Frictions knots for connecting your mainline to your leader

[benno_reed]

I bought my bobbin yesterday, and have been practising like a demon, and I am happy with the results, except for one problem. I get massive twists in the the braid and leader when I am flipping the bobbin around the leader.

I think I have too much tension, would I be right? I have 5 wraps around the bobbin arm.

Cheers,
Ben

[Ben Furness]

If the leader is twisting then there is too much tension, wind it back a bit or hold on tighter! I had the same problem. I ended up getting the twisting under control but I am still getting the hang of the hitches!

[Patrick Parisienne]

Just a couple quick ones on the FG:

Is 30mm of tightly packed wraps enough, or too many? I make sure you can't see leader between the wraps..

Also, when I give my knots the BIG test when finished, about half the wrapped braid turns shiny ( which means its bedded down right?). So am I safe in saying I can reduce the number of wraps until they're all bitten down and shiny?

Are hitches around the mainline necessary? I can't see them doing anything meaningful....

Oh, by the way, am tying Jerry Brown 65lb hollow, and Rovex 80lbs to 150lbs Jinkai Plus.

Cheers,

Pat

[Robin Loi]

hi patrick, whether 30mm (or 3cm) is sufficient depends the thickness of the leader and braid, on the target fish and in what kind of environment. as a general guide, for light tackle fishing, 8-10 wraps with 5-6 half hitches or middle heavy weight fishing, i'd say about 15-20 wraps with 10-12 half hitches should suffice. for heavy offshore, 25-35 wraps and about 15-18 half hitches should do the job.. half hitches are most definitely necessary in FG knot as it secures your weaves and leader (after cutting off the tag end before continuing with the half hitch). If it's loose, chances are your weaves will give way or unravel, which means the whole knot is gone, when a good fighting fish's at the other end of the line.

[Andrew Susani]

The half hitches around the main line protect the main line from the melted end of your leader.

[Mark Harris]

Hi Patrick

I can't tell you how long I have spent experimenting with FG Knots before coming up with what I believe is the ideal number of wraps!

First shiny is good.  That means the knotted braid is tightening nicely.

For PE8 and PE10 line , I believe the ideal number of weaves is 12 (or 24 wraps if you count them that way - one weave = 2 wraps). For PE6 line I increase that to 14 for most types of braid I have tried, but I think 12 is fine also.  I suspect the diameter of JB Hollow 65 lbs is in that PE6-PE8 range?

As others have suggested, do not neglect the half hitches. Without well tied half hitches, the whole knot is pointless and will fail. With a 12 weave/24 wrap knot, I do 16 half hitches around the leader, tightening each one hard and then very hard every 4 half hitches (you can think of the 16 as four sets of four and tighten extra hard after each set).  Make sure that you alternate the direction of the half hitches under and over.

The number of finishing half hitches around the mainlines is less important I think - just make sure there are enough to protect the mainline from any potential chaffing from the tag end of the leader.   You will probably find about 10 is right.

Good luck!  With practice, this is an easy and very reliable knot.

[Patrick Parisienne]

Cheers guys!

I find the FG quick enough to tie, now I know a bit more about the hitches, and their role.

I like the knot so much, I use it for snapper and gummy fishing, knowing the line won't fail at the knot, where most other knots do...

Cheers,

Pat

[Doug Terry]

Hi Brandon enjoyed your thoughts. A friend of mine just sent me this and I would like your thoughts of it. or anybody Else's for that matter.

[Corey Howell]

this thread's been around the block more times than paris hilton, but would really appreciate recco on number of plaits and half hitches for FG knot using

A. PE8 UltraJigManX8 and 200lb mono

B. PE8 UltraJigManX8 and 100lb mono

gracias senors !!!

Corey
Solomon Islands

[Corey Howell]

bambino

[Luke Wyrsta]

this thread's been around the block more times than paris hilton, but would really appreciate recco on number of plaits and half hitches for FG knot using

A. PE8 UltraJigManX8 and 200lb mono

B. PE8 UltraJigManX8 and 100lb mono

gracias senors !!!

Corey
Solomon Islands

I'm not sure on the exact number of "plaits", as I tend to go by the length of the knot - which should be no longer than 1 inch (as my preference). The plaits are close together but not squashed together, they do need some "real estate" to "bite" into.

To finish the knot, I use around 6 pairs of alternating half-hitches along the PE&Leader, then 8 alternating hitches along the PE to finish.

Hope that helps.

[Stuart Kelly]

Can't wait to give some of these a try!!

[Neville Haglund]

Firstly I use the Aussie plait to make a double in Braid and have for years.It cannot unravel when going through the guides like a Bimini sometimes can.
I join braid to Fluoro all the time but double the length of the knot.In saying that there is Fluoro and there is Fluoro as there is braid and there is braid.Some brands I wouldn't attempt and others we use all the time.
Other than lobbing baits and small jigs don't generally cast it and never use it on GT's as I like to have a couple of turns of leader on the spool when casting and it's very handy when leadering.I lost the fish of a life time recently due to a borrowed reel with a short leader,no one wanted to grab the braid,fair enough!!
A lot of Kingie fisherman use braid to Fluoro all the time but it's jigging.
Got myself a knot tightner or puller,Brilliant ,

[Lance Torre]

Hello,

First of all, THANKS for all the information this site has to offer!

I have been practicing tying the FG Knot extensively. This is my go to video 

I will be casting poppers and stickbaits for GT and whatever else will hit. I`m using 80# JB Solid attached to 200# Jinkai mono via the FG Knot on my stickbait rod. For my popping rod, I will use the same spectra but 80# twisted Jinkai mono (= 160#), bimini to modified cat`s paw to uni to swivel. I am heading to Fiji and Vanuatu for 5 weeks in February. This will be my second GT trip this year......I`m addicted!

There are so many pro`s and con`s that I have read from many different forums in regards to the FG Knot, it`s driving me coo coo! I will put it to the test and report back with my experiences......Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks,

LT

[Corey Howell]

muchas gracias Luke! now to get the hang of pulling em down with the thin PE8.

this thread's been around the block more times than paris hilton, but would really appreciate recco on number of plaits and half hitches for FG knot using

A. PE8 UltraJigManX8 and 200lb mono

B. PE8 UltraJigManX8 and 100lb mono

gracias senors !!!

Corey
Solomon Islands

I'm not sure on the exact number of "plaits", as I tend to go by the length of the knot - which should be no longer than 1 inch (as my preference). The plaits are close together but not squashed together, they do need some "real estate" to "bite" into.

To finish the knot, I use around 6 pairs of alternating half-hitches along the PE&Leader, then 8 alternating hitches along the PE to finish.

Hope that helps.