Fishing knots: which knot to tie, and when to use it

How a fishing knot fails, and why that decides which one you tie

A knot fails in one of three ways, and each one points at a different fix. It slips, meaning the tag end pulls back through the wraps and the knot unravels. It cuts itself, meaning line crosses line under load and one strand saws through the other. Or it breaks at the knot because the fibres were damaged while you tightened it.

Slipping is a line problem more than a knot problem. Braided line has a slick, round profile and very little stretch, so wraps that hold fine in monofilament can creep in braid. The fix is more wraps, a knot with a locking turn, or a knot designed for slick line in the first place.

Cutting yourself is a geometry problem. Any knot has a point where the line makes its tightest turn, and that is where it will part. Lubricating the knot before you snug it down, and pulling steadily rather than in jerks, keeps the turns from biting into each other as they seat.

Heat damage is the quiet one. Pull a knot tight dry, fast, in thin line, and the friction of the wraps sliding over each other can weaken the line before you ever hook a fish. Wet the knot. It costs a second and it is widely recommended for that reason.

Knot terms: tag end, standing line, wraps and seating

Every set of knot instructions uses the same handful of words, so they are worth pinning down before anything else.

The tag end is the short loose end you are working with. The standing line is the long part running back to the reel. A wrap or turn is one pass of the tag end around another piece of line. The loop is any open bight the tag end passes through. Seating the knot is the final pull that draws all the turns down snug against each other into their finished shape.

Two more terms matter for leader work. A leader is a separate length of line, usually less visible or more abrasion resistant than the main line, joined to the end of it. A connection knot or line to line knot is what joins the two.

When you trim, leave a short tag rather than cutting flush. Knots settle slightly under their first real load, and a tag trimmed hard against the knot gives nothing to give. A short stub is enough and will not catch weed.

Knots for tying line to a hook or lure

This is the knot you tie most often, so it is the one to make automatic. The improved clinch knot is the usual starting point: wrap the tag end around the standing line several times, pass it back through the small loop at the hook eye, then back through the large loop you just created, wet it and pull it down. It suits monofilament and fluorocarbon in light to medium sizes and ties fast with cold hands.

The Palomar knot is the other mainstay and the one most braid users settle on. It is tied with a doubled line, so the knot passes twice through the hook eye, and the shape has very little to slip. Double a length of line, pass the loop through the eye, tie a loose overhand knot with the doubled line, pass the loop over the whole hook, then wet and draw it tight. Because it is doubled, it works well in braid where a single strand would creep.

The uni knot (also called the Duncan loop) is the most adaptable of the three. Run the line through the eye, fold it back alongside itself, make several wraps around both strands through the loop you have formed, then pull the wraps into a barrel and slide it down. Stop it short of the eye and you have a loop knot; slide it all the way home and you have a tight connection. The same knot doubled becomes the double uni for joining two lines.

The snell knot deserves a mention because it does something the others do not. It binds the line along the hook shank rather than to the eye, which keeps the hook in line with the pull and helps hooksets on bait rigs and octopus style hooks. It is one common option for a drop shot hook, where you want the hook standing out from the line at a right angle, and the drop shot guide shows that rig in full.

Line to leader: joining two lines

Line to leader knots have two jobs. They must hold under load, and they must be slim enough to pass through the rod guides without slapping or jamming on the cast. A bulky join can cut casting distance and catch in the guides.

The double uni knot is the workhorse. It is two uni knots, one tied with each line facing the other, then pulled together until they jam back to back. It is easy to learn, it handles mono to mono and mono to fluorocarbon well, and it goes through guides acceptably in lighter line. In braid to leader, add extra wraps on the braid side because braid needs more turns to bite.

The FG knot is the choice when the join has to cast through the guides repeatedly, which is most braid to fluorocarbon situations. It is not a knot in the ordinary sense. The braid is woven onto the leader in a series of alternating hitches so the join grips along the leader rather than sitting on top of it, giving a very slim profile. It takes practice and needs tension held throughout, so learn it at home rather than on the water.

The Alberto knot and the Albright knot sit between those two: slimmer and more reliable than a double uni in braid, easier to tie than an FG. All of them work better when the two lines are not wildly different in diameter. If the leader is far thicker than the main line, the wraps cannot bed down evenly, and that mismatch, not the knot itself, is what lets go.

Loops, droppers and terminal connections

A loop knot leaves an open loop at the lure eye instead of cinching tight against it. Jerkbaits, streamers, jigs and small hard baits swim with more freedom on a loop, because the lure can pivot rather than being locked to the line angle. The non-slip loop knot, sometimes called the Kreh loop, is the common one: an overhand knot in the standing line, tag through the lure eye and back through the overhand, wraps around the standing line, then back through the overhand again.

A dropper loop creates a loop standing out from the middle of a line, which is how multi-hook bait rigs and some deep water rigs get their hooks spaced. Tie two or three of them into a length of leader and you have a rig that presents baits at different heights without any extra hardware.

The surgeon's loop is a quick double overhand loop at the end of a line. It is useful for loop to loop connections, where a looped leader and a looped fly line or main line pass through each other and lock. Loop to loop lets you swap leaders in seconds without retying, which matters when the light goes and the fish change.

For terminal hardware like swivels, split rings and snaps, the same hook knots apply. A swivel eye is just another eye. What changes is that hardware adds a point of failure, so if you are using a snap swivel on heavy line, check the snap's gape after every few fish rather than assuming the knot was the thing that opened.

