Thank you for taking the time to read me. I promise to make it worth your while.
With these two loop knot variations - Trinity Loop Knot Double and Trinity Loop Knot Single, I think I have reached the pinnacle of my knot-tying ambitions.
However, before I begin, and before you prejudge this introduction as just another fusty lecture (learned and well-meaning, but drier than the desert), take a good look at the background in the above photograph of the two sibling knots.
Do any of you recognise it? Let me give you some clues …
It’s fair to say that we can all do with a little magic in our lives and, dare I say it, once you familiarise yourself with the capabilities of these knots, the skye’s the limit …
Not many folks get to learn the history behind the knots they use. They don’t need to. It’s fair to say that this pattern of knot, the Trinity Knot, came close to not being born.
For, I was using ordinary string because I had no waxed round shoelaces to practise with. String has a propensity to jam where a shoelace does not, giving the false impression that it was impossible to cinch the knot.
Despite these setbacks, I felt like I was being encouraged to persist in what seemed like a pointless exercise. Eventually, the multi-cinching sequence was revealed to me. I felt fairly confident that my efforts would not be in vain. I had devised similar patterns previously.
Even though I was not positioning these knots for use on the finest slickest of braids, past experience taught me that any quality loop knot would need to do well in this challenge for it to be considered for use on all types of line material.
Most knots, when subjected to the ‘braid challenge’, will put in a good performance with scope for improvement. The Trinity Loop Knot Double was not just good, it was shockingly good! At the first attempt, the digital readout swung past 10 lbs b/s on my nominally 10-pound breaking-strain line (it’s 11 lbs b/s).
The initiating cinch had not gone well - 10 double-line wraps in a confined space tend to do that. I subsequently tried a lesser amount of wraps thinking that less wraps and better cinching would compensate. They didn’t! As soon as I restored the 10 wraps, I restored the digital readout of 10 lbs b/s.
Oh well, the price you pay for such fine lines! Loop Knots such as my Tuna Knot and Double Down Knot are eminently more suited to such fine lines - even at the cost of lots of wraps.
A little ball of power ready to take on the world. From humble beginnings to championship performance …
After creating diverse loop knots that could hold to at least 90% of the line’s strength, I turned my attention to the pursuit of loop knots that could meet this prerequisite using a minimum number of wraps.
In this, I was singularly unsuccessful! After a year of fruitless attempts, I was forced to concede defeat. I pictured what I needed to find in my mind’s eye. It was to be a technically-challenging knot to tie with the ‘technical challenges’ cutting down on the need for multiple wraps. Hard as I tried, that special combination refused to materialise.
It was a change of perspective that brought me back.
Instead of adapting sea-fishing knots for my own light-line ends, I wanted to create a sea-going loop knot suited to the heaviest lines across all line materials. Lines in the 80lb - 400lb range, that is. As some of the lines being accommodated would be super thick and inflexible, a single-line version of the knot pattern would be selectable, with a double-line version to cater for more flexible and slippery line materials.
Through long years of working with the fine slippery braid you see pictured, I have come to understand that while not all knots are suited for use with braid, those that are, will work just as well with other line types like monofilament and fluorocarbon. Therefore, when devising knots, I have tended to use the performance observed on fine braid as the gauge by which any of my creations succeed or fail.
My Trinity Knot pattern is no different. Even though it is not intended for use with fine braid, it must still pass the braid challenge. Earlier, I cited the performance of my Trinity Loop Knot Double on fine braid.
In some ways, the performance of my Trinity Loop Knot Single is even more remarkable. Whereas it took my TLKD x10 double-line wraps (equivalent to x20 single-line wraps) to secure a full-house 10 lbs b/s, the Trinity Loop Knot Single managed to score a 9.4 lbs b/s with only x9 single-line wraps! This indicates to me the presence of some serious ‘stiction’. For a knot pattern intended for heavyweight lines where the number of wraps might be at a premium, this could be important.
