knot failure

[american spirit]

i lost couple decent size fish over the weekend due to knot failure. i use the improved clinch knot tied to my breakaway clips. when i lose fish it's usually because the knot fails at the breakaway clip or circle hook, not the barrel swivel.

any help on this? whats knots do you guys use to tie 50# test mono to breakaway clips/ circle hooks.

[striperswiper75]

Clinch Knot (standard variety) for my breakaway clips and I snell my circle hooks; both with 50lb ande mono.

[The Dad Fisherman]

I use the Improved Clinch Knot for Leaders to Breakaways...I only use 40 lb floro for the leaders, not Mono

[Diggin Jiggin]

I only use palomar's.

[Back Beach]

Couple suggestions/questions

How old is the leader material?

Did you wet the knot down good before tightening it?

I would go with a regular clinch knot versus an improved clinch on mono heavier than 25# test.
50# mono tightens down much better with a normal clinch versus the improved. I like to use 6 or 7 turns and then dunk the whole thing in water before I tighten it down.

For hooks, I snell directly to the hook and use gami 6/0 octopus hooks with offset eyes if I'm eel fishing.

[eastendlu]

Originally Posted by Diggin Jiggin

I only use palomar's.

Best Knot in the world.

[MikeToole]

Palomar knot is easy and strong, can tie them in the dark even with cold fingers. Once I go about 50# mono I perfer the clinch kont.

This does not mean there is anything wrong with the clinch knot. Make sure the wraps don't over lay and be sure to wet the line.

[The Dad Fisherman]

one other thing too is make sure the tag end of the line is sitting on the top of the hook and not off to the side.....that way the tugging is working in your favor to hold the knot in place

[Clogston29]

http://striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/...highlight=knot

[fishsmith]

Originally Posted by Diggin Jiggin

I only use palomar's.

ditto

[Notaro]

uni and palmoar here. yeah dont forget to wet ur knot with ur salvia.

[american spirit]

history repeats clogston. wise ass.

Originally Posted by Clogston29

http://striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/...highlight=knot

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by the_shocker

history repeats clogston. wise ass.

I was thinking more like

"Fool Me once, Shame on You, Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me"

[Clogston29]

i started to post an answer and got a sense of deja vu

[Fly Rod]

1. Palomar

2. Dungan loop knot

[Adam_777]

A wise man once told me that if you hang bottom and stretch your leader you change it.If you fight a big fish the first thing you do is change it after the fight.Tighten your knots with spit,gloves and pliers.Personally I started using a palomar on some of my leaders and a modified trilene knot on others.I modified it myself over the years to what works better for me.Never had a real problem with either.When I put a leader on I give it the pull like a mofo test just to reassure the knots and hardware will not fail on a fish.

[Slingah]

uni-knot with 5 turns for 50#....lotsa spit and pulled tight..

[Bass Nut]

Palomar.

[Mike P]

Sounds like your knot is loose and it's slipping off the Breakaway clip.

If you're tying bad knots, you'd expect it to break at the Barrel as often as it does at the clip.

[striprman]

I just make 4 or 5 overhand knots and hope for the best.

[mayday1019]

Palomar. The only time the palomar is a pain is when you're tying on a large lure with trebles directly to the line....Even then STILL use it or use a clip.

[SirWinston]

Uni.

Took me a while to learn how to get the line to consistently wrap neatly, but once I did I have not had any problems (that said, haven't managed to test it on really big fish, but I have on occasion been successful at getting hung up on the bottom/rocks, and when broken-off it has never been the knot...).

It's also a lot easier with braid than with mono. I usually run six turns for either and for the mono I use pliers on the tag end and something to hold the snap or swivel (e.g. nail or screwdriver shaft) with while tightening.

[Finaddict]

Uni - very, very reliable and easy to tie once you get used to it.

Snell my eel hooks and other live bait hooks, love that knot. It takes a bit getting used to but worth it.

I will tie a clinch when I am lazy, but you really have to tighten it properly ... five turns for line up to 20#, four turns for lines up to 50 # and three turns over 50# is what many of the line manufacturers recommend ... too many turns and it weakens the knot ... but you will know with curly que at the end of the line.

Get one of the knot books and practice to the point you can do it in the dark worth the time ... easy to remedy too when you are not doing it right.

[Offshore24]

I was trying to get the clinch or the uni to not have the long part of the loop (not the spiraled line) wrap over the spirals and i just can't get it to work. No matter what I tried the outside loop line just twists itself over the wraps. I was practicing with 20# mono last night. I was tying up a few leaders of 50# flouro the other day and the same thing happened.

The palomar seems to work pissa. May just have to use that for these heavy lines.

[Joe]

Most common cause: people use 50# braid and sock the drag way down. Mono leaders stretch and get compromised before the braided running line. The clinch knot is the weakest link, so that's what fails.

A clinch knot with 4 or 5 neat wraps should hold on 50# leader material so long as you don't have 30 or 40 pounds of drag pressure. The improved clinch does not seem to hold as well with heavy leader material.

Neat wraps, a fully tightened knot, not too much drag, and re-tying the knot after an hour or so of continous casting should be on the checklist. The pressure from snap casting when using spinning degrades a knot's breaking strength after a while.

[american spirit]

thanks. maybe i can learn from my mistakes this year.

[bassballer]

uni knot 4-5 turns with 50#. 6 turns with braid.

[numbskull]

Trilene knot. 3 turns in #50. Make sure the loops don't cross. Lot stronger than a clinch.

http://www.activeangler.com/articles...ts/trilene.asp

Uni's break at about 60%. Palomar's are good in braid, and good in mono, but hard to set right in heavy mono. You must be sure the loops don't cross and the wrap needs to set low around the loops rather than high around the line. The loop knot is an excellent one for attaching direct (as when jigging).....but again you only want 3-4 turns in heavy mono.

[animal]

Another vote for the Uni.5 turns for mono,8 for braid.

[spence]

Agree with the Palomar...

For a fast and strong knot on thick leader I'm a big fan of the San Diego Jam Knot...

http://www.netknots.com/html/san_diego_jam_knot.html

-spence