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Menu How To Strongest Fishing Knots Connecting Braid to Leader In Sport Fishing's fourth reader knot challenge, 53 knots competed to win top honors. See which knots won and how to tie them.
As the use of braided line becomes more and more popular, the importance of knots used to connect braid to a length of mono or fluorocarbon leader takes on greater significance. Most anglers choose to use a leader with braid, but based on the results of this challenge, it would seem that many are losing 30, 40 and even more than 50 percent of the braid’s breaking strength at that knot. On the other hand, some knots retain 90 to 100 percent of the braid’s strength. The fundamental purpose of this knot challenge is to share with Sport Fishing enthusiasts which knots are the strongest and how they are tied. How we Tested 53 Fishing Knots — MethodologyBefore we look more closely at the winning knots, here’s how the challenge worked. Those who answered our call for participants could enter in either the light-braid category (15-pound braid to 30-pound fluoro leader) or the heavy-braid category (50-pound braid to 80-pound fluoro), or both. All were sent the same braid and leader so everyone would be working with the same materials. Specifically, entrants used Spiderwire Stealth Blue Camo Braid in 15-pound-test and Spiderwire Stealth Glow-Vis Braid in 50-pound-test as their main line, tying to Berkley ProSpec fluorocarbon leader in 30-pound and 80-pound, respectively. The 15-pound Spiderwire braid actually broke at 34.4 pounds, on average; the 50-pound Spiderwire broke at 62.8 pounds. That means knots would have had to break at 34.4 and 62.8 pounds to achieve 100 percent strength. Keep in mind the bottom-line goal of this challenge: Determine the strongest possible knots to connect braid to leader. Given that objective, there were few restrictions. Some tied a double line in the braid, some did not. A few applied glue to their knots. Whatever worked was fair game, as we can all benefit from that knowledge. Those who elected to tie a double line (most often with a Bimini twist) then had two knots to test; they were submitting a “knot system,” if you will. It was essential to determine which of the two knots tested weaker; that registered as the “weak link” in their system, and that knot was the one that would determine the strength of their method of connecting braid to leader. (In some cases, the weaker knot was the Bimini twist; in other cases, the knot connecting the doubled braid to the leader proved weaker.) Each entrant submitted three samples of the same knot, so the strength measured represents the mean of the three break tests. Which Knots Proved Strongest — ResultsAs the charts you’ll see a bit farther down show, the strength of these knots was pretty much all over the place, from 100 percent to as little as about 17 percent. For lighter braid (15-pound tied to 30-pound fluoro), here are the three strongest knots, in order.PR Bobbin Knot — 84.3 percentTied by Capt. Bryan Dietz of Merritt Island, Florida WATCH BRYAN DIETZ TIE THE PR BOBBIN KNOT Improved FG Knot — 80.9 percentTied by Capt. Tim Simos of Fort Pierce, Florida FG knot — 73.4 percentTied by Ralph Green of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina For heavier braid (50-pound tied to 80-pound fluoro), here are the three strongest knots, in order.GT Knot — 100 percentTied by Chad Nisely of Painesville, Ohio PR Bobbin Knot — 99.5 percentTied by Bryan Dietz of Merritt Island, Florida Improved Bristol Knot — 92.1 percentTied by Doug Olander of Winter Park, Florida (Despite my placement among the top three finalists in the heavy-braid category, being author and editor disqualifies me for any material benefit, so the reel from Okuma for third place goes to Capt. Tim Simos for his FG knot, below.) Zach Stovall Improved FG Knot — 82.1 percentTied by Capt. Tim Simos of Fort Pierce, Florida Strongest Fishing Knots — Results for All Knots Submitted in the Light-Braid CategoryStrongest Fishing Knots — Results for All Knots Submitted in the Heavy-Braid CategoryStrongest Fishing Knots — Conclusions and Considerations
STRONGEST FISHING KNOTS — HOW IT’S DONETHE PR BOBBIN KNOTSTRONGEST FISHING KNOTS — HOW IT’S DONEIMPROVED FG KNOTSTRONGEST FISHING KNOTS — HOW IT’S DONEGT KNOTSTRONGEST FISHING KNOTS — HOW IT’S DONEIMPROVED BRISTOL KNOTStrongest Fishing Knots — 25 Top Skippers’ Favorite KnotsI asked these charter captains and guides how they choose to connect a braid main line to a fluoro or mono leader. Here’s what they said: Rich Adler (Singer Island, Florida, tunawahoo.com) Antonio “Tuba” Amaral (Canavieiras,
Brazil; facebook.com/antonio.amaral.507) Richard Andrews (North Carolina; tarpamguide.com) David Bacon (Santa Barbara, California; wavewalker.com) Kevin Beach (Venice,
Louisiana; mgfishing.com) Mark Bennett (Englewood, Florida; tarponsnook.com) Brian Clancy (Oak Hill, Florida; mosquitolagoonfishcamp.com) Rob Delph (Key West, Florida; wefishkeywest.com) Brent Gaskill (Gulfport, Florida; summervacationcharters.com) Paul Hobby (Ft. Myers, Florida; fishinghobby.com) Ned Kittredge (Dartmouth, Massachusetts; watchoutfish.com) Dave Kostyo (Miami, Florida;
knotnancy.com) Damon McKnight (Venice, Louisiana; superstrikecharters.com) John McMurray (New York, New York;
nycflyfishing.com) Rick Murphy (Florida City, Florida; sportsmansadventures.com) Tony Murphy (Key West, Florida; keylimey.com) Tommy Pellegrin (Houma, Louisiana;
customchartersllc.com) Jason Pipe (Canary Islands; bluemarlingomera.com) Mike Roy (Old Saybrook, Connecticut; reelcastcharters.com) Scott Simpson (Long Beach, Mississippi; captainscottsimpson.com) Bouncer
Smith (Miami, Florida; captbouncer.com) Jason Stock (Holmes Beach, Florida; jmsnookykayakcharters.com) William Toney (Homosassa, Florida; homosassainshorefishing.com) Tom Van Horn (Chuluota, Florida; irl-fishing.com) Steve Zernia (Seward, Alaska; profish-n-sea.com)
More How ToRead MoreWhat is the easiest knot to tie from braid to fluorocarbon?In my opinion, the simplest and quickest way to tie fluorocarbon leader to braided line is via the uni to uni knot. The uni to uni knot is one of the easiest and most effective knots to tie, and I highly recommend you add this knot to your knot-tying arsenal.
Can I use a nail knot to tie braid to fluorocarbon?It allows fishermen to tie any size monofilament, fluorocarbon line or fishing braid to any size fishhook, fishing lure or lead core in just seconds. With it you can tie various knots, but it is best known for the nail/gryp knot.
What is the strongest knot for fluorocarbon?So, what is the best knot for fluorocarbon? Sunline recommends using the Tornado HH Knot. We recommend this knot for fluorocarbon because the knot strength of the Tornado HH knot is nearly 100 % of straight strength. Meaning the knot has the same tensile strength as the line.
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What is the best knot to tie braid to fluorocarbon line
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