Punch Rig & Snell Knot 2024
Siebert Outdoors reply :
Alright guys, I've been seeing this pop up a lot lately and must ask. Why do you snell knot? What is the reasoning behind it?
Reason I'm asking I've been punching and fishing weeds for a lot of years and I've never tied a snell not in my life. I'd like to understand the reasoning behind the snell knot.
I've never had issues with the hook set up I use and the good ol polomar knot.
gulfcaptain reply :
the reason for the snell knot is pretty simple. When you set the hook, the snell knot pushes down on the eye causing the hook to push up giving it a better chance to get a good bite resulting in a better hook up ratio. Also protects the knot from from the weight. But then I only use it on straight flipping hooks with solid welded eye. If you're using a different style hook( EWG...etc) then your knot is fine.
Darren. reply :
Plus the snell pulls the entire shank, arguably a straighter pull than being tied perpendicular in the eye.
Love the snell, use it all the time for almost everything but weedless hooks.
Not_Here reply :
some explanations below...best advice is to do it and see the results for yourself...as mentioned and to reiterate, besides it allowing that hook to kick up, snelling protects the knot from gettin beat up since its on the shank below the eye...
*edit i originally posted the wrong vid with scott explaining the snell but the right one is embedded now...
this is the method i use to snell...its fast, easy and has worked great for me...
rippin-lips reply :
I use the same revised snell except I go 5 wraps. It hasn't let me down yet.
Got1Fishing reply :
Gotta love that Snell knot!
Darren. reply :
On 2/25/2014 at 5:03 AM, rippin-lips said:I use the same revised snell except I go 5 wraps. It hasn't let me down yet.
Same here, number of wraps depends on pound-test of the line, and shank available.
Wasn't called the revised snell when I learned it, just the snell, or just one way to tie a snell. But I'll take "revised"....
webertime reply :
My observation on the Snell knot... like mentioned above the hook "kick out" & knot protection are nice. But the effect it seems to have on fish is this. You know when you smack/smash/cut yourself and think, "what was that? Oh that's really going to suck..." for a few seconds then... OUCH!!!!! It seems the hook kicking out and into the thick/boney parts of the mouth/head does the same thing. Set hook... bass thinks "what the?" Gets cranked to the boat and about 5' from the boat starts fighting (the OUCH part). I have noticed that they don't generally immediately go berserk when hooked making it much easier to get them out of junk.
FishinDaddy reply :
I never use them. I use Gama EWG superline and trokar flipping hoods. Regular palomar knot. I can't remember the last time I broke off a flipping fish.
Catt reply :
I've been Flipping/Pitching/Punching for 39 years with straight shank round bend hooks & a Palomar knot.
OkeechobeeAngler reply :
What Catt said.
mnbassman23 reply :
I also use the same knot that Bub Tosh shows in the link Frog Turds has provided. I started tying it shortly after that video came out and have never had an issue. My hook up percentages increased enough for me to keep tying it.
FlipnLimits reply :
One last observation of the Snell Knot. You tend to hook the bass in the top of the mouth, if using a sweeping hookset, and the hook is lodged so well he rarely shakes it. Think of hooking a bass with a jig when the jig is wedged and you have to give it a palm smack to free it. Much different than hooking a fish in the lower jaw or the side of the mouth.
FL
Catt reply :
On 2/25/2014 at 11:45 AM, FlipnLimits said:One last observation of the Snell Knot. You tend to hook the bass in the top of the mouth, if using a sweeping hookset, and the hook is lodged so well he rarely shakes it. Think of hooking a bass with a jig when the jig is wedged and you have to give it a palm smack to free it. Much different than hooking a fish in the lower jaw or the side of the mouth.
FL
Dude ya aint said nothing!
All mine are hooked in the roof of the mouth 
FlipnLimits reply :
On 2/25/2014 at 12:14 PM, Catt said:Dude ya aint said nothing!
All mine are hooked in the roof of the mouth
That is why I was shocked to hear folks losing so many punch fish. I estimate 90%, or close to, as a hook/land ratio. Some do get hung in weeds but kick-up the Kota and get 'er done.
