Frictions knots for connecting your mainline to your leader

[Chuen Fan]

Angus, I've gone with 60lb leader fishing PE8 mainline with a FG knot before, I don't see why the PR connection wouldn't work with 60lb leader as well as they're pretty similar in principal.

[Angus Hulme]

Thanks Chuen.

I was thinking that if I specifically wanted to throw sinking stickbaits for spaniards, I might have to use a more stealthy leader system (than what's used for GTs), where a thinner than usual leader is required for the sharp-eyed macks. The key, I suppose, is to make sure the knot is tied very well. 

Cheers
Angus

[Mario Benedict]

For popping how long is the leader that you guys use ?

I know how to do the PR knot and that's the only knot I use for connecting braid to leader for jigging. For Jigging I use leaders up to 2m sometimes but is that necessary for popping ?

[Chris Young]

leader length can vary greatly depending on who you ask ! As a general rule I use leaders approximatly 1 rod length for all my casting rods, I think it should be at least the length of your target species as a minimum to avoid bust off from tail scutes etc and to minimise damage to the fish, braid will cut flesh remember
I use up to 15-20ft for jigging

[David Rapley]

Hi all,
         A pull through finish is also a very neat and effective way to cap off your half hitches, although it can be somewhat fiddly. Can anyone tell me just exactly what the 'FG' in an FGknot actually stands for? I kinda guess its not what it suggests although 'F*&%#@ GOOD' would certainly fit well, as this is exactly what the knot is when tied correctly.

   Also (and im kinda gettin the feeling that Brandon is gonna be the one with the answer) can anyone tell me if there has been any comparisons done  (and posted) between a single loop to loop conection (bimini to twisti) and a proper cats paw?

 Umm to Le Vi Hua, this is by no means an attemp to criticise your knot tying ability, but are you 100% certain that the knots you were tying were tyed correctly? This is a massive range in breaking strenghts....I work in the industry(Dedicated fishing tackle outlet), as well as on a charter boat and tye knots for people more than several times a day. (To both teach them and to get them fishing) the knots you speak of i tye an awfull lot and in many many different types of braid and leader material. Again being in the industry we get to test this out alot and have always foung that the breaking point didnt change very much at all (as a percentage to breaknig strain). Forgive me but maybe you arn't tying the knots quite right?

For fear of banging on, i believe that the best knot is the one you can tye with the most confidence. If you are no master in the knot department, and lets face it alot of people find knots hard, whiilst others it comes easy to, then i believe you should be tying whichever knot you tye best. This way you will fish with far more confidence and catch more fish!!!

Get into it!

[Brandon Khoo]

no need for a comparison - a loop to loop connection will result in the braid loop cutting through the mono loop. I've seen this happen on strike on a couple of occasions where the catspaw connection wasn't done properly. A catspaw should grab around the loop, not bunch at the bottom of the loop.

[David Rapley]

Cheers for your comment brandon,

 Yea i personally much prefer the full cats paw, for obvious reasons. I was just curious if anyone had conducted a proper test and posted the outcome anywhere.

Ta again.

[Brandon Khoo]

Actually, I hadn't previously seen Le Vi Hua's post. I've done a fair bit of testing of all the knots in the past in terms of their capacity to absorb shock loads and while I don't have the capacity to conduct a really stringent laboratory test, you get a reasonably good feel from simply testing them to breaking point.

I personally think that a bimimi double that is properly connected to a twisted leader is one of the strongest connections as far as absorbing shock loads is concerned. Of the friction knots, I feel the PR knot is the strongest, followed by the midknot then the FG knot. All of that said, I use the FG knot because I can tie it without the aid of a bobbin and I can tie it less than half the time it takes to tie a midknot and from extensive use, it is strong enough.

One other characteristic that is interesting about friction knots is that finishing the knot with half hitches down the braid makes a difference in the shock absorbing capacity. Don't ask me why but it does. I tested this with Rob Ciotucha about 18 months ago and there really is a noticeable difference.

[Sachin Chaudhry]

I have used a twisted leader (50lb twisted) with an allbright finished with half hitches for some 3 months now.
Numerous fish to 30 kg and 3 over 40kg with no failure. The allbright holds just fine.

[David Rapley]

hey sachin, are you tying the albright with just a single strand of braid or with the end of a double?

Interesting concept see no reason why it shouldnt be strong....

[Craig Maree]

Hi Brandon what lbs and what leader material would you recommend when using PR knots.

I have a Smith WRC Rocket and Smith WRC 80P what leader would be best for each.

Do you recommend a section of shock or bite leader and would you connect this to the main leader with a swivel? 

Lastly do know if there is a big difference in casting distance between Tufline XP and Verivas?

Thanks

[Jay Burgess]

Wondering if anyone has a solution to the half hitches on the mainline coming apart? I've noticed with both my PR and FG knots about the first 3 or 4 half hitches along the mainline start to pull apart after the knot has been under a heavy load. While casting it appears fine but after hooking a decent fish I notice it happening. Doesn't seem to affect the strength of the knot and I've had no failures after using these knots for 2 years but it does make me feel uneasy after a while.

[Mark Harris]

You mean the close-off half hitches tied around the braided line Jay?  If so, I used to have that problem but it has stopped since I started making the final cut with a heat cutter (Bouz, but you could use a lighter) after I have given the whole knot an almighty final tighten. This seems to seal the end quite nicely.  Even if they did all slip or unravel, I am actually not sure it would really be a problem to the integrity of the knot?

[Jay Burgess]

You mean the close-off half hitches tied around the braided line Jay?  If so, I used to have that problem but it has stopped since I started making the final cut with a heat cutter (Bouz, but you could use a lighter) after I have given the whole knot an almighty final tighten. This seems to seal the end quite nicely.  Even if they did all slip or unravel, I am actually not sure it would really be a problem to the integrity of the knot?

Yep that's what I'm talking about Mark. When you give the whole knot a good tighten do you just pull the tag end and the braid end in opposite directions? Also are there any tools to help do the tightening?? My hands/fingers are pretty raw after doing the half hitches on a PR/FG.

[Mark Harris]

Three directions Jay - if you cant bear using your teeth for the tag end (I do that!) as the third direction, then do the tag end and main line, and then follow that by the main line and leader. I use gloves with the mainline and leader wrapped around each hand and pull very hard. I only fire cut the tag end once there is absolutely no more tightening possible.

The only tools I know of are the wooden handles around which you wrap the mainline and leader - have seen these around but cant remember where. I reckon gloves do the job though.