I have an angling friend who fishes size 20 & 22 flies a lot through the winters, and he was telling me about the troubles he was having find a hook removal system to handle flies that small and 10X Tippet. Here is what I came across that I thought might be of interest here:
Interesting tool I hadn’t seen that one before. I’m still a big fan of this one and use it: 3-in-1 Knot Tying Tool (Buddy/Twin Pack) - Lake Products LLC
Here’s another knot tool I’ve used.
https://www.tailknottr.com/
I did not realize there are so many interesting tools out there. I got 2 thru Amazon for less than $9.00 ea, shipped Free on Prime, and they can be bought for a lot less than that.
For sure it is not as easy to use as it looks on the vids, especially with a Zinger cord on board and the tension it adds to the mix. But the Loops it ties are only about 1/4 of an inch Long, which is much smaller than anything I have been able to tie before.
It comes with directions but the drawings are so small that these old eyes had trouble figuring them out even with a magnifying glass. The Video above above showed how to tie a 1 turn loop better than anything else I could find. Just add a second turn for the more secure Fig 8 Loop.
Tightening the loop and getting it off of the tool is a little tricky. If you do it wrong, you get 2 loops at the end that will just come undone, which is OK because you just try again until you get it right. This is not a tool malfunction but operator error. I found that by sliding the double wraps off quickly and with momentum, they will jump up where they need to go automatically. Also, tighten both the standing line and the tag end down before removing the loop from the tool to get the best results. I bought this mainly for the small hook remover function…Karl.
Chris Stewart and I have had conversations about snelling tanago micro loopless hooks. I may have re-invented the wheel but I came up with a device which is far cheaper and infinitely better than any of the many I tried. I am aware that these hooks are available presnelled but I am both persistent and thrifty. I’d rather spend on more important things.
There are a slew of You Tube videos showing somewhat similar solutions but if like many ous, you buy pressurized canned air to clean tour keyboard, this is a free knot tool.
Simply shave the end of the red tube at an angle. This will easily make knots for the tiniest I
of hooks, Other size tubes will also make what is also known as a nail knot tool.
As for a looper, Stonfo makes a dandy adjustable looper. But it is relatively expensive and if you only need one size, adjustiblity is redundant.
Try this: get two small sticks, like tongue depressors or popsicle stiks. Drill two pilot holes in the distal end of one stick–-to the size of the desired loop. Insert two brads and glue the sticks together.
Looper:
