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