By Koaw - 2021

Any fisher should know at least 3 knots: a clinch/terminal knot, a loop knot, and a line-to-line knot.

There is no shortage of fishing knots out there to learn. I’ll provide a few knots that are trusted and suggested by professional anglers and, of course, myself.

A fishing knot may be the most important element of your whole rig. It’s always important to remember that your rig is only as strong as your weakest knot (assuming your line isn’t nicked or any other elements aren’t weakened near failure.)

SAN DIEGO JAM KNOT

This is a terminal clinch knot with great versatility and allows you to connect any line type to a swivel, leader, and hook. Though similar to the standard Clinch Knot and Improved Clinch Knot, the San Diego Jam Knot is a step-up in knot-strength. I learned this knot from an article in Field & Stream. It’s a popular knot amongst fly fishers but is also used by other anglers as well.

I bought the Kindle version of this book The Pocket Guide to Fishing Knots some time ago. It’s a great reference when needing to go look up an old knot you haven’t used in a long time or for learning a bunch of new knots. (Amazon affiliate link - see below.)

PALOMAR KNOT

The Palomar Knot is a classic terminal knot and very easy to tie. This can be used with braided, monofilament, and fluorocarbon. Though I don’t prefer this knot on any of my braided rigs, it’s a convenient knot when the fingers are too cold to tie a knot requiring more dexterity. Tied correctly, this knot is strong. This knot is the preferred knot for tying the Drop-Shot Rig; just use a longer tag end to attach a weight.

UNI-TO-UNI KNOT (DOUBLE UNI)

For connecting 2 lines together: This has always been my preferred line-to-line knot. It works connecting monofilament, braided and fluorocarbon. Just remember that braided line will need to be wrapped around the other line with at least 6 wraps, depending on the thickness of that line, while fluorocarbon and monofilament typically require at least 4 wraps, again dependent on the line strength/thickness. Generally thicker line requires fewer wraps.

I always double up my braided line when I tie this knot, sort of a Double-Double Uni Knot, only wrapping with 4 twists for each tag end. I haven’t seen this method measured for knot-strength but it’s never failed on me, even when musky fishing.

SURGEON’S LOOP

This loop knot has a variety of purposes within fishing. It’s a great tool to have in the knot-toolbox. The surgeon’s knot is really just 2 overhand knots in tandem.

ARBOR KNOT

This knot is very simple and is used when spooling a reel with fishing line; (it secures the fishing line to the arbor.) It’s just two overhand knots put together.