Knots

Now we’re talkin’. Knots are where the rubber hits the road. One of the sure ways to tell an experienced fisherman from one less so, is by his knots. It took me 4 years of fishing in La Paz as a customer of Fishermen’s Fleet before the Captains would leave my knots alone. For 4 years they would look at them, shake their heads, and bite them off. It wasn’t that I tied them poorly, it was that I was using different knots than they used. In a world where most customers tip on tonnage the Captains wanted knots in which they had faith. You also need to have the faith that comes from having tied knots that don’t let you down. My strong advice is that you learn 2-4 knots, learn them again, and stick to them. You should tie on instinct not thought. When there’s a hot bite, people are yelling, and the boat is going up and down is a very bad time to try and remember how to tie your knots. Practice your knots in front of the TV at night. It’s that important. I used Sr. Howard Hada, one of the best fishermen I know and a ProStaffer at Izorline to back up my opinions on knot tying and which knots to recommend. When it comes to knots, HH is the man. He officiates for Izorline at the knot tying contests they sponsor at all the big sports shows. They test knots for the the percentage of original line strength that the knot will hold before breaking. He advised me that there were knots that did consistently 100% or better (double line) but that these contest winners were large bulky things, kinda like your line with a sweater in the middle of it, and have no practical use. We agreed on 3 basic knots that you should learn to tie, and a fourth one that you can work around, but if you’re gonna wow the Captains with your knots you should know it. I did not include diagrams or pictures because you can google any/all of these knots, but I have tried to describe the when and why of each.

UniKnot

This is the first knot that you should learn. It is a very good knot for tying mono to a hook. It is easily tied and never lets you down when tied properly. You can either cinch this knot down tight against the hook , or if you tighten it away from the hook, that is to say leave a small loop in the end of the line, you will let the hook move more easily. I have convinced myself over the years that this loop allows the sardines that we use for bait to move around more freely and thus present themselves to Senor Fish in a more enticing manner. This loop will tighten when the fish hooks up, and so you will need to retie, but YOU SHOULD ALWAYS RETIE YOUR HOOK KNOT AFTER EVERY FISH! You can also join two lines by tying one line around the other, and then turn around and do the same thing with the second line around the first. This is called a double uni and is very good for joining two pieces of mono of fairly like diameter. I have never had one fail. Be sure to trim the standing ends off closely to the knot so that it will pass through the guides easily, both out and back.

Observe the Palomar

The Palomar knot is one of the easiest knots to tie. It is used to put a hook on the line and has two advantages. It is so simple to tie that in the middle of a wide open bite I use it for it’s simplicity. When all are yelling and screaming, fish are crashing, and bait is hiding, this knot can be tied in the dark, behind your back, and even under whip cream. The other reason to use it is that it is the smallest effective knot of the bunch. On days when the pargo are eating all the dead bait but except the one with your hook in it,downsize your hook and tie a Palomar. You will be surprised how often this does the trick.

Albright now

The Albright knot has two primary uses for me. It is used for joining two lines of widely disparate diameter. If you need to tie 80lb. leader to 30lb. line or vice versa use the albright. The other use is when joining spectra to mono. When tying the knot always wrap the smaller diameter line around a bend in the larger, so when using spectra wrap the spectra around the mono. Many folks recommend doubling the spectra, but I’ve had very good luck with doing so.

Bimini Twist

The last knot, and the least used of the 4, is the Bimini Twist. This is a somewhat more difficult knot, but that just means that you get to watch more TV. Practice it with fairly large spectra (80 or 135lb.) until you have the procedure down, and then start with 50lb. mono and work your way up. If you are doubling the spectra for an albright or tying a loop in spectra and in the mono to join the two in a loop to loop junction, the bimini twist is the knot. It’s not easy to do, but you can do it. If my hammy hands can get it, I know that your svelte digits can master it easily.