Catt reply :
On 2/25/2014 at 12:23 PM, FlipnLimits said:That is why I was shocked to hear folks losing so many punch fish. I estimate 90%, or close to, as a hook/land ratio. Some do get hung in weeds but kick-up the Kota and get 'er done.
Dude I aint never snelled a hook in my life & my hook/land ratio is beyond 90%!
FlipnLimits reply :
On 2/25/2014 at 12:47 PM, Catt said:Dude I aint never snelled a hook in my life & my hook/land ratio is beyond 90%!
That's fantastic, that Palomar holds nearly 100% line strength. Maybe it's the "straight up" hookset that sticks the top of the mouth, not so much the Snell Knot?! Can't really say, always used the Snell for punching. Either way, 90% is what should be expected and I use the Snell Knot for punching. Palomar and Blood for all other apps.
gobig reply :
I use the snell knot and a straight shank hook for punching. I think its the best method out there for heavy grass. In my mind its kinda like this... you can build a house with a hammer and a bag of nails or you could use a nail gun. Both methods will get the job done, one is just more productive than the other. My reasons for using the snell knot have already been stated. The weight does not ride on the knot and the hook cams out. I feel I get way more fish to the boat this way. However the real secret to punching is learning how to get the fish out once hooked. That in itself is an art that only time on the water with an experienced angler can teach or through trial and error.
Catt reply :
Someone decided a few years back that a bass' mouth is this big ole empty cavern & when you set hook with a snell knot the hook pivots like a door hinge.
Looks great while the hook is in the guys hand!
What is not taken into consideration is a bass; especially larger bass can bite down with such ferocity that we are lucky if the lure move at all.
So y'all are telling us you have a huge problem with weights breaking your knot?
I have no problem if y'all want to use a snell knot but don't tell me it's a must cause it aint!
As a carpenter I can tell you that a nail gun is faster but it will not "draw" the two boards together, to accomplish this ya gonna still have to get the hammer out!
Bankbeater reply :
Never tried a snell knot for punching, but I have used them a lot for catfishing.
boostr reply :
Don't use the balloon knot... it stinks. 
Siebert Outdoors reply :
The Palomar knot and straight shank hook have never let me down, but I'm always willing to change or try a new style of fishing. I'll give it a shot this year to see how I like it.
MarkH024 reply :
On 2/25/2014 at 7:34 PM, Catt said:I have no problem if y'all want to use a snell knot but don't tell me it's a must cause it aint!
I don't believe anyone said it was a must. There are guys who have confidence in it and like to offer their success in using a snell to others. I use both a snell and a palomar for fishing needs. From my experience I have better hook ups snelling while punching than I do if I use a palomar. So, that's the way I'm going to show/teach someone if they ask based off my personal success. If you have better success using palamor while punching, that is great too. You can teach/preach it that way. Some of your remarks come off as others being inferior to you and your infinite knowledge in bass fishing. I enjoy reading many of your posts but jeesh man, relax a tad. It's just fishing.
Not_Here reply :
thats the right attitude Mike
Catt i have to say as well, nobody is telling you what you must do...your the one that jumped into this thread with Mike asking about snelling, which you have admitted to never have ever snelled a hook in your life, so if you never have snelled a hook then actually you don't have much to say about that specific method because you have zero experience using a snelled hook to compare now do ya?
trailer reply :
Why can't all the knots just get along! LOL
FlipnLimits reply :
On 2/25/2014 at 7:34 PM, Catt said:Someone decided a few years back that a bass' mouth is this big ole empty cavern & when you set hook with a snell knot the hook pivots like a door hinge.
Looks great while the hook is in the guys hand!
What is not taken into consideration is a bass; especially larger bass can bite down with such ferocity that we are lucky if the lure move at all.
So y'all are telling us you have a huge problem with weights breaking your knot?
I have no problem if y'all want to use a snell knot but don't tell me it's a must cause it aint!
