Been searching knots to join braid main line to fluro leader. What are some knots that are small, strong and cast well?
I almost exclusively use the Alberto knot. I haven't had it slip on me yet, seems very strong, pretty easy to tie, and makes a very small join knot when it's done right that doesn't impede your casts quite as much.
Uni-to-Uni is excellent, as is the Mod'd Albright/Alberto.
I use the Alberto
On 5/9/2016 at 4:24 AM, Darren. said:Uni-to-Uni is excellent, as is the Mod'd Albright/Alberto.
On 5/9/2016 at 4:34 AM, fvogel67 said:I use the Alberto
On 5/9/2016 at 4:20 AM, Preytorien said:I almost exclusively use the Alberto knot. I haven't had it slip on me yet, seems very strong, pretty easy to tie, and makes a very small join knot when it's done right that doesn't impede your casts quite as much.
Yes, also uni to uni.
The FG knot is going to be the strongest and also the smallest profile knot you can tie. It feeds through micro guides as well as the level wind into your reel. The others mentioned are also good but not as good as the FG Knot.
Here is a good video on the easiest way to tie it:
The Double Uni knot works well, and it's a piece of cake to tie if you lubricate it well (with spit).
I do 6 turns each usually.
On 5/9/2016 at 4:50 AM, mojojojo said:The FG knot is going to be the strongest and also the smallest profile knot you can tie. It feeds through micro guides as well as the level wind into your reel. The others mentioned are also good but not as good as the FG Knot.
Here is a good video on the easiest way to tie it:
Kudos to @mojojojo & anyone who can tie
this knot!! Seriously. I mean it sincerely.
For me, I've tried several times and been
nothing but frustrated each and every time.
And tie it while I'm out in my kayak?! No sir.
It may be the slimmest, but far from the easiest
to tie, esp. with 10# or 15# Power Pro and 6-8#
leader line.
In fact recently I found that the Uni-to-Uni goes
through the micro guides on my Legend Tournament
better than even the Alberto! I think the reason
is length of the knot. The UniX2 is short while the
Alberto is longer. I think that length was causing me
to get hung up at the tip top often. No more with
the uni-to-uni.
My experience and I'm sticking to it
I use the Alberto because it so easy and strong. I've used the fg too and have had it unravel on me. I'm sure it was user error but it is a pain to tie. There is one knot I saw a video for that looked like a uni to improved clinch that looked good but I can't find the video. It was one of the pro's so if anyone knows what I'm talking about please post it.
On 5/9/2016 at 6:06 AM, Yudo1 said:I use the Alberto because it so easy and strong. I've used the fg too and have had it unravel on me. I'm sure it was user error but it is a pain to tie. There is one knot I saw a video for that looked like a uni to improved clinch that looked good but I can't find the video. It was one of the pro's so if anyone knows what I'm talking about please post it.
That was the guys from Saltwater Experience:
They call it the J-knot, but it is actually what
you are describing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nasG2Wy8wD8
On 5/9/2016 at 4:50 AM, mojojojo said:The FG knot is going to be the strongest and also the smallest profile knot you can tie. It feeds through micro guides as well as the level wind into your reel. The others mentioned are also good but not as good as the FG Knot.
Here is a good video on the easiest way to tie it:
Thanks mojojojo, I found this one too and just tied up a couple leaders. Pretty slim and should hold up well. Took me a couple tries to get it right.
Geez,,,
Alberto knot
On 5/9/2016 at 4:50 AM, mojojojo said:The FG knot is going to be the strongest and also the smallest profile knot you can tie. It feeds through micro guides as well as the level wind into your reel. The others mentioned are also good but not as good as the FG Knot.
Here is a good video on the easiest way to tie it:
I use the FG as well. I had used the Uni to Uni for a long time and liked it because it was easy to tie but I ended up losing some fish last year breaking off on hooksets, and guess where the failure point was....
The FG goes through guides great and will even go into your reel without issues if you tie a really long leader like I do sometimes. It is the thinnest possible leader knot because the fluoro/mono never actually bends, it is kept straight and the braid merely wraps around it like a finger trap. When I first saw the knot I thought it was a joke because I didn't understand how it worked without the leader material actually being "tied" in the conventional sense. It's also seriously strong. If you tie it correctly it will NEVER break, the knot to your lure will fail first. The only downside to the knot is how easy it is to tie. I had to sit down for a couple hours tying it over and over again before I got it down. But once you finally get it it is worth it. For people that tie short leaders the alberto might be better. But usually when I tie a leader on it is 5+ feet and will last several trips, so spending 3 minutes tying it at home before heading out isn't a huge deal. Tying it on the water is a chore though, and you can almost forget about it in a kayak. The video Mojojojo linked is probably the easiest way to tie it.
On 5/9/2016 at 6:33 AM, MassYak85 said:I use the FG as well. I had used the Uni to Uni for a long time and liked it because it was easy to tie but I ended up losing some fish last year breaking off on hooksets, and guess where the failure point was....
The FG goes through guides great and is even thin enough to go into your reel without causing issues. It's also seriously strong. If you tie it correctly it will NEVER break, the knot to your lure will fail first. The only downside to the knot is how easy it is to tie. I had to sit down for a couple hours tying it over and over again before I got it down. But once you finally get it it is worth it. The video Mojojojo linked is probably the easiest way to tie it.
