Hobie Cat Forums

If you are interested in knots I think the best thing you can do is Google Berkley knot wars and watch the competitions. Tons of head to head competitions on knots.

Most knot information posted by fisherman is qualitative and anecdotal. Even "measurements" given without a discussion of the measurement process and repeatability need to be taken with a grain of salt. The Berkley knot wars is the most rigorous exploration about which knots are strongest in which conditions that I have seen by quite a long shot.

_________________
Fish tremble when they hear my name

A ship in harbor is safe -- but that is not what ships are built for.
--John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic, 1928

I have been tying that knot so long that I can do so with light weight items, including small bare hooks. I was at a Bass Fishing Techniques seminar years ago when Alton Jones also learned to tie that knot. It was taught to us by Tony Bean, as smallmouth fisherman that used to be on the Bassmaster's Trail. He showed us one step that makes that knot easier to tie that Alton does not show. He starts by laying the line over his pointer finger then his thumb then to the hook then back over the thumb then over the pointer finger. Essentially you are doubling the line then hang the lure down vertically then do the wraps. The idea here is to have your pointer finger and thumb sticking through the loop that you form before you do the wraps around the lure. You then lift the tag end and grab it with the thumb and pointer finger and pull the tag end back through the loop rather that push the tag end through the open loop. That step makes the knot lightning fast to tie even in a boat that is rocking from the waves or high winds or even in the dark.

By the way, Jimmy Houston was also at that seminar and learned that knot at the same time we did. He calls it the Jimmy Houston knot on his website since at that time Tony Bean said the knot had no name. I wrote an email to him about his also not using his thumb and pointer finger to pull the tag end back through and he acknowleged what I was saying but he said he was going to continue to do it his way.

You are correct about lubricating the line before pulling the line to close the knot. Mono will burn without saliva to lubricate it but fluorocarbon line is much worse about the line burning. I always stick the knot in my mouth before I cinch the line down.

_________________
PA12 Dune
That is why they calling it fishing and not catching.

The other issue with a reverse clinch is that it's great if you're spooled with mono or flouro, but if you use braid with a 3' or 4' fluoro leader you can re-tie maybe 2 or 3 times before you need to tie on a new leader (maybe once if you're the guy in the video ). I fish braid with fluoro leader 90% of the time.

Kind of defeats the purpose of a quick & simple knot if you're then tieing a leader with a uni-to-uni knot every fourth time.

Gas Yakker,

Amen to that! I used to add a fluoro leader also when I lived up north but due to the water color in Central Florida and the excessive vegitation here I rarely do that any more.

_________________
PA12 Dune
That is why they calling it fishing and not catching.

So what if it takes a minute or two to tie a knot...? Arthritic fingers will do that to you but, surely, the fish aren't biting so rapidly that you can't afford to miss out on one or two, more or less... If you're that impatient, you're missing the joy of fishing!

Heck, by the time I've removed and stowed my polarized glasses, fished out my reading glasses, tied the knot, removed and re-stowed my readers and donned my polarized again, I've drifted a half mile away anyway... LOL!

It's always good to know a variety of knots even if you regularly use only a few. It's better to know a knot and not need it than the reverse.

That short tippet limitation is why I've started using the Davy knot for many line-lure connections. It's amazing how little line that knot uses up. Downright frugal, it is. I can do five or six fly changes with an 18" tippet section and still have nearly a foot of tippet left.

_________________
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult
Pro Angler-14 owner

Neat! But, does it work with mono leader? Seems like it would be prone to slip out...

Yes that knot works with mono. I had the knot tested at the Berkley Booth a few years back on a knot testing machine. I usually add an extra turn or two for braid because it can slip easier than mono.

_________________
PA12 Dune
That is why they calling it fishing and not catching.

If you mean the Davy knot, it was developed for mono. Works just as well with fluoro but I've never tried it with braid. I was skeptical at first, too. Thought it couldn't possibly hold with slickery mono - but it sure does.

_________________
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult
Pro Angler-14 owner