Let this be a place to discover and share braid knots with like-minded people, and, where possible, popularise them so that they may become more mainstream.
For consideration, all braid knots must consistently meet the minimum performance standard of 90% of the line's breaking strain.
It sounds easy. It is not.
This is a post about One-stop Data Sourcing (Structured Data Streaming - SDS). If I wish to find out about a product, fishing or otherwise, I usually have to 'surf the Net' wading through mountains of videos, blogs, forum debates until I have enough information to make a determination. Does that not strike you as a bit long winded? Would it not make more sense for me to be able to open an App on my smart device, whether on -line or in-store, and scan the bar code of the product that interests me so that I may see the comments, reviews, how-to videos loaded by other users? Such technology can be applied to many kinds of products and its use is all around us right now. Not convinced? Well, we all use fishing line and the majority of us tie knots on our chosen line. If we are fortunate, our favourite knot will work fine on the selected line material. If we are new to angling or have decided to experiment with a different line material, we might find our favourite knots are no longer adequate. How convenient it would be to scan the bar code of the line we are considering purchasing and see all the best knots and configurations, comments, YouTube videos etc. there in the one location. A few years ago, I created the following presentation to illustrate the above points (I'm afraid the animation is switched off). I wrote it from the perspective of a publication holding the middle ground. You will also see the 'Younger Me' trying his hand at braid knots ... With Animation
Last year (2019), I revisited this idea and explored some more possibilities whilst condensing it at the same time (see link below). On the surface, the idea is fairly easy to present. The difficulty is knowing where to stop as the options are huge:
Whatever type of fishing you plan to do, you will be faced by the dilemma of how best to attach your line to the spool of your reel. Unsurprisingly, it is one of the commonest questions asked by novices. It may surprise you to know that there are multiple ways of doing this and that one way is not necessarily superior to another as it can depend on what the angler wishes to achieve. I will explain.
Many are concerned about line slippage rather than the strength of the knot, particularly with braided lines. A popular recommendation is to tie an Arbor Knotand then wrap some electrical tape over it to keep everything in place. This knot will lightly secure your line to the spool and provide little resistance should you be in danger of being 'spooled'.
The alternative school of thought is to use a much stronger knot to connect to the spool. In reality, if the fish has already pulled off so much line that it is now pulling against the spool, it is unlikely to be stopped there! However, the thinking is that providing your leader is weaker than the main line in whatever type of fishing you are participating, be it fly fishing, game fishing etc., a strong knot at the spool will cause the break to be at the leader end rather than the spool end resulting in you loosing only a few feet of line rather than the whole of the line.
"So, what kind of knot should I deploy?", you ask. If you are using monofilament or fluorocarbon as your main line, you can probably achieve moderate performance by wrapping your main line multiple times around the spool before applying a Uni Knot or San Diego Jam Knot. These materials are quite grippy and will afford you some security. With braid, and particularly fine braid in the 10-12 lbs class, it's a different story. Even though the type of knot I have just described will work very well with hooks and swivels using braid, a reel spool is different. You see, all connection knots rely to some degree for their performance on the item they are being attached to - the more awkward the shape, the more difficult it will be to get a slippery material like braid to grip.
That's why you should be looking to use a 100% non-slip loop. Whatever the line material you may be using, a non-slip loop relies for its strength solely on how well you have tied it and nothing else. The width of the attachment cannot affect it.
A strong Bimini Twist would certainly be a good candidate. Make the loop long enough so that when twisted, it fits over the spool at least twice. If you are using fine braid in the 10-12 lbs class, you will need to use x50 wraps in its composition. I am not alone in thinking this. See the 100 Percent Arbor Knot.
Good though the Bimini Twist undoubtedly is, I would like to suggest an alternative loop knot that has the added advantage of being adjustable - the San Diego Jam Loop Knot:
I successfully tied my 11 lbs braided line to my metal Shimano spool with the above knot as a single loop around the spool and in crossed-over doubled loop format. Both times, it went the distance.
Once you have tied your line to your spool, you will wish to ensure that you wind the line on in the correct direction to prevent it twisting up. The following diagram shows you the correct way:
Hopefully, you will now have a better understanding of the choices available to you when making this most important of decisions.
Using a loop as part of a hair rig is not new nor is the loop knot I am referencing. Using them together, however, may not be quite so common.