Matching the knot to the line: mono, fluorocarbon and braid

Monofilament is stretchy, slightly grippy and forgiving. It holds almost any knot, and the stretch absorbs shock that would otherwise concentrate at the turns. If you are learning knots, learn them in mono first because it shows you the shape clearly and punishes small errors less.

Fluorocarbon is stiffer and denser than mono of the same rating, which means the wraps do not bed down as willingly and the line is more prone to heat damage as it seats. Wet it, always. Knots with fewer, larger turns tend to behave better in heavy fluorocarbon than knots with many tight turns. It is the usual leader material because it is harder for fish to see in water and resists abrasion better than mono.

Braid is the difficult one. It has almost no stretch, a slick surface and a round profile, so wraps slide rather than grip. Doubled knots such as the Palomar are the common answer, along with extra wraps on any knot you carry over from mono, and woven joins such as the FG for leader connections. Braid also does not signal damage the way mono does, so run the last few feet through your fingers before you tie and cut back anything that feels furred.

Lead core trolling line is its own case. It has a braided sheath over a lead centre, so you do not tie directly to the working end as you would with braid. One common approach is to strip back a short length of the sheath, expose and remove some of the lead core, and use the hollow sheath to form the connection to a leader.

Tools and line that make knots easier to tie well

Sharp line cutters come first. Braid in particular blunts ordinary scissors quickly, and a ragged tag end is harder to thread and more likely to catch. Keep a cutter that stays sharp on braid, and check the edge now and then.

Tying gets harder if your hands are cold, wet, or no longer as steady as they once were. Working in shelter and out of the wind, with the line held against a firm surface, makes the wraps easier to control. For FG knots, it helps to keep steady tension on the leader while the braid is woven on.

Storage matters more than it sounds like it should. Loose hooks, leader spools and terminal tackle rolling around a boat is how leaders get kinked and hook points get dulled. A gear caddy that keeps pliers, grippers and lures in fixed positions means you tie a fresh leader instead of fishing a damaged one. GearPort stocks the Scotty 451 Mini Gear Caddy, with places for line grippers, pliers, lures and a rod rest.

For line itself, keep both a main line and a leader spool aboard. GearPort carries Sufix ProMix braid in 10 lb test and Sufix Performance lead core in a metered 12 lb, 200 yard spool for trolling depth control. Trollers running downriggers also need line releases: the Scotty Power Grip Plus Line Release 1173 grips the line between soft pads, so it is worth paying attention to how you dress the line into the release.

A short practice routine before your next trip

Knots are a motor skill, not knowledge. Reading about a Palomar and tying one in the dark with wet hands are different abilities, and only one of them lands fish.

Cut a few yards of the line you actually fish, take a hook with the point blunted or buried in cork, and tie the same knot ten times in a row while watching a video or sitting at the kitchen table. Repeating it until the sequence feels automatic is the point. Do it again the next evening and it sticks.

Then test what you tie. Tie a knot, wet it, seat it, and pull on it hard, steadily, with gloved hands or against a fixed point until something gives. Where it breaks tells you what to fix. Broken at the knot means your seating technique needs work. Pulled free means you need more wraps or a different knot for that line. Broken mid-line means the knot was fine and the line was the limit, which is the result you want.

Finally, build the habit of retying. Check the last foot of line between fish, especially after a snag, after a fish that took you into structure, and at the start of every session. The knot you tied last week in a hurry is the one that opens on the fish you remember.

Common questions

What is the strongest fishing knot?

There is no single answer, because knot strength depends on the line as well as the knot. In braid, a doubled knot such as the Palomar generally holds better than a single strand clinch. In monofilament and fluorocarbon, a well seated improved clinch or uni knot performs well. The way you tighten the knot, wet and steady rather than dry and fast, matters as much as which one you choose.

Which knot should I use to tie a hook onto braid?

Most braid users tie a Palomar. It is tied with doubled line, so the knot passes twice through the hook eye and has little to slip against braid's slick surface. If you prefer a clinch or uni knot, add extra wraps compared with what you would use in monofilament, because braid needs more turns before it bites.

What knot joins braid to a fluorocarbon leader?

The FG knot is the common choice when the join has to pass through the rod guides on every cast, because the braid is woven onto the leader rather than sitting on top of it, giving a slim profile. The Alberto or Albright knot is easier to learn. A double uni also works, especially in lighter line, but the join is bulkier.

Why do my knots keep breaking?

Usually because the knot was tightened dry. Friction as the wraps slide over each other can damage the line before a fish ever pulls on it. Wet the knot before seating it and pull steadily rather than in jerks. Other causes are too few wraps for the line type, a tag trimmed flush against the knot, and line already nicked from structure.

Do I need a leader at all?

Not always. A leader is worth adding when you want less visible line at the lure, more abrasion resistance around structure, or a different stiffness at the business end. Braid main line is usually fished with a fluorocarbon or monofilament leader for those reasons. Fishing straight monofilament in open water often needs no leader at all.

How often should I retie?

Check the last foot of line between fish and retie whenever it feels rough, looks scuffed, or has been through a snag. Also retie at the start of a session if the rig has sat rigged since last time. Braid in particular does not show damage the way monofilament does, so run it through your fingers rather than only looking at it.

Sources

• GearPort catalog listing: Sufix ProMix Braid Fishing Line 630-110L 10 lb Neon Lime 300 yds
• GearPort catalog listing: Sufix Performance Lead Core Fishing Line 668-212MC 12lb 200 Yds Metered
• GearPort catalog listing: Scotty 451 Mini Gear Caddy 0451 Fishing Tackle Organizer
• GearPort catalog listing: Scotty Power Grip Plus Line Release 1173