Zap-a-Gap
 

Tied up a bunch of leaders today and used zap-a-gap to ensure no knot slippage. Anyone else do that with their pre-tied leaders? Any cons?

I don't like glue on my knots.it makes a hard spot in the line that is prone to weakness.

If you need Zap-a-gap on your knots, or feel that you do...maybe practice tying your knots more. :huh:

I use it once in a while with no problems, especially on braid.

don't get that stuff on the mono. dries it out and makes it brittle.
i'm with larry. no knot should need glue. only spit.

This is the first time I've used it....I stand by my knots, just thought it couldn't hurt.

So now my knots with glue are going to be brittle? Do you mean they'll snap before the line or before knots without glue?

Good thing I only used it on the leaders I made today!

test 'em yourself.
hook it arround somethig stable and pull it till it breaks. thats the weak spot. :cool:

"plyobond" is the glue for mono leaders.
used for heavy braid to heavy mono connections for giants.

I'm not big fan of Zap-a-Gap on knots. It's just too brittle and it seems agressive, I worry it compromises the line and/or knot.

I do like several of the glues that dry soft when they are done such as Pliobond and even better this stuff called Knot Sense from a company called Loon Mountain.

I don't generally use anything on mono knots, but I'll sometimes coat a knot that I know is going to see serious traffic through the line guides. I've never coated knots of my leaders. Connections between flyline and backing is when I mostly do it; not to strengthen the knot but to protect it from abrasion. I never know how many times a customer is going to run that knot through his guides.

As long as you completely cinch down your knots, you should be achieving the maximum strength of any given knot. If you add glue of any sort to it, it should just be for protection, not additional strength.

I do not use anything on my mono/fluoro knots. I do use and have for years, Zap-a-Gap on the Albrights on my fly line loops and always just a smidge on my braid knots and never ever had a problem. It's one of, if not the only, non-water soluable glues. I recommend it highly for those uses. If your mono knots are slipping, than a little practice is all thats needed. The tag ends of knots in mono are the weak link. Keeping faithful in making sure the tag ends are snug will make a world of difference. Some peole try to tie knots in mono without enough line on the tag end to make them work as they should, make sure when you start the process you have a good five inches of tag end line. That way you can get a good grip on it when snugging down the whole knot, especially with fluorocarbon knots as the stuff is a little stiffer.

I find people get carried away in surf fishing and boat fishing for bass, blues and inshore species with knots. I have been at it for a long, long time. I only use a few. An improved clinch knot, a loop knot and Blood knots. I have not had a knot fail me in 30 years. Bimini twists etc are okay for offshore but keep things in perspective. Palomars and Alberto's are fine too. It's my pesonal preference for the previously mentioned knots I use. So Zap-a-Gap away and don't feel like your doing something wrong, just remeber you only need a tiny bit. ;)