LINE TESTING
If you are familiar with my other posts, you will know how much importance I give to testing knots on digital scales to optimise the performance of the tying configuration to be applied. You will also know that it is one thing to push a knot to its limits on a 10lb line with a hand-held set of scales, and a much harder task to do the same with a line running into hundred’s of pounds. So difficult, in fact, that I venture to suggest that it is seldom attempted outside the confines of the manufacturer’s laboratory.
But you know what? I think for a moderate investment in two key items, testing of these heavy lines is feasible.
Whether you are testing at home or using your best friend’s local garage, you will need to equip yourself with a set of heavy-duty digital scales that can handle 500kg / 1102lbs:
Whichever is used, secure mounting points will be required to support the hoist (especially for home use) and the line on which the loop has been tied.
The methodology is easy enough to understand:
- If necessary, mount the hoist securely.
- Attach the handle of the digital scales to the lower hook of the hoist.
- Place the loop knot on the hook of the scales.
- Wrap the end of the line multiple times around a floor-mounted ring such that the line is able to hold by itself. No knots are to be used. The line will be sacrificial in the case of mono and fluoro as it will ‘piggy-tail’ after use. A bulk line spool should be used.
- When ready, switch on the scales.
- Slowly dial in the tension mechanically or electrically.
- Note the readout and the knot configuration used to achieve it.
Now that you understand the testing process, you would logically wish to test the strength of the line in use - before any knots are tied. This will serve two purposes:
- You avoid expecting a higher performance from your knot than the line is capable of delivering. Most manufacturers understate the performance of their lines so that they can deliver what the label states. I once found the opposite and wasted a lot of time in pursuit of what was never going to be achievable.
- You have a chance to test your set-up before moving on to your carefully curated knots.
To test, thread a goodly length of line through the floor-mounted ring and wrap it multiple times until it feels secure. Take the free end and wrap it multiple times around the hook of the scales. Apply the tension and watch the readout. The aim is not to destroy the line, though that could happen if it doesn’t match the claims made for it. Once it has reached the performance claimed for it, stop the upward lifting.
TIPS
- During line poundage testing, note how much line was used in terms of length to achieve a secure hold on the floor-mounted ring.
- Tie your loop knots in different configurations (noted in your notebook) in advance of testing, allowing for the length of line required to provide the floor-mounted wraps and have separation between floor and loop knot.
- This approach will undoubtedly speed up the whole knot-testing process, and also help with your muscle memory if you are knot tying in batches.
LINE WEAR
Last, but not least, a word or two on the above. Most seasoned anglers will be aware of the effects of sun and water on monofilament and fluorocarbon lines. Long-term exposure to the elements will cause them to weaken. If left unaddressed, lines can break well below what is expected of them.
But while the above has been known about for a long time, you will find next to nothing written about braided lines which have endured the same exposure, often times, much longer. Why is this?
It’s mainly due to the durability of braided lines. Even after many years of use, they can still be as strong as the day they were first spooled - provided that they have not been abraded.
So, what’s the issue?
The loop knot you first tie will still be going strong years later whilst the braided line to which it is attached gets progressively slicker. Sooner or later, fate will take a hand. It might be a shark or barracuda biting you off, or nothing more innocuous than a clumsy client getting in a tangle. Whatever the cause, you are now faced with retying that loop knot. It should be a matter of applying your tried-and-tested knot configuration to restore normal service.
But it might not be …
With ‘longitudinal’ knots like my Tuna Knot and Double Down Loop Knot, I have found that keeping to the normal formula on a worn braided line won’t deliver the same performance as when it was new. This can be remedied by testing how many additional wraps and tucks are required to counteract the additional slickness.
Accordingly, once you have determined what the optimum configuration is for the new braided line you will be using, apply the same configuration to an older version of it. How did it fare? If there was little variation in results, then, there is no cause for concern. If you see a large drop in performance, you need to consider adding extra wraps, and possibly a judicious tuck absent from your original configuration.
Once performance has been restored to what you consider an acceptable level, and its configuration noted, you will know what to do when retying one of these loop knots on a worn line …
PB
(Tying instructions to follow shortly)
