Did I just invent a new super strong knot?
- Thread starter TheBigGuy
- Start date
wildthing
Well-Known Member
to tie a needle knot just go to a local dollar store and buy a pack of tapestry needles
use a pair of pliers to pull the knots up and use nail clippers to trim
i have used it for the last 30 years and fly guys have been using forever ...
but use and be confident what works for yourself and also one that has a proven track record
you won't go far wrong ......
and to be honest keep on top of your rigging and hooklinks and you will have very few fail .....
use a pair of pliers to pull the knots up and use nail clippers to trim
i have used it for the last 30 years and fly guys have been using forever ...
but use and be confident what works for yourself and also one that has a proven track record
you won't go far wrong ......
and to be honest keep on top of your rigging and hooklinks and you will have very few fail .....
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I was taught that knot on the first commercial troller I worked on almost thirty years ago. The skipper of that boat would inspect every piece of gear you tied before it was allowed to be put into the pre-tied gear locker. If he didn't like the look of it, he would cut the knot and tear a royal strip off you, but deservedly so, we all made our pay check off it! Thousands of hoochies, plugs and spoons tied between Deep Bay and Langara before each season on that boat made it instinct. I've used it pretty much exclusively ever since. From the smallest fly tippet right up to 100lb test mono.
tightlines
Well-Known Member
I agree with you on your comment about knot strength not being the main culprit in losing fish. What I did notice when I used to use 25 lb maxima as my leader material, was that a lot of bigger chinook with big teeth could easily knick the line during the fight, compromising line strength and losing more fish. I found the fluoro stands up better to abrasions causing me to lose less fish at the leader.
cracked_ribs
Well-Known Member
That's the knot I grew up with as the standard lure tying knot. We called it a timber hitch but knew it wasn't that exactly, it's just what we called it because nobody had a knot book and the internet didn't exist yet, so it was just similar to what somebody had called a timber hitch who'd done a lot of rope work on boats.
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
What learning a good new knot does is it allows you to run new advances in line technology reliably. Lines have changed dramatically in the last 25 years. Before spectra I ran 20 lb mono on my mainline and lost a lot of fish to seals, and a lot of gear on bottom. I was a very early adopter of spectra for Salmon fishing. Using spectra required learning new knots to connect it to Mono. I learnt the Albright Special for mono to spectra connections and have never looked back. Using spectra on my salmon gear now with heavier test main and leaders I hardly ever lose fish to seals or bottom. I release a lot of my salmon, and the new lines allow me to play the fish quickly, and not exhaust a fish that I'm going to release. If I see a seal or sea lion after my fish these new lines have allowed me to horse the fish in quickly before it gets a hold of it. I also prefer the feel of a battle on spectra (with a top shot of mono for some cushion). Spectra line with very good knots also has allowed me to fish far deeper with little gear loss when targeting bottom species.
Using all these great advances in line technology would never have been possible without learning new knots. The knots I used before spectra are totally different than what I use now. The deep sea fishing forums are great places for finding out the most recent developments in reliable connections to use. That's where I got the idea of running a mono top shot from and learned about the using the Albright Special knot. I was one of the first guys to start spreading the word about running a top shot with an Albright knot version on the forum. Next to no one was using that setup here at that time. The term "Top Shot" wasn't even known in these parts back then. Now it is commonly used in BC for Salmon fishing. I have never had a knot failure using the Albright Special for my top shot connection in many years of use. It took a bit of knot experimentation before I settled on that knot for joining mono to spectra. Without learning a knot with 100% strength and reliability, joining spectra to mono is pure folly. Learning new knots is a pain, but you will be left using old technology, (or have knot failures) if you don't tailor your knot specifically to the type of new lines being constantly developed.
Using spectra on my Downrigger I use loop knots that I found online at spectra line kite fishing sites. New knots are being developed all the time, and the Internet allows them to be spread all over the world. Searching them out takes a little extra time and effort, but it pays big dividends in gear reliability. I can honestly say I can't remember the last time a seal out battled me for a fish since switching to these lines and knots. I only had one Salmon taken by a seal this season. It was a spring about 22 lbs, and I beat the seal with no problems using my heavy test setup with good connections. The other advantage to using this type of setup is when a large Halibut is unexpectedly hooked while trolling for Salmon. I've had no problems landing Halibut on my Salmon gear when I've been lucky enough to catch them when trolling for Salmon.
