John Bailey (the owner of Dan Bailey’s) was nice enough to lend us his Chatillon tippet testing machine (which probably costs as much as my car) to collect data for an article we are writing for Fly Fisherman. So far the testing has been going well, we are definitely seeing trends of who’s Fluorocarbon and Nylon is stronger, as well as who’s fudging on their advertised size and breaking strength. The most interesting thing we are finding however is how important your knots are! Depending on which knot you choose, (and how the coils lay down), we found that regardless of who’s material we tested, knots consistently reduced breaking strength by 35-50%. Which in a way, is kind of cool, because it forced us to learn a handful of new knots. Which brings up the question, Got knots? We know as soon as soon the ink hits the paper people will ask, “Well why didn’t you try the Tijuana Tripple Turn!?” or “How could you have forgotten the “Double Improved Soul Train Twister!?” So… if you know of any trick knots for tying on your fly or something slick for tippet to tippet, please e-mail us and we’ll test it. Ditto that if you know of some good fluorocarbon or nylon you’d like to see tested.