Of course, employing a Knotless Knot with a small loop to which has been affixed a Quick Stop is a tried and tested method with boilies and pellets.
Once you are looking to use traditional baits like worms, maggots, casters, and sweetcorn in a similar rebaitable way on a hair rig, the Internet becomes noticeably quiet as to available options.
If you are familiar with the Knotless Knot, the Mohawk Rigas demonstrated by Gardner Tackle may be just the rig for you. I tried to use this rig without the Knotless Knot as you can see in the following frame:
Unfortunately, this resulted in the hair rig becoming detached from the hook because of the strain imposed by pulling the small hook out for rebaiting. With the Knotless Knot, however, there is nothing to come undone so no problem.
UPDATE - 2nd September 2020
I have been using the Mohawk Rig to good effect on my local bream. I thread some fine braid through a large piece of buoyant sweetcorn, tie one end securely to the hook eye, and tie the other end to the small hook - I use a barbless size 14. Any slack between hook and bait is wrapped around the hook shank.
Baiting the little hook with two small worms or one larger one is a firm favourite with my local shoal. Of course, red maggots are equally acceptable and sometimes the smart choice if they are proving hard to hit ...
The following rig is something of an 'open secret' which I have on no lesser authority than Drennan Fishing Tackle International. For, I wrote to them to see if they could manufacture hook links with the hair rig loop and back stop in place. They very kindly responded that they were fully extended with their current range of products but did helpfully point out that the following rig is in common use and small float stops are a popular choice for the back stop:
(click on photos to expand)
Because I stumbled upon this rig by trial and error (there being nothing much on the Internet at the time), I used a variety of different back stops ranging from artificial rubberised sweetcorn, casters and maggots, to thick strips of brown rubber band. In all cases, I used a small strip of thin red rubber band on the inside of the hair rig loop for the back stop to push the hair rigged baits up against. Friction in the back stop is the key point.
I thought the GEMINI might be an interesting variation but have not had a chance to test it yet on my local bream.
Last summer, I used Drennan's Double Strength (4 lbs b/s diameter 2 lbs b/s) as my hair rig material. I tied one end to the eye of the hook securely and a loop to the other end. I had the length of the hair longer than I needed so wrapped the excess line around the shank of the hook which, being mono-filament, promptly took on the appearance of a spring when unravelled!
The following knot - The Indicator Knot - is ideally suited, with a tweak, to allowing you to measure off exactly where you wish to position your hair rig loop in relation to the hook and how big a loop you want to have.
This means you can avoid the twisting that can accompany the use of mono-filament as hair rig material. My preference, however, is to use braid as it is more durable and has no memory.
So, here it is.
(click on photos to expand)
01
Tie
a piece of fine braid securely to the eye of the hook. Form a loop where you
wish your hair loop to be
02
Make
a loop in your line and push the loop through the loop in the previous frame.
The good thing about this type of loop is that, if you are unhappy with its
position, you can just pull it out and start the loop again. I did this many
times until I positioned the loop exactly where I wanted it in relation to the
hook
03
Once
you have positioned the loop where you want it and have it the size you want,
make another loop as shown
04
Twist
the loop slightly towards you as you slip it over the baiting loop. This will
lock it into place
05
Trim
the end off. Slip your thick piece of rubber band or small green float stop or
rubber artificial onto the loop and slide to the back of the loop
Uni vs Palomar vs Offshore Swivel vs Berkley Braid
This is a posting I made on Reddit in October 2021. The results should interest anyone who wants to get the best out of their knots when using fine braid. I did subsequently try to improve on my Palomar Knot results by trying variant knots with a Palomar theme, but was unsuccessful.
As you will see, the Palomar Knot is not alone in dropping its performance level when faced with a mismatch in tackle use. I have explored some of the options that an angler might wish to resort to when wishing to reinstate the lost performance.
The results obtained in the main table below can only be a general guide at best and are no substitute for testing. You should note that I chose a typical rounded swivel with which to conduct these tests.
Noteworthy, too, is that using a size 16 diamond-shaped swivel eye definitely confirms the superiority of one of the knots tested while downgrading the performance of the others.
Despite the width of the fine braid matching the diamond-shaped swivel eye, the narrowness of the point of contact seemed to have a generally adverse effect on what had been successful variants. Curiously, a standard Palomar outperformed a full-house Palomar variant under these conditions.
