By: Dan Carns
I recently caught up with my friend Mike Westra at the Boat House in North Fort Myers. As is always the case we eventually talk fishing, and he said something about knots that never really occurred to me. “Knots” he said, “offer an amazing amount of freedom” and we discussed this statement at length. Fishermen are often in groups, either on shore, on bridges or in a boat and you may be required to tie many different knots depending on the day. Some of you are very proficient at knot tying but all too often either a mate or someone in your group may be asked to tie a knot. Anglers are a proud sort and might be too embarrassed to ask about a certain knot so they’ll do their best with what they know whether its right or not. Maybe think back to your teen years when one of your buddies knew how to tie knots or maybe it was you. You probably needed them, or you wouldn’t go fishing. I often see people fishing with steel leaders and snap swivels in the entirely wrong place and wonder if someone else tied it on, so they didn’t have to retie the knots.
With all that being said how about us as kayak anglers. We are absolutely alone even if we’re fishing in a group so we must have a basic understanding of knots. Can you retie a knot in sixty seconds or some reasonable amount of time if it’s a hook, leader and sinker set up that you’ve broken off? If you want to increase your catch rate knots may be the single best way to get better at fishing. Understanding when the best time is to use a certain knot is also very important and either comes from experience or by watching videos online. Every lure or hook set up benefits from a certain knot configuration.
I personally tie the Tarpon loop on all my jigs and hooks to allow the hook/jig the ability to swing freely. This particular knot is exceptionally strong, and I’ve never had it fail even with a hundred-pound fish or more! The improved clinch knot is as reliable as any line to lure knot there is. It’s also been around a long time and suffers from not having a sexy new name or social media following but trust me it’s reliable and easy to tie. I believe the harder to tie knots come from the multiple material lines that have to be combined wether its braid to fluorocarbon or flurocarbon to monofilament. The Double Uni or the Yucatan are my favorite line to leader knots.
This is the single biggest hurdle for some anglers, but it is a skill that you should master. Fish are wary of steel leaders and snap swivels so find the knots that work for you. Go online, find a knot program and tie these over and over until they come naturally. Knots will singlehandedly improve your fishing game!
It’s A Wild World_Get Out There!
@paddlinandfishin
Dan Carns