03 LOOP TO LOOP

TYING THE LOOP TO LOOP KNOT

You may be wondering why I am giving space to such a well-known knot. It is a good way of joining two loops fashioned out of any line. If you don’t wish to tie the lines together using a line-to-line knot, this provides a good alternative, and provided both loops are strong, what more needs to be said, right?

Wrong! Thanks to NetKnots.com, I was aware that this knot is formed to prevent the weaker line forming a Girth Hitch which will either cut the line to which it is attached or allow itself to be cut. I had never experienced this myself but routinely would take the weaker loop around the stronger loop x3 times. 

However, I was finding that whatever pattern of loop or mix of loops I used, the loop on the weaker line was being cut long before it was able to reach its full potential. Their full potential had already been assessed before I linked them together.

Clearly, the loop-to-loop knot was not working as it should. Part of the reason was that I was not giving it enough turns around the heavier line. This may not be so necessary with thicker lines, but it certainly is with such thin lines as these. The other cause was the way I cinched the two knots. Despite putting in the required x6 turns and suitably moistening the link, I found that excessive pulling from opposite directions caused the knot to ‘bite down’ and seemed to weaken its cushioning effect.

Instead, I found that gently pulling on the weaker line whilst moving the loop head back towards its source, and only applying more tension once all the wraps were in situ, was more effective.

Once I did this, I could take the hook end of the weaker line and wrap it many times around the hook of my scales for grip and watch the scales register a breaking point of between 90% - 100%.

In such tests, sometimes the loop on the weaker line would break in two where it joined the other loop, at other times it would break at the knot. Provided you are seeing the performance you expect, it doesn’t much matter.

As I like to use both these lines in a loop-to-loop configuration when float fishing, I am wondering now how strong those linkages really were knowing what I know now …

What I say next about joining one line to another is perhaps a little ‘quirky’ in its stance and not designed to suggest one method is better than another – there will, in fact, be a host of reasons why we pick one method over another.

Our choices number:

1.     Loop to Loop

2.   A connector of some sort – I like these by Drennan but use rig tubing instead of the black sleeve provided:

3.   Line to line - Have we not all heard the sayings such as ‘keep it simple’, ‘don’t use too many knots as you will weaken the line’? What does this mean? Undoubtedly, a badly-tied knot will weaken the line. But the underlying point, surely, is that the more knots you must tie, the greater your chances of ‘badly tying’ one of them?

Thus, we see that Option 1 invariably requires x3 knots, Option 2 (middle of the road) employs x2 knots, and Option 3 most often uses x1 knot - but can use x2 depending on pattern selection.

I told you it was a slightly quirky observation but not without a measure of validity.

But ‘to be forewarned is to be forearmed’, as they say, so bokken lace in hand, let’s away to our 3-knot challenge …

(click on photos to expand)

01 Here I am using the black lace (Surgeons Loop) to represent the stronger line and the yellow lace (San Diego Jam Loop making its first appearance) to represent the lighter line

02 Place the loop of lighter line over the loop of heavier line

03 Bring the tag end up through the loop of heavier line in preparation to pull the loop knot of the lighter line through

04 This is the default starting position with the ‘yoke’ turn in the bag and five more to come – note the gap between the knot on the yellow lace and the tip of the loop on the black lace. This is to allow room for the required amount of turns to be made easily and is the reason why the loop in the weaker line should be tied slightly longer than the loop in the heavier line

05 Here, the tag end is being brought up through the loop of the heavy line to make the first turn. Keep doing this until all the turns have been made TIP Hold the top of the loop of weaker line in place while you are making the turns

06 Here we see the 'yoke' or top of the loop of weaker line and one turn around the loop of the stronger line

07 And here you see all the turns in place prior to cinching TIP Remember to gently pull on the lighter line (yellow) from the right whilst gently easing its 'yoke' or tip from the left – having first moistened the whole loop connection

08 One side of the finished knot – note the buffering effect of the turns

09 And here’s the other – neither of which is visible once cinched on the fine braids I use!

Okay, it’s time to return to our two ‘athletes’ where we left them – stretching in readiness for their encounter …

Recipe

• Use at least x6 turns of the weaker line before cinching

(click on photos to expand)

01 Hard to see from this picture but the lighter line is the topmost loop – the difference in diameters is much easier to see with the naked eye

02 The lighter line comes in from the top right as you view this photo and encircles the black heavier line coming from the left

03 The classic interlocking loops’ starting point with the loop on the weaker line resting on the loop of the heavier line

04 Yours truly holding the loop top of the weaker line in place ready to make the required number of turns. As with the bokken lace, note how a gap has been left opposite my thumb and finger to accommodate the succession of turns to come

05 The knot has now been cinched. As stated previously, there is not much to look at. The weaker line is the one on the right

06 We’re all set for the contest to begin. The weaker line has been wrapped multiple times around the hook of my digital scales so that it won’t slip; the heavier line is on a spool off camera. All that is missing is one of Ennio Morricone’s classic scores to heighten the suspense …

07 Suddenly, as EM hits his stride, there is a loud crack as one duellist stands, one falls … Our lighter line has gallantly held out ‘til the last but can hold out no more. It’s all over. The lighter line fails at 100% of its line strength pushing the heavier line to 81% of its line strength in the process. Their Sire smiles to himself at the result. He can ask for no more. The boys done good!

Loop Ledger Rig

Earlier, I said that I used this loop-to-loop connection for float fishing. The following rig is for ledger fishing and uses a loop-to-loop connection:

I have not used this rig myself, but I know that lots do, and it has always struck me as an interesting set-up. If you are using a non-braided line, it should be relatively easy to create it. First, decide whether you wish to form the large loop with your feeder already in place, or whether you plan to clip it on later. Simply form a large double Surgeons Loop Knot and then form another double Surgeons Loop Knot with the top of the loop to take the hook link as you see above.

For those of you wishing to use a braided main line, this set-up presents a few challenges, not least of which is that the Surgeons Loop Knot is not particularly effective with braid. Of my three loop knots, the Crocodile Knot and the San Diego Jam Loop Knot seem to be the most suitable since they are both formed after the length of loop has been determined.

Connecting a hook length would be a straightforward loop-to-loop connection, although you might wish to use a float stop on the big loop to stop the feeder before it reaches the join as if there was a second knot. My solution was to use a Drennan quick-change bead with the large loop forming a Girth Hitch around the post hole inside the bead leaving the other end to connect to the loop of the chosen hook length:

PB