How To Tie Fishing Knots
Knot Tying Instructions - Knot Making Tips With Illustration Photos
A weak fishing line knot will obviously be disappointing and devastating if you hook into a nice big fish, and then lose it due to a poorly tied knot in your fishing line. The last thing a fisherman wants is to hook into a fish and have the line snap or slip right at the knot.
Knowing how to properly tie knots to match up the best with any type of fishing line should give you little doubt that your knotted line will hold up against fighting some of the toughest fish.
Precise fishing line knot tying is a very important skill that all fishermen should take pride in learning to master. But before we begin with any knot tying tutorials, here are a few must know tips to help with tying the best possible knots...
Tips For Tying Fishing Line Knots
- Always moisten your line at the knot before completely cinching it down. Use water or saliva to moisten. Never put your mouth onto it because of the bacteria that is present in most rivers, lakes, streams, sloughs and ponds... you wouldn't want to get sick and not be able to fish for a week or two, right?
- Go slow and steady as you cinch down your knots. Cinching it too fast will create friction, which generates heat on the line, which weakens the line at the knot. If your fishing line and knot are weak, then your line will be more susceptible to breaking, especially with a big fish at the end of it.
- When your knot is complete, snip off the excess line of the tag end close to the knot, about 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch. No closer than an eighth of an inch to allow for any slippage that might occur. No longer than a fourth of an inch because you don't want any excess line looking obtrusive to turn off the fish, or interferring with the lures' presentation.
- If you're continously casting and retrieving lures all day, be sure to take a moment every now and then to retie your fishing knots. Excess casting actually works the knot and weakens it. I know you just want to fish, fish and keep on fishing, but it would be a good idea to take a minute to retie. When you do retie, cut off a couple extra feet of line above the old knot, because that section of line most likely will contain abrassions and will be weak.
Fishing Knots Illustrated
Are you ready to get naughty or not?... er' um, knotty?... I mean, let's tie some knots, shall we?
Overhand Knot
This may seem like a silly demonstration for most of you, but there are quite a few people that aren't sure exactly what an overhand knot is. Sure, they have seen it, and use it regularly of course, but just might not know what it is when they hear the term "overhand knot". So, here is a picture of it below... can you say "oh yeah, duh, I knew that!"
The
Overhand Knot is the simplest and most common knotBy the way, it's technically not considered an overhand knot until and unless the ends are pulled tight and cinched down. As it shows in the photo above, that is actually known as a "granny knot".
A Knot For Rigging Fishing Line To Reel
Arbor Knot: One of the first fishing knots that you're going to want to know how to tie. It's an excellent knot for securing your fishing line to the spool of your fishing reel.
Knots For Tying Fishing Line To Terminal Tackle
Clinch Knot: Also known as the Cinch Knot or the Fisherman's knot. It's used to connect fishing line to the eye of a hook, lure or swivel.
Improved Clinch Knot: An extended version of the regular clinch knot. It's basically the same thing, just with one additional step added towards the end of the tying process. The added step gives the knot a little more strength and less opportunity for the knot to slip out.
Dropper Loop Knot: A nifty way to be able to attach additional hooks away from the end of your line. You can also use it to add flies or even sinkers if you wanted to.
Palomar Knot: About one of the strongest fishing knots. It's quite easy to tie and is great for connecting line to hooks, lures and swivels. More than likely, your fishing line will break before this knot ever slips.
Rapala Knot: About the best fishing knots for tying fishing line directly to crankbait style lures. It contains a loop to allow the lure to move freely with the shimmy shaking and wobbling the way it was designed to move.
Trilene Knot is another easy one to learn. It's just like tying the clinch knot, except there is an added loop to begin with.
Uni Knot: Also called the Grinner Knot or the Duncan Loop, is a nice tough knot to have in your arsenal. Once you become familiar with this knot then it's quites easy and quick to tie.
Fishing Knots For Connecting Two Lines Together
Albright Knot: is more than just alright. It's a good strong knot for joining two lines of different diameters. It also has a low profile, streamline appearance which allows for smooth casts without getting caught in the rod guides.
Blood Knot: A nice way to join together two lines of similar diameter. The strength of this knot relies a lot on the amount of wraps. Many fly fishermen swear by this one because of it's streamline appearance and that it doesn't bend at the knot as some of the other knots do.
Surgeon's Knot: A very easy and simple knot to tie. It's not the prettiest, but it's strong. I recommend this one over the blood knot, and/or if you have trouble tying another for joining two lines together.
Uni To Uni Knot: About the best and easiest knots to tie for connecting to seperate lines together with of similar diameters. Many also call this the Double Uni Knot.
Fishing Knots Guide Books, Instruction Videos, Kindle Editions and Waterproof Knot Cards
If you're serious about fishing, it's a good idea to learn about which knots are best to use and for what. Books and videos are perfect just for that. It can also be just as helpful to carry a set of waterproof knot instructions with yourself out on the water.
