this is fishing 101, but needs revisiting for me. one night last season i lost many large fish due to knot failure on my mono leader. i tied these leaders the winter before season began. i sometimes find if tough to get tight knots on 50# mono.

so what kind of knots do you tie hooks and snaps to mono.

Just use a clinch knot.I know some guys prepare leaders weeks and months in advance, but I would recommend tying them up just before you go out for the night. Sounds like your leaders may have suffered from old age.

Palomar for Braid to Swivel

Improved Clinch for leader to Swivel and to Hook

I like an improved clinch with only three or four wraps. Leave the tag end three inches long while you tighten it then trim it to 1/2 to 3/4 inch to allow for some stretch

Palomar for all my knots. I also pre-tie before season and as season gos on. If leader wallet gets wet, make sure to dry leaders off. Rust can start to develop on snap,hook, or swivel at the knot, and I don't trust that. I use gloves and pliers to pull each knot tight.

Improved Clinch only here for 50 lb. (or other) mono Leader material to snap or hook! :wavey:

AND my knots in regular (non- leader) mono. are ALWAYS the double- improved Clinch! :uhuh:


I.C. are not as "pretty" as snelled hooks are on the leader... but I NEVER trusted snell knots from day # 1! :bshake: And I hear D.I.C. knots are tough to tie all the time from guys-- esp. in the field! But not for me-- I find it fairly easy even in the dark? (It's tying knots between braid & mono. that's a nightmare for me! HATE braid!)


Anyway... haven't lost a fish to knot failure now in 12+ years! (Used to happen 2- 3 times/ year with other knots/ snell knots!)

No problem pre- tying them & storing them for years... they hold up fine! (Keep away from light & heat & salt water obviously). PROPER tying/ tightening/ moistening, & proper snugging up... every time!!... is the key! No glue needed... nor desired! :deadhorse:

very important to pull knots tight. take a few wraps around something and pull with pliers or something, hand tight isn't enough IMO. i'll show you how I usually do it this weekend if you remind me.

I use an improved clinch for my line to swivel and swivel to leader and I've never had failure at the swivel. I usually tie my leaders at night while getting my gear ready for the next morning. I try to tie enough to get me through a couple of weeks if I'm going to be out at night a lot, and put them in ziploc bags. If I have some leaders left over from the previous fall, I re-tie them with new leader material.

ALL great knots and the proper applications for them, as well as excellent advice from Tony about leader wallets. I tie enough leaders to begin my season with and continue tieing throughout the year. Also, don't be bashful when it comes to stripping worn spool line. The leader may be good to go , but the main line could be depreciated and that can end up in a night of frustration, bro.

My favorite book of knots is Vic Dunaway's "Baits, Rigs, and Tackle" wherein he details every knot and why to employ them.

Another great link is Grog's Fishing Knots Index that provides animated, step-by-step knot tying that you can freeze frame by frame until you get them down.

The only tip that i would add is to moisten all leader and spool line material prior to tying yer knot. It makes a huge difference and i also use 50#(BGame) for my mono leaders material. Mr Dunaway gave me that tidbit, himself :cool::cool:.

[QUOTE=LeCounts1099;559880]
I.C. are not as "pretty" as snelled hooks are on the leader... but I NEVER trusted snell knots from day # 1! :bshake: And I hear D.I.C. knots are tough to tie all the time from guys-- esp. in the field! But not for me-- I find it fairly easy even in the dark? (It's tying knots between braid & mono. that's a nightmare for me! HATE braid!) [QUOTE]

Crazy Al's knot never failed, not once for me, LeCounts, and with practice you'll be tieing it in the dark , if you should so choose.

Braid to swivel Palomar. Leader to swivel 50lb 3 turn Clinch Knot and as others have stated always wet your mono knots before sinching them tight.

Just use a clinch knot.I know some guys prepare leaders weeks and months in advance, but I would recommend tying them up just before you go out for the night. Sounds like your leaders may have suffered from old age.

I'll second that advice and add this, make sure to moisten the knot really well so it doesn't weaken itself as you tighten it, especially important when working with thicker mono, and use pliers to tighten, hand pressure is not enough imho. For hooks (inline circles with offset eye) I use a simple snell, basically this is running the line through the eye, tying a uni-knot around the shank of the hook and pulling it up tight.

Just use a clinch knot.I know some guys prepare leaders weeks and months in advance, but I would recommend tying them up just before you go out for the night. Sounds like your leaders may have suffered from old age.

Same here. I don't like old knots. Never had one fail where I could trace it specifically due to old age, but it's something I don't bother taking a chance with.

Well, I never want be be tying Leaders & rigs & such between May & Dec. when the game is on!... :buds: So I'm always using 1- 2 yr. old Leader/ snaps/ knots-- again: no knot failures yet in a LONG time! Only down- side is that my friends know my supply habits... & hit me up for Leaders like many do for Marlboros! :smokin:


I tie 75- 150 leaders of all types (some w/ just plain snap... some swivel & Eel- hook... some w/ teaser & snap combos., etc.) every Winter... Just to ensure I'm not wasting time tying "in- season..." :rotflmao:


BD, I've spent my surfcasting career avoiding/ neglecting the braid revolution so far... & I'm not changing now! :hidin:

uni or palomar. that's it. there are others but why bother?

