Knots

Any angler will tell you a well tied knot can save the day when you have the trophy bass on the line. As this is one of the most crucial areas of knowledge, we have compiled a knot tying guide which can guide you through the process of some of the most important fishing knots. Please remember that for ease of use we used only hooks, but most of these knots can be used on the leaders of baits.

The Snell Fishing Knot:

    The Snell Knot provides a strong connection when an angler is using bait with a separate length of leader. This knot is considered by many pros to be the best method of attaching a hook to the end of a line or the leader when fishing with bait. Note that you can only use a Snell Knot with a leader.

        1. Insert one end of the leader through the hook's eye, extending 1 to 2 inches past the eye of the hook. Insert the other end of the leader through the eye in the opposite direction pointing toward the barb of the hook. Hold the hook and leader ends between your thumb and forefinger of left hand. Leader will hang below the hook in a large loop.

        2. Take the part of the large lower loop that is closest to the eye and wrap it over the hook shank and both ends of the leader toward the hook's barb.

        3. Continue to wrap for 7 or 8 turns and hold wraps with left hand. Grip the end of the leader that is through the eyelet with your right hand and pull it slowly and steadily. Hold the turns with your left hand or the knot will unravel. When knot is almost tight, slide it up against the eye of the hook. Grip the short end lying along the shank of the hook with a pair of pliers. Pull this end and the standing line at the same time to completely tighten the knot.

The Clinch Knot:

    This knot is mainly used when for tying line to tackle. It is one of the most dependable and universal knots.

        1. Bring the free end of the line up through the eye of the hook. Give yourself about a foot of free line on top to work with.

        2. Take the free end back, behind and then under the straight line.

        3. Bring the free end back over the top to form a full loop. Keep loops fairly loose at this point.

        4. Continue looping the free end around the straight line in the same direction. Form about four loops.

        5. With the free end coming from the bottom of a turn, pass it between the eye and the first loop.

        6. Slowly pull out all slack. Then pull tightly and trim off the end.

The Palomar Knot:

    The Palomar Knot is easy to tie correctly, and consistently the strongest knot known to hold tackle. The main use of this knot is to tie a hook to a fishing line. This knot is a popular and easy to tie knot for small terminal tackle connections. Also the Polomar knot is one of the few recommended knots for use with braided lines.

        1. Double about 4" of line and pass the loop through the eye of fishing hook.

        2. Let the fishing hook hang loose, and tie an overhand knot in the doubled line. Avoid twisting the lines and do NOT tighten the knot.

         3. Pull the loop end of the line far enough to pass it over the hook, swivel or lure. Make sure the loop passes completely over the attachment.

         4. Pull both the tag end and the standing line until the knot is tightened. Clip off the tag end of the fishing line.

The Trilene Fishing Knot:

    The Trilene Knot is a very strong and reliable knot which resists slippage and premature failures. The Trilene Knot is used as an all-purpose knot when joining monofilament line to swivels, snaps, hooks and artificial lures. The knot's unique design and ease of tying consistently yields a strong, dependable connection while retaining 85-90% of the original line strength of the line.

        1. Run the end of line through eye of hook or lure and double back through the eye a second time.

        2. Loop around the standing part of line 5 or 6 times.

        3. Thread the tag end back between the eye and the coils as shown.

        4. Pull up tight and trim the tag end.

Offshore Swivel Knot:

    This type of knot is mainly used when attaching swivel or snap to double-line leader. Due to the characteristics of the knot, the Offshore Swivel is exceptionally strong since it can withstand one of the strands breaking.

        1. Slip the loop end of double-line leader through the eye of swivel. Rotate the loop end a half-turn to put a single twist between loop and swivel eye.

        2. Pass the loop with the twist over the swivel. Hold the end of the loop, plus both legs of the double-line leader with one hand. Let the swivel slide to other end of double loops now formed.

        3. Still holding the loop and lines with one hand, use your other hand to rotate the swivel through center of both loops, at least six times.

        4. Continue holding both legs of the double-line leader tightly, but release the end of loop. Pull on the swivel and the loops will begin to gather.

        5. To draw the knot tight, grip the swivel with pliers and push loops toward the eye with fingers, while still keeping standing lines of the leader pulled tight.

Improved Blood Knot:

    The Improved Blood Knot is used for tying two pieces of monofilament line together. This knot should be used when an angler wants to join sections of leader or line together. It works best with lines of approximately equal diameter. Furthermore the safe blood has an extra knot tied in at the end of the line to help prevent slippage.? Always remember to overlap the ends of your two strands that are to be joined.
   

        1. Twist them together about 10 turns.

        2. Separate one of the center twists and thrust the two ends through the space as shown.

        3. Pull the knot together and trim off the short ends.

The Uni-Knot System:

    This is a basic fishing knot which can be varied to meet virtually every freshwater or saltwater knot tying need. The Uni-Knot is a good alternative to the Improved Clinch as it is very reliable and very easy to tie. Keep this knot in mind when it is getting dark or if your eye sight is less than perfect

         1. Run the line through the eye of hook, swivel or lure at least 6" and fold to make 2 parallel lines. Bring the end of line back in a circle toward the hook or lure.

         2. Make 6 turns with tag end around the double line. Pass tag end through the circle. Hold the double line at a point where it passes through the eye and pull the tag end to snug up the turns.

         3. Now pull the standing line to slide the knot up against the eye.

         4. Continue pulling until the knot is tight. Trim tag end flush with closest coil of knot. The uni-knot will not slip.