Flourocarbon knots require an even different set of knots from mono to maximize strength, (and minimize knot failures). I'm still looking for just the right knot for fluorocarbon. I've started further research on the best ones to use recently. Maybe this version of the Improved Trilene Knot will prove to be the knot I settle on for tying Flouro. If not, I'll just keep searching for the best knot for every line application. No one knot serves well for everything. The strongest of knots used for years in mono, might actually be a very poor knot choice for spectra or Flouro. Even the same knot that will work well on lighter lines in a specific line class, may be a very poor choice for large test lines with the same knot. One knot does definitely not fit all applications. Learning new knots is the best way to be able to use new advances in line technology. Line and gear changes all the time, and experimenting with new innovations is one of my favorite things about fishing. There's a lot of great new stuff on the Internet coming out almost daily. You may find new stuff you actually prefer and are way more effective at catching fish, if you're willing to do a little experimentation.
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when we were fishing up at Langara a couple of years ago there were a lot of Sea Lions following the boats around looking for a free meal. Acouple things we learned was turn the clickers off on the reels, fight the fish sitting down and if a Lion starts chasing your fish, flip the reel to free spool and give it a chance to out-run the Lion. Also keeping the boat on top of the fish helped keep the lions away long enough for a net job. these techniques were not 100% but still worked surprisingly well!
Aces
Well-Known Member
I caught a 51 at Active Pass with a sea lion chasing it on 15 lb in the 80's and know of lots of others on the same test. Just need to know how to tie a good knot and play a fish
lol....... just put steel downrigger line on there and start winching
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
I have a massive tackle collection. One of the reasons why is because I rarely ever lose Salmon gear anymore. With heavier line fish don't ever bust off, and usually I get my gear back from a bottom snag. . My gear is plenty sporting, but it also allows me to land Salmon in a reasonable period of time. I practice catch and release fairly regularly. If I were using 15 lb line, I would probably have to stress a fish way more than they may recover from to be released if I were using that light a line. That would be if you hadn't fed the seals your Salmon long before you ever got it to the boat. The south coast has a massive seal population. Strong test lines and good strong knots just give you a decent chance of actually landing your fish in these parts. If you want to feed the seals all day run 20 pound test mono and have atter. I'd actually prefer not to feed the fur balls, and land my Salmon before they latch on to it. That's what having good strong line and terminal connections allow you to do.
Some places on the coast you rarely see a seal during a days fishing. Around the Fraser River mouth there are literally hundreds of seals waiting to pounce on a hooked fish. If I was fishing in Campbell River where there's hardly a seal to be seen I might lighten up my gear a little bit, down here I'll stick to spectra and a 40 pound top shot.
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TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Sorry for not grasping that was intended in pun. An emoticon helps convey humour when dealing in printed text conversations. Otherwise it's pretty hard to tell when someone's just kidding around.
Winter hasn't even started, but it's looking to be a long boring one so far. I'm going to post up some newer knots that I'm planning on testing that are highly recommended. Might as well put the lousy weather to good use and learn some more knots.
Winter hasn't even started, but it's looking to be a long boring one so far. I'm going to post up some newer knots that I'm planning on testing that are highly recommended. Might as well put the lousy weather to good use and learn some more knots.
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
The lol being at the front of your post kind of just made it seem to me like you were deridng my method of fishing. As I stated I'm sorry for misinterpreting the intent of your post. Printed words are hard to detect nuances that would be apparent if you were having a normal face to face conversation. One of the hazards of texting and the forums. Your printed text can easily be taken the wrong way. No biggy, my bad.
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Lucky you.
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Here's a couple of fairly new knots that are starting to be widely used because of their small size and great strength.
The FG knot for spectra to mono or flouro topshots. It's a100% knot that is amazingly small.
The Spangler Knot, very small, yet very strong knot. It is gaining wide spread use in big game fishing because it can be tied in 300 lb test, eliminating the need for crimping large diameter lines. A great knot for the lightest to the heaviest of mono or flouro lines.
http://internal.bdoutdoors.com/2011/04/871447_709cdd1b8f1b9c398ce6016e35964dd6.pdf
The FG knot for spectra to mono or flouro topshots. It's a100% knot that is amazingly small.
The Spangler Knot, very small, yet very strong knot. It is gaining wide spread use in big game fishing because it can be tied in 300 lb test, eliminating the need for crimping large diameter lines. A great knot for the lightest to the heaviest of mono or flouro lines.
http://internal.bdoutdoors.com/2011/04/871447_709cdd1b8f1b9c398ce6016e35964dd6.pdf