Disappointing and unexpected as these findings were, with only two knots advancing beyond 8 lbs b/s on the diamond-shaped swivel eye, they nevertheless confirm a long-held opinion of mine when it comes to using fine braid:
Under unfavourable conditions, a doubled-line knot with an additional wrap around its attachment is easier to tune than a single line variant.
Thus, using either the doubled-line Fish N Fool Knot with 8 turns and double and single reversed half hitches behind the knot, or a 30-twist Tuna Knot with an additional wrap, 3 tucks and 30 reversed half hitches behind the knot, I was able to achieve my target of 10 lbs b/s when I tested my loop knot against each of these knots to complete my intended rig:
In my previous posting, I was writing about the trap that the unwary can fall into when using a braided line much thinner than the hook or swivel it is attached to. I used thePalomar Knotto make the point because its purity of construction means that some of the variables present with other knot patterns are excluded.
One of my respondents asked if I wouldn't mind doing a comparison between the (Fish N Fool) Uni Knot and the Palomar Knot because they had heard that the Uni was stronger. We've all seen the videos on YouTube. Knot Wars is a favourite of mine (don't know if they are still doing it). Most standard patterns of connection knot such as the Uni allow for a variable number of turns. By contrast, the configuration of the standard Palomar is fixed. In any head-to-head, using the same equipment, the Palomar will perform to its capability, but the results of the Uni will be variable depending on how many turns you give it.
By deliberately mismatching the braided line to its attachment, you can get a better sense of the latent capabilities of each knot, and what is needed to 'up their game'. Opening up the test to some other popular patterns gives more data for comparison, and helps to identify how much or how little you have to tune them to make the grade. As you see, they can all 'make the grade', so you will also be considering other aspects such as ease of tying, core strength, consistency etc. If this sounds overly complicated, I will give my opinion on each knot later.
For the moment, let me give you a much simpler summary - Small Block V8 vs Big Block V8. Small Block needs plentiful fettling to deliver; Big Block (no substitute for the cubes) needs nothing doing to it. The power is more easily accessible, and should that be insufficient, a little fettling will bring plenty more ... I think there is one stand-out knot from my selection that is already equipped with the knot equivalent of a Big Block V8 and another one that just needs a tweak in the number of its turns to fall into this category ...
Before I give you my verdict, I think a few prefatory remarks are in order so that you can replicate my testing if you wish.
I said I was only going to test each knot x3 times. In fact, it was many more times than that. Sometimes I couldn't get a clear read on the intermediate decimal values because my arm was shaking too much (I lacked the arm of my comfortable armchair to 'steady the ship')
Any extended period of knot-testing usually turns up a 'freak-knot' result that you can't explain and can't replicate. It doesn't happen often but will skew the results if not representative. Similarly, I have gone for a re-tie where I felt I tied a poor example
Line - the line I am using
for these tests is Matrix 10.9 (when new, it will test to a little over 11
lbs). It starts off slick enough and just gets slicker with use. The other
brand was thinner and subjectively a little slicker out of the box:
Snap Swivel - The line
diameter is 0.08mm. The swivel itself is 3 mm wide at the eye and 12mm long on
just the swivel (sorry, don't know its size but reckon it to be an 8 or 10).
You can't tell much from the photo but a 15 lb braided line is approximately
the same thickness whereas the 11 lb line I am using is visibly thinner to the
naked eye:
This is a sub for Beginners. It's been a long time since I was a beginner starting out, but when it comes to the world of fine braid, I still feel like a beginner! I try to put myself into a beginner's shoes. If I am transitioning to braid or starting out with braid, what would I want to know?
After being counselled to use braid-friendly knots because of the slickness of the material, I would feel that that was all I needed to know - I did. Later, when I trained myself to use my scales at every opportunity where fine braid was in use, I observed that tying fine braid to swivels could be an issue and that I needed to check whatever knot I was using and 'fettle' it as necessary. Only now can I see a cause and effect. It's not something you see discussed. Most seasoned anglers match line to attachment so there is not really a problem to be solved. As a beginner, you don't know this. You tie a Palomar as advised. If you are lucky, you make the correct match-up and the knot holds firm. If not, the first decent fish that comes along is lost. As a beginner, you just chalk it up to your inexperience.
