How to tie the Surgeon's Knot？

Use cases: leader to tippet, tippet to tippet

You ever find yourself standing knee-deep in a river, fingers numb from the cold, trying to tie a leader to a tippet while the fish are practically laughing at you? Yeah, me too. That’s when the surgeon’s knot became my go-to—not because it’s fancy, but because it’s stupidly reliable when your hands feel like sausages and your patience is thinner than 6X tippet.

First off, let’s be real: this knot isn’t some arcane wizardry. It’s just an overhand knot with an extra twist—literally. You lay the leader and tippet side by side, overlap ‘em a few inches, and then tie a simple overhand knot like you’re back in kindergarten. But here’s the kicker: instead of pulling it tight after one loop, you do it twice. That second twist is what locks everything in place, like a bouncer at a sketchy bar.

I remember this one time on the Yellowstone, mid-October, wind howling like it had a personal vendetta against me. My tippet snapped on a stubborn brown trout, and I had to retie fast. Did the surgeon’s knot, messy as hell, but it held. Not pretty, but neither was my casting that day.

For tippet-to-tippet? Same deal. It’s like frankensteining two limp noodles together, but somehow it works. Just double the twists, keep ‘em snug but not strangling each other, and lick the line before pulling tight—saliva’s weirdly the best lubricant. Don’t ask me why; it just is.

Now, is it the strongest knot out there? Nah. But when you’re in a pinch, or the light’s fading, or your buddy’s yelling about rising fish while you’re fumbling like a sleep-deprived raccoon, it’s the knot that won’t ghost on you. And sometimes, that’s all you need.