Agree on the difficulty. It took me a couple times watching the video and a couple tries. Finally got it and went on and tied up leaders. I did add a drop of super glue on the end of the knot for good measure even though I couldn't reasonably pull it to failure.
Thanks for all the responses and options.
On 5/9/2016 at 6:09 AM, Darren. said:That was the guys from Saltwater Experience:
They call it the J-knot, but it is actually what
you are describing.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nasG2Wy8wD8
That's it. Thanks.
On 5/9/2016 at 6:43 AM, racedad said:Agree on the difficulty. It took me a couple times watching the video and a couple tries. Finally got it and went on and tied up leaders. I did add a drop of super glue on the end of the knot for good measure even though I couldn't reasonably pull it to failure.
Thanks for all the responses and options.
I would also tell people not to give up on it when trying to tie it. It can be frustrating. I actually wasn't able to consistently get it to bite down and had it slip while fishing when I first started and ended up going back to the Uni to Uni knot for a little while. It wasn't until I lost another fish due to that knot that I decided to give the FG knot another chance and man was it worth it. I actually tie it a little different than the video recommends if I recall correctly. I do 20 wraps then finish the wraps with an overhand knot. I should mention THIS is the time you should cinch it down and make sure it won't slip. At that point the knot is at full strength, and everything else is just to prevent it from unraveling. I then do 5-6 overhand knots around BOTH the main line and the leader tag end, then I do another 5-6 overhand knots around JUST the main line. All the extra overhand knots just ensure that if the knot does start to come undone it's the overhand knots and not the actual load bearing knot. Then I attempt to "push" the knot so that the overhand knots stretch out over the main line and leader to the maximum they might under normal conditions, and THEN I clip the leader tag close to the knot and finally clip the main line tag. It might seem overkill but it hasn't failed me yet and it's what has given me confidence it will never come undone. I don't use any superglue like some do though.
I use my own variation of the Alberto knot
Uni to Uni
From my experience the Alberto knot excels. Not as bulky as the Uni knot and have had no failures over several seasons of continuous use. The fact that the Alberto is a weave and not technically a knot, may be the factor. It produces a very slim knot that flows through guides quite well.
It does take a little practice to tie, but I can do it with arthritis fingers & hands, along with poor close up vision, so anyone should be able to accomplish it with a little practice. In my opinion, this knot is a jewel.
Switched all of my setups to the modified albright this week. Used the uni to uni previously.
I can't say "uni to uni" is the best option, but it was the easiest for me to learn to effectively tie. Since going to braid on most of my spinning rods (about 3 years ago) I have not had a knot failure with either fluoro or mono leaders.
The FG is a pain to tie until you get the hang of it. I can see how guys wouldn't want to try it while out on a kayak. I tie it at home before I go out in the boat, but Im able to tie it while on the boat now doing it the way shown in the video. I used to only use the Alberto knot (shown above in video) but I like to tie long leaders that roll up into my reel and the FG is thinner and goes through everything cleaner. The Alberto still goes through the line guide on reel but not as good as the FG
On 5/9/2016 at 4:20 AM, Preytorien said:I almost exclusively use the Alberto knot. I haven't had it slip on me yet, seems very strong, pretty easy to tie, and makes a very small join knot when it's done right that doesn't impede your casts quite as much.
^This^ : Also called the Modiifed Albright Knot - always wrap using the main braid line about 7 wraps up and 7 wraps down over the FC leader.
I've only good things to say about Alberto. I've had it fail once -- and that knot was a good two months old -- no excuse for not having retied it long before it did.
The only question I have is: once you've figured out which knot to use, learned how to tie it, and actually have such a setup on your rod; how do you fish a senko?
Alberto knot for me
uni to uni for me... reliable, easy to tie and goes through the guides well enough (i don't have any micro guides)
Uni-uni and Alberto are about the same difficulty/time to tie if you are familiar with both.
I used the uni-uni for about a year and a half before I switched to Alberto. The Alberto is definitely a bit stronger, but the uni is acceptable to many anglers.
The biggest thing about the Alberto is that it is crucial that the tag end leaves the leader loop the same way it enters as the final step, or it will fail. The good news is that as long as you cinch hard/properly, it will fail in your hands as you are finishing tying, so you know you did it wrong.
I first used the uni-to-uni know because it was for me the easiest to learn. But I started having a lot of breakage issues so now I just use a tiny Spro Power Swivel and go palomar-to-swivel-to-palomar and knot tying has never been easier, with zero breakage issues.
Does the swivel go through guides/eyes?
The smallest sized SPRO Power Swivels will go through the guides and that's not good juju for the guides, so I just cast with the swivel and full length of leader hanging. I wasn't exactly sure how long of a leader your'e joining so I'm assuming spinning finesse. I'll never go longer than say 30 inches for a leader with any finesse application and I've never had any issues with casting.
On 5/10/2016 at 5:08 AM, Choporoz said:Does the swivel go through guides/eyes?
NO ~ Never . . Quickest way to pop out a tip top guide insert.
It's like Crossing The Streams - It just shouldn't be done.
A-Jay