Zap-a-Gap

[Pete_G]

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.

[Flaptail]

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.