As a carpenter I can tell you that a nail gun is faster but it will not "draw" the two boards together, to accomplish this ya gonna still have to get the hammer out!
Death and taxes are a must, lol. I learned to punch with a Snell and it's done well for me, so I share that info. Been Texas rigging with Palomar knots for longer than I care to admit and haven't had a bullet break the knot, ever, from what I know of. It's the strongest knot I know of. That's not the point though, the point is, what works for you is what you should use. There is no right and wrong, but there's an odds ratio that factors in though. Keep stacking the odds in your favor by small percentages, here and there, and suddenly you see successes. And yes, bass clamp down on baits and sometimes it may be tougher to move the bait through their mouths but I'd rarely attribute a missed hookset to it. I can't prove it to be true and nobody can say it's not. It's more than likely that the hook turned to a horizontal position and slipped out through the bass' mouth or the plastic balled-up on the hook. It just happens sometimes.
The Snell changes the angle of the hook when the bullet sits on it, so it's a selling feature for me and it MAY "up" the odds of a hookup. Does it? Maybe, maybe not. Does using green line in stained water up the odds line-shy bass can't see it? Do up-sized trebles on cranks up the odds of hookups? Using glass rods for cranking "up" the odds of landing the fish? The answer may be "no" to all of these but I'll take my chances on the odds that it "MAY". It doesn't cost anything to gamble on these odds. I'll always try to "up" my odds 
My advise to anyone, always is, do what works for your style of fishing because nothing is wrong or right. None of us would mind having more odds in our favor though, right?
Catt, I'm here to learn from you and will always try to learn from your posts, and other peoples. I already know what I know, whether it's good or bad. I don't like to change my fishing much these days but will experiment during practice, why not.
FlipnLimits reply :
On 2/26/2014 at 12:56 AM, trailer said:Why can't all the knots just get along! LOL
Ha. Who you callin' "knots"? My shrink said we're just fine Remember Shimano's ad.....For the rich there's therapy, for the rest of us, there's bassfishing. Great add!
just some good debate here is all. May we all be blessed with health and big bass.
boostr reply :
Catt he actually amuses me even though he comes of as a little wound up sometimes, and he knows his chit. Its probaply the Lousiana Hot Sauce kicking it up a notch BAM! 
RoLo reply :
During my saltwater years, I've tied hundreds if not thousands of snell knots and blood knots.
The snell knot used today is nothing more than an "internal uni-knot". '
Instead of being wrapped around the standing line 'outside' the eyelet,
the uni-knot is wrapped 'inside' the eyelet around the hook shank.
Commercially tied rigs generally use snelled hooks because they have more eye appeal.
I used the snell knot for tying saltwater dropper rigs, which held the hook parallel to the dropper line (no other reason).
By eliminating the dropper line, the 'dropshot rig' today replaced the snell knot with a palomar knot with a long tag-end leader.
Therefore, for freshwater fishing I've never found a use for the snell knot, but use an "external uni-knot" for everything.
When a big bass chomps down on the bait, the odds are high that the hook will end up lying horizontally flat in its mouth,
which is another reason I prefer an upward sweep to a sideward sweep. Fortunately, the tiptip guide is always higher than the bass,
so regardless of the knot used, the odds of hooking the upper jaw are overwhelmingly high.
In my opinion, that little flip-up action from a snelled hook exerts no more pressure than a feather duster.
Roger
J Francho reply :
I like a snell when in using fluoro. Otherwise, a Palomar works fine.
ww2farmer reply :
It's a wonder that I get any fish in the boat.
FrankW reply :
If some of us think that a snelled hook works better for punching why don't we use it for all our Texas rigged plastics? Why just for punching? When I see someone demonstrating the virtue of the snelled hook for punching they show the hinged effect with out a plastic. I have found that the plastic will imped the hinged effect and partially defeats the advantage of the snell. I use a Palomar as I don't use a straight shank hook for punching or flipping. I seldom miss a strike but as stated, the trick is to land a fish in heavy hydrilla. I don't think the snelled hook gives any advantage to landing fish in heavy cover.
Frank
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