Know Your Knots

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IT’S BEEN AT LEAST 30 YEARS since I’ve written a How-To-Tie-A-Knot column. Since the statute of limitations has long expired, I reckon it’s time to offer a fresh one.

First, a disclaimer: Detailing a “how to” is nigh on impossible without step-by-step illustrations. So, considering my short one-page column format, this is more about stressing the importance of using a properly tied knot for the circumstances. 

Success or failure hangs on that tiny connection. The major elements — the planning, the travel, the effort — all can unravel in a trice. The abrupt slack might be brutal on the nearest bass lake or trout bay, but utterly soul-deadening on a dream trip for a career fish on far-flung water. 

The fact that a first-class excursion to an exotic destination might cost well over $1,000 per fishing day only adds to the anguish. The finest rod, the best reel and the nearest gold credit card don’t mean squat in the glare of a “piggy tail” of slipped line.

No — tying a proper knot is serious business. Trust any longtime angler on this sobering truth.

A book of fishing knots is a wise investment. But a book detailing dozens and dozens of wraps and splices and hitches can be intimidating. The fact remains (and I base this on more than 50 years of sweating over numerous pro-class knots) that a mere four or five will cover most light-tackle situations.

Learn these, tie them with confidence, and you are good to go anywhere this side of a broadbill swordfish. 

The line to line-eye connection to a hook or lure is most common, and the IMPROVED CLINCH KNOT remains the gold standard. The sheer tonnage of freshwater and saltwater sport fish caught annually by this one knot is impossible to fathom.

I learned the improved clinch in elementary school back at the Hermann Park Duck Pond in Houston during the mid-1950s and have used it with confidence around the angling world.

Another line to hook/lure connection may be favored in a specific situation but the improved clinch will get you solidly in the game. It is easy to master, even under duress or after a few fingers of aged dark rum. A drawback to the improved clinch is that it can be difficult to wrap with heavy mono or fluoro. 

A TERMINAL LOOP KNOT allowing free range of motion can be an upgrade on a wobbling plug or spoon, even some flies (larger shrimp/crab/baitfish saltwater patterns, or freshwater streamers and poppers). The one I favor is a non-slip easy-to-wrap loop known as the Costa Rica knot. It was demonstrated to me by Fernando Gonzales, a Parismina River tarpon guide during the 1980s.

It does not have the best knot strength, as the wrap cuts into itself, but this is academic with the heavier leader material.

Other loop knots are used for connecting a line and leader. The surgeon’s loop with two overhand wraps is super easy to tie and works without fail. The perfection loop is the preferred choice for attaching the butt end of a mono leader to a fly line, but for inexplicable reasons I keep forgetting how to tie one. After one or two exasperating fumbles I usually say screw it and wrap a quick and effortless surgeon’s loop. The fish don’t object.

A line-to-line connection is another must-know. The SURGEON’S KNOT (rather than the above-mentioned loop) is a bit bulky compared to a trim blood knot but much less hassle to wrap. If the connection is braid casting line to mono leader, avoid trying to crank the knot through the narrow level wind; if the connection is braid or mono casting line to a short shock leader, keep the fat surgeon’s knot from banging though the fragile tip guide. 

A line-to-line knot that trumps the popular surgeon’s knot was shown to me about 15 years ago by Everglades snook guide, Ward Michaels. I believe he called it a double jam knot. It is like a uni-knot, but with only two overhand turns per line rather than four. It is trim and simple and offers a low profile in clear water.  

A double line formed with two identical loops should be used to connect a thin casting line to a heavy leader. The double line is also used as a loop-to-loop connection for braided backing line to fly line. Either way, it provides greater surface area to displace stress and friction.

The BIMINI TWIST is the signature choice for big fish in saltwater, but it can be a bitch to wrap —very complicated, requiring several sweaty appendages working in concert. 

The spider hitch is a great way to cheat. Using the thumbs and indexes of both hands to pinch and wrap, the average angler can whip out a trim double line in seconds. The books recommend six turns but in my experience three or four are bulletproof (and easier to weave).  

Some critics argue that the proper Bimini has superior knot strength. It is an excellent knot, and scores well on the Style Meter, but it is over-engineered for average encounters. Based on several decades of use, I have no reason to fault the B-Team spider hitch. 

A SNELL KNOT might be added to the short list. It allows straight-line contact on a hook with an upturned or downturned eye. It provides a clean look and probably helps when setting the hook.

Regardless of knot, the key is to pull all ends smoothly and firmly, while making certain the wraps cinch without overlapping or bulging. With mono or fluoro it helps to moisten the line with saliva before tightening. 

All rigging demands well-lit conditions, and those of us in the Geezer Division should have a pair of reader glasses handy. And, always, if the final effort looks suspect, cut it off and re-tie.

 

Email Joe Doggett at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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