Stops: How Line Position Is Fixed

A stop is a part or a knot that fixes a position on the line without locking it down for good. It holds by friction or a clamp, not a permanent joint — which is exactly why you can slide it by hand whenever you need to change the setup.

Why have a moveable fix at all

Where the setup depends on the conditions — depth on a sliding weight or a sliding float — a fixed knot would need retying every time. A stop lets you change position in seconds, with no re-rigging.

The price of that convenience: a stop holds weaker than a permanent joint, and under too hard a pull it does slip.

Three ways to fix it

A knot tied from a scrap of line or braid is the cheapest and the most flexible on size, and it ties right there on the water. A silicone or rubber stop is more stable and won’t come undone by accident, but it stays one fixed size. A clamp-type stop with a metal tooth holds the strongest, but scratches on the line from that tooth are unavoidable.

The harder a stop grips the line, the more visible mark it leaves — and that mark becomes the spot where the line eventually breaks.

A stop doesn’t work on its own

The eye of the part it’s fixing is almost always bigger than the stop itself — so a bead goes between them, otherwise the stop just slips straight through the eye. Covered separately — the bead as a buffer.

A double stop — for rigging from both sides

Where a part needs to move within a set stretch, not just in one direction, stops go on in pairs — one below, one above. The gap between the two stops is what defines that stretch of free movement, not the position of either stop on its own.