; anglers commonly use this knot to join the fly line with the backing line. The important thing is to wind the loops neatly around the initial loop made in the larger line and keep tightening till the end of the smaller line is wound into the overlapping end of the larger line and tightened, moistening the end with saliva or water. Some anglers use a technique of coating the not with rubber-based cement to give it a smooth finish and also to make the knot more secure. A bit of information that is not common knowledge unless it is a seasoned angler is to practice using the Albright Knot by just doubling over the end of the leader or the main line and tying an open-ended loop. This practice makes the Albright one of the quickest and easily the most reliable ways to bring together a monofilament leader and a braided line. This technique works well for both boat fishing and shore fishing. A lot of sea anglers depend on the Albright for fishing Carp.