Doesnt Iron Mike pre-tie over the winter?

Competition knot.

Palomar braid to swivel
Palomar leader to swivel and leave the tail long for teasers
clinch knot to breakaway
yes I wet them all and pull up tight

Uni-Knot is the only knot I use as the hook or plug gets pulled on the knot tightens

Always use spit before pulling it tight, and some (not me) use super glue on knots

Palomar for most all knots

Clinch knot here. Never pre-tie.

BD, I've spent my surfcasting career avoiding/ neglecting the braid revolution so far... & I'm not changing now! :hidin:

COOL, Le Counts!

I missed your point earlier, you don't tie to braid
because you don't WANT to tie to braid, now I get it :rtfm:.

Different strokes for different folks, and I can't say that I'm completely sold, but i do like the distance and the no memory loss. On yer bigger test lines it seems to be easier to spool as well. For me the jury's still out, but I do like it so far........

Here is a cool website that shows how to tie all of the knots...

I just picked the dropper loop, but you can choose from all of the knots on the left.

http://www.animatedknots.com/dropperloop/index.php

palomar for all my knots.

Same here. I don't like old knots. Never had one fail where I could trace it specifically due to old age, but it's something I don't bother taking a chance with.

me too, what Pete & BackBeach said

I should mention one more thing here too, and that's the condition/age of your leader material. In addition to being an advocate of tying up your leaders prior to the day’s or night’s fishing, I typically purchase a brand new spool of 50# big game prior to each season. Throw last season’s stuff out and go with the fresh stuff. When I used to fish the outer cape, which is obviously all sand, I would tie direct most of the time with 25# big game and would change the line every couple of days. Just like your produce, fresh is better.

PALOMAR

I have an issue with the improved clinch where I sometimes do something over instead of under and it fails. I am not good at getting it right consistently enough to be confident. Has something to do with tying it left handed...

Fir heavy mono i find i must wet the line to tighten the knots or the material will grab and thin the line rather than tighten up.

as i have said to her many times....just spit on it! :)

just spit on it! :)

Either that or tie up your preferred knot, tighten it down just enough so it doesn't unravel, then drop the hook/lure/rig into the water to wet it, then pull it out and lock it down.
This stuff really is 101,:deadhorse: but lots of people %$%$%$%$ it up.

Palomar and uni - tied as needed. If the two pieces that go through the hook eye on the Palomar cross, I cut and retie so they are parallel. I think another common mistake is to not leave enough tag end. I like to be able to put a wrap or two around my hand. If I tie a snap, I'll attach it to a plug first if possible to get a better pull. As was already said, if you don't use enough spit, you'll burn the line - you can actually feel it.

I use the improved clinch knot for all my connections and never had it fail. I use the Albright knot for braid to mono leader on my conventionals as I never use a swivel on the conventionals. Other than those 2 knots the only other knot I use is a dropper loop knot for my teasers on leader.

This knot (i.e.,Trilene knot) http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/outdoorskills/article/0,13199,1182981,00.html is stronger than a clinch knot, but it is trickier to tie right (won't tighten with too many turns in heavy mono, and will cut itself if the turns around the hook overlap).......though in 50 lb mono any knot tightened correctly should be OK.

This knot (i.e.,Trilene knot) http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/outdoorskills/article/0,13199,1182981,00.html is stronger than a clinch knot, but it is trickier to tie right (won't tighten with too many turns in heavy mono, and will cut itself if the turns around the hook overlap).......though in 50 lb mono any knot tightened correctly should be OK.

That's a real good knot George. I don't use it for mono, but I use it for all of my braid knots, mostly for my running line to barrel swivel connection. You're right about it being difficult to tighten with heavier mono too. Even with braid you sometimes have to re tie the knot a couple of times to get it to lock down tightly.

I should mention one more thing here too, and that's the condition/age of your leader material. In addition to being an advocate of tying up your leaders prior to the day’s or night’s fishing, I typically purchase a brand new spool of 50# big game prior to each season. Throw last season’s stuff out and go with the fresh stuff. When I used to fish the outer cape, which is obviously all sand, I would tie direct most of the time with 25# big game and would change the line every couple of days. Just like your produce, fresh is better.

To add to this, even fluorocarbon ages. Popular opinion is it doesn't break down or age much.

I used to use Varivas Fluorocarbon, it was awesome stuff. Soft, tough, thin, all the things you'd want in leader material.

But they stopped importing it 3, 4, maybe more years ago and I ran out shortly afterwards.

This past year I found some hiding in one of my storage boxes and was thrilled since I'd long run out. The thrill was gone after the first time I used it, it's break strength was gone. It broke with very little pressure.

To add to this, even fluorocarbon ages. Popular opinion is it doesn't break down or age much.

I used to use Varivas Fluorocarbon, it was awesome stuff. Soft, tough, thin, all the things you'd want in leader material.

But they stopped importing it 3, 4, maybe more years ago and I ran out shortly afterwards.

This past year I found some hiding in one of my storage boxes and was thrilled since I'd long run out. The thrill was gone after the first time I used it, it's break strength was gone. It broke with very little pressure.

I also have experienced line that has broken down over time. last year i found a spool of 50# Spectron braid. I knew it was 5 years old but it had been in a closed box in my basement. I lost a beautiful fish in the 35# range right at the gunnel when the line just parted.