An old proverb covers it better than any words of mine: 'Forewarned is to be Forearmed'.
A bad or underperforming knot on a heavier line will probably not be as detrimental to the end result as it could be on a light line - simply because you have more margin for error. My top-weight hook length is 8 lbs b/s. Whatever knots I use on my 11 lbs line are tested to ensure that they can get to 10 lbs which will give me more of a cushion than 9 lbs and guarantees the hook length breaking first
All the knots tested reach
my benchmark 90% - some with less effort than others
Why no Trilene Knot? I guess an oversight. It's actually
recommended by the manufacturer of the braid I use. I don't like making
assumptions because testing should be the true arbiter. Being a single-line
construct, I wouldn't expect much better results than a Fish N Fool Knot with a
Uni or San Diego Jam Knot added. Based on previous testing, I think with a
similar-sized swivel years back, I can recall hitting the 10 lbs bench mark
with something like x30 turns. It's a safe bet to say that with an extra wrap
or two thrown in, the number of turns could be reduced to half that amount and
still hit the 10 lbs mark
Palomar - in standard configuration, it is the weakest of all the knots tested here. Yes, in the guise of a 'throw-the-kitchen-sink-at-it' Nanofil, it gets there. The line has to be suitably lubricated and a long tag allowed for so that you can grip it and exert the necessary force needed for cinching. It is the least tuneable of all the knots and proved really difficult to take over the 10 lbs finishing line. Yet when used with a balanced setup, it performs strongly and is not in the least bit unpleasant to tie. A true Jekyll and Hyde of a knot
Fish N Fool Uni - even under these adverse conditions, a 'standard' Fish N Fool Knot with x14 turns is managing approximately 75% of the line's strength to the standard Palomar's 64%. Note the small increase in performance by adding x30 reversed half hitches (x30 may be 'overkill' but I think you need at least x20 to make a difference). This is a fine-tuning step when compared to the more advantageous step of adding additional wraps around the swivel eye as shown with the Fish N Fool +3 wraps. In the same way that a Fish N Fool Knot provides more grip with braid than a regular Uni Knot because of its one extra wrap, so adding three extra wraps to make four wraps total makes for a superior Fish N Fool Knot - you are equipping it with the extra grip found when any double-line knot like a Berkley Braid Knot or Tuna Knot goes from having two strands around the attachment to four. As far as the Doubled Line Fish N Fool goes, let me just say that Phil became Pip with his 'Great Expectations'! It's not a variant I had tied before though knowing how robust a Doubled Line Uni Knot could be, I was keen to see the results. They did not disappoint. Clearly this is a Big Block knot in all but name! I kept to the x7 doubled line turns to match the x14 turns of the single line variant. I imagine that an increase from x7 to x10-x12 should guarantee the full 90%+ each and every time without too much effort at all
Offshore Swivel Knot:https://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/offshore-swivel-knot- a consistent performer at the 80%+ level. Until you have tied it a few times with fine braid, it can seem fiddly. The trick is to start with each of the twisted strands facing opposite each other across the eye of the swivel and keep good control of the swivel as you make the turns. Cinching is relatively easy up to and including x12 turns. Above this and it needs a lot of massaging. A surprise entry because it had performed well in previous testing and I wanted to see what it could do. I think you would need practice and more half-hitches to consistently hit the 'heady heights' of 90%. Whilst it might be unknown to some of you, just remember that it 'hits the ground running' unlike some better-known patterns
Berkley Braid Knot (modified) - I have saved the best until last. You don't see many values listed because it doesn't need them. It's that good! This is the second time I have tied this variant. Both times it pulled straight to the bench mark 90% plus. It's as good as my modified Tuna Knot without need of additional tuning. It tends to fly under the radar in the company of other knots. But it's a genuine Big Block V8 of a knot. Takes a little practice to master - just like the real thing, in fact - but once you get the hang of it, the results are awesomely consistent!
Tuning
I was intending to write a few words on this subject, but then I thought that to do so might detract from the central tenet. Which is? Try to match the thickness of your braided line to your attachment. If you do this, all the braid-friendly knot patterns we recommend should work well in standard form. Stray from this path, and the performance of your chosen knot could be a little or a lot below what you are expecting - particularly when you are using a fine line. After all, you would think twice about driving your road car in terrain more suited to an off-road vehicle.
