It is essential that you learn how to properly tie fishing knots. Poorly tied knots are weak and can break your fishing line, or your loose ends can get tangled in brush or your fishing pole. Before learning about various types of knots, let’s learn some general good practices for making good knots.
First, lubricate the knots with saliva or water before tightening them; This reduces friction and preserves the strength of the fishing line. Second, pull them as hard as you can, because you don’t want it to slip when you’ve caught your fish. And third, trim the ends of the knot as close to the knot as possible. This step ensures that your line does not get tangled in unwanted places.
Now, we will learn about two categories of knots. One is the terminal knots: they are used to tie the fishing line to the hook or lure; and the fishing line to the spool of the reel. The second is to join two different lines into one and they are called ‘curves’. So, let’s start with the two most popular terminal nodes.
Arbor knot:
Arbor Knot is the most commonly used knot for tying spool line. Arbor Knot is quick and easy to tie.
Improved rivet knot
The improved rivet knot is used to tie the fishing line with the hook. It is commonly used because it is easy to tie and provides good efficiency; the clinch bow becomes stronger as it is pulled. It can be used with many types of fishing lines and can be attached to a clip or artificial fly in addition to the hook.
Now that we’ve learned about terminal arcs, let’s move on to several curves.
Fisherman’s knot
The fisherman’s knot is a very easy fold to tie. Although common, this type of knot is likely to slip through knots if used on monofilament lines. So, although it is the easiest to tie, it is not the most efficient of all.
So, let’s move on to a more efficient curve.
Blood knot
The Blood Knot overcomes the limitation of slippery arches by providing a strong and efficient link between two lines. Since it is not slippery like the fisherman’s knot, the monofilament can be used without problems. However, the main drawback is that some skills are required to tie this one.
Albright knot
We had saved our favorite bow for last. The Albright knot is a curve that can tie two different lines of different thickness (diameters). While the blood knot could only tie lines of similar diameter, Albright overcomes that limitation. In addition to tying two different monofilament lines, it can be used to tie a monofilament with a braid and for these reasons it is our choice of folding.
Knots are inherently weaker than line and for this reason it is important to tie a loop that provides maximum efficiency. So use these knots to increase your chances of catching your catch.
Happy fishing!