Here’s the latest installment in an ongoing series of videos called “One-Minute Fly-Tying Tips and Techniques” from Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions. Each video teaches a single tying skill, from the most basic to the advanced. Ultimately, the series will serve as a sort of encyclopedia of tying skills that will be a valuable resource for anyone who sits down at a vise to create a fly.
A weedguard makes it possible to fish patterns such as bass poppers through heavy cover without having to clean off the hook after every retrieve. Even some trout streamers can benefit from such a guard, especially if you’re fishing in waters with lots of weeds or wood. In this great video, Tim shows his new favorite method for creating a weedguard, securing the mono at the hook eye by creating a small ball at the front end of the monofilament.
I always had good success running the end of the monofilament through the hook eye and then doubling it over before tying it down. What I always struggled with was alignment; the mono would twist and not be parallel to the hook, thus exposing the point of the hook and leading to snags. I finally quit using weed guards altogether.