We first started tying an early version of the Slim Beauty back in the early 1990s in the Key West area. The idea for the knot began in the 1970s with a desire to develop a knot similar to the jam knot that was quicker to tie but just as strong as Bimini-to-Huffnagle or Bimini-to-Albright knots. Versions of this knot had been used before, of course. Captain Tom Pierce, one of the top light tackle guides of his era, used a similar knot to tie mono to wire, which was his favorite bite tippet for tarpon when he pioneered fishing in Key West harbor.
The name of the knot comes from a comment made by the lunch counter lady at Five Brothers sandwich shop in Key West, who called Tom Rowland a “Slim Beauty” while he was in the shop with Simon Becker. Simon took the name and applied it to the knot, which he had a large role in developing and testing. [Read more...]
Maarten Bruinenberg, who besides being an expert fly tier is a 
As I was talking with Keys guide Dustin Huff the other day, we both agreed that without tarpon fishing, we’d be scratching our heads about what the future might bring. As with permit, bonefish, redfish and snook, tarpon seasons trend up and down, but the migratory nature of the fish means that they aren’t as completely dependent on local food sources and weather conditions to thrive. That may be one reason their populations seem to be holding up, even if they are more difficult to feed–a phenomenon easily explained by the numbers of boats and fishermen. And of course tarpon are very long lived–as is the tradition of fishing for them.
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