The snell is a bit of an odd knot. Most anglers don’t know how to tie it, largely because while it has advantages in certain fishing styles, it’s not nearly as versatile as other common connections.

Few flies are as ubiquitously potent as the Clouser Minnow. Invented by legendary fly angler Bob Clouser in the late 1980s, the pattern quickly proved it had far more uses than originally intended.