Taking the above analogy, a step further, you would happily drive your off-roader on the public highway confident that should you meet something unexpected like mud or snow, you would have the vehicle to cope with it. So, it is with knots. Start off with a knot that is more capable than it needs to be for most situations, and should you make a misjudgement about the appropriateness of the line you are using, the extra performance might get you out of trouble.
If in doubt, reach for the scales. Hooks and snaps are easy enough to test. If a large mismatch is in the offing because you want to tie directly to the eye of your lure, but must keep the line thin, you might consider using a high-performance braid loop instead. It should offer you a good level of performance without the need to test. A high-performance terminal knot, no matter how good, will eventually run out of grip if the mismatch is too great. A high-performance loop knot is limited only by your ability to tie it and the strength of your line. Whether there is a tackle mismatch or not will be an irrelevance because the integrity of a loop knot is dependent on your ability to tie it and nothing else.
Generally, I steer clear of the mundane in this blog, preferring to concentrate instead on the unusual. So, why am I choosing to post about this most familiar of knots? Surely, there is nothing new to discover that cannot readily be found elsewhere?
In fact, I think there is. Truly, I can think of no other knot that divides opinion as much as the Palomar Knot. People either love it for its simplicity of construction and above-average strength across all line types, or loathe it for its ability to break at the knot seemingly well below the expected poundage.
Clearly, a knot this popular must have some merit. The biggest drawback with it for me was that I found it very difficult to cinch the knot to the level I was happy with - a problem further exacerbated if the object being tied to the line was anything other than a swivel or hook, e.g. a lure.
After a lot of careful research, I think I now understand the cause of these premature break-off's and can offer a solution to anyone considering using this knot.
However, the proposed solution is such that you may wish to base your decision on whether to tie this knot on the thickness of the line you are using, as will become clear later...
I wish to treat this knot objectively so that, whether you are a seasoned practitioner of it or are newly-come to it, you will know how to get the best out of it and avoid some of the pitfalls that are 'glossed over' by the majority of video tutorials.
On paper, the Palomar Knot is one of the easiest hook / swivel / lure connection knots you could wish for. This, coupled with its strength and ability to be used on all line types accounts for its popularity. Unfortunately, it does not cinch nearly as easily as it can be tied, leading to those premature breakages I mentioned above. Since it is such a minimalist knot, there is no margin for mistakes. Most exponents of this knot are using thick lines which are easy to examine, but when you get down to braided lines in the 10-12 lbs class with the thickness of 2 lbs mono, it becomes a much more difficult proposition. Yet, if you don't check, be prepared for an early 'parting of the ways!'.
For comparison purposes, I will first reference a typical video tutorial for tying this knot. Of its type, I think it is one of the better ones out there, but still does not address a fundamental element in the cinching process:
Now, before you rush to judgement, take a medium length of scissors and one length of coloured (for visibility) shoe lace. How easy did you find it to cinch the knot? Did you find the additional length of the scissors makes it more awkward to tighten down and the fact that you have no lubrication to assist?
I have exposed you to this extreme test so that you can see how tricky it can be to tighten down this knot using the conventional method suggested above and how, even if you do get it fairly tight, you will find the underside of the knot slightly loose and not as tight as it should be.
In the following video, I will demonstrate an alternative method to cinch this knot down and point out to you a key area you need to address when cinching if you want to avoid premature break-off's:
Having studied this alternative method of cinching, you can now see how much easier the steps will be to follow with heavier thicker lines than with thinner ones. This is what I meant earlier when I suggested that the line thickness might dictate whether you choose to use this knot with thin lines or not.
You may say that I am making a simple knot overly technical. I wish this was so. The first warning sign you have that this knot differs from most others is how easy or not it is to tighten. Most knots will cinch down without an issue using the shoe lace and scissors scenario, but not the Palomar Knot. It contains potential pinch points within, which, if activated in the wrong sequence, prevent the knot reaching its full potential with disastrous consequences.
On the other hand, forewarned is to be forearmed! Once you understand the problem area, you can pay due care and attention to prevent that area becoming an issue by following the steps I am advocating.
If you are new to this knot, you won't have any pre-conceived ideas. You will get yourself into a good habit when tying and, hopefully, will not experience the issues of your peers.
