What is a fishing knot

No knot holds as much as an unbroken length of line. The only question is how much it takes away — and that is what every piece of advice about wetting, turn counts and tightening speed is answering.

Why a knot is weaker

In a knot the line works not in tension but in bending and compression at once. Fibres on the outside of a loop stretch more than those inside, and the load is shared unevenly. What fails is the part that got the most of it.

Hence the first rule: a knot with smooth rather than sharp bends holds better. Turns that lie in an even row spread the load; turns that cross create a breaking point.

Wetting is not superstition

When a knot is pulled up dry, the turns rub against each other and heat is released at the point of friction. Nylon melts and loses strength from this before the first cast.

So the knot is wetted before it is tightened, with saliva or water. On monofilament line this matters most: it is thinner and heats faster.

Tighten slowly and from both ends

A sharp pull beds the turns unevenly: some sit tight, some stay loose and later slip. Pull steadily, and preferably on both ends at once, so the turns settle side by side.

Tag end and number of turns

The tag left beyond the knot is not trimmed flush: a short tag pulls back inside under load. A few millimetres are always left.

The number of turns depends on the line. Braid is slippery, and the same turn count is not enough on it — so for braided line you use knots with more turns, or ones tied in doubled line.

Retie more often than feels necessary

A knot is a consumable. After a snag, after a big fish and after a long day, it is tied again even if it looks sound. Sand and fine silt work their way between the turns and act as an abrasive.

It is cheaper than any other precaution: half a minute of work against losing the fish you waited all day for.

There is no one knot for everything

Knots are grouped by job, not by strength. Some fix line to an eye, some join two lengths, some make a loop in which a lure swings freely. A knot used for the wrong job loses even when it is tied perfectly.

Checking it

A finished knot is looked at and tested by hand: the turns should lie side by side without crossing, and the knot itself should not creep. If it slides along the line, it is retied rather than pulled tighter.

Hook knots and line-to-line knots are built differently, and the reference keeps them in two separate subsections.