The Arbor Knot: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Trust the Damn Thing

You ever get one of those moments where you’re standing knee-deep in a river, wind howling like it’s got a personal vendetta against you, and suddenly realize your fly line is unraveling from the reel? Yeah, me too. More times than I’d like to admit. And every single time, it’s because I got lazy with the Arbor Knot.

Now, the Arbor Knot isn’t flashy. It won’t impress your fishing buddies like some fancy loop-to-loop connection or a surgeon’s knot. But here’s the thing—it’s the foundation. The unsung hero. The knot that keeps your line from abandoning ship when a big brown trout decides to test your drag. And honestly? It’s stupid simple once you stop overthinking it.

I learned this knot the hard way—by messing it up. First time I tried, I was 16, rigging up my grandpa’s old reel in his garage. He watched me fumble for a solid five minutes before chuckling and saying, “Kid, you’re making it harder than taxes.” Then he showed me the trick: just tie an overhand knot around the reel’s arbor (that’s the center spool thing, if you’re new to this), leave a little tag end, and then tie another overhand knot with that tag end. The second knot acts like a backup, a safety net for when the first one inevitably tries to slip.

Here’s where I usually lose people—because it sounds too easy. Like, that’s it? Yep. That’s it. But the magic’s in the snugging down. You gotta pull it tight, really crank it, like you’re mad at it. Then trim the excess, but not too close, because nothing’s worse than a knot that’s been shaved into oblivion.

I’ll admit, there was a time I skipped the backup knot. Just laziness, really. And of course, that was the day I hooked into what felt like a freight train of a fish—turned out to be a log, but still—and watched my entire fly line peel off the reel like it was late for a meeting. Lesson learned: always tie the backup. Always.

Some folks overcomplicate it, wrapping the line around the arbor a bunch of times or using fancy tools. Nah. Keep it simple. The Arbor Knot’s been around forever because it works. It’s the kind of thing old-timers don’t even think about—they just do it, same way they tie their shoes. And honestly, that’s the goal. You want your knots to be second nature, something you can do half-asleep at 4 a.m. when the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.

So next time you’re spooling up, take the extra 30 seconds. Tie it right. Your future self, standing in that river with the wind trying to steal your hat, will thank you.

A simple knot that is primarily used to attach fly line or backing to a fly reel, or to attach fly line directly to the reel if you're not using backing.

Step 1

Overhand knot around the long end
Put your backing or fly line around the reel. Take the short end and use it make a simple overhand knot around the long end.

Step 2

Make another overhand knot
Make an overhand knot towards the end of the shorter end.

Step 3

Pull the knots together
Pull on the piece that's closest to the reel in order to pull the last knot against the first one.

Step 4

Pull the knots tight against the reel
Pull on the long end of the line, this will pull both knots tightly against your reel.