Seven knots cover all 55 techniques on this site. Not seventy — seven. Every fish ever lost to a knot was lost to one of three causes: the wrong knot for the line type, a knot cinched dry, or a knot that should have been retied two fish ago. This chapter fixes all three. Each entry tells you what the knot is for, how to tie it, and how it fails, and the chapter ends with a knot assignment for every spool in the nine-spool line system.
Three Rules Before Any Knot
- Wet every knot before cinching. Fluorocarbon and mono generate heat under friction, and heat is the number one invisible knot killer. Saliva or lake water — always, no exceptions.
- Cinch slow and steady, then test hard at the boat. A knot that fails on a firm two-hand pull was going to fail on a fish. Better now.
- Retie on a schedule, not a feeling. After every fish from cover, after any snag you pulled free, and every couple hours of bottom-contact fishing through rock. Run your fingers up the last two feet of line — if you feel fuzz or nicks, cut back and retie.
1. Palomar — The Default
Use for: Braid or fluorocarbon direct to hooks, jigs, and most terminal tackle. The strongest simple knot in bass fishing and the correct answer when in doubt. This is the site-wide default terminal knot.
- Double 6" of line and pass the loop through the hook eye.
- Tie a loose overhand knot with the doubled line — the hook hangs in the middle.
- Pass the loop over the entire hook or lure.
- Wet it, pull the standing line and tag end evenly to cinch, trim.
How it fails: The loop-over-the-lure step. On big baits (deep cranks, swimbaits) the loop drags across hooks or bills and abrades before you ever cast — that's when to switch to the San Diego jam instead. Also fails when the overhand is cinched unevenly, leaving one strand bearing the load; pull both ends together.
2. San Diego Jam — The Fluorocarbon Workhorse
Use for: Fluorocarbon to anything too big or treble-laden for a comfortable Palomar — crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits, Carolina rig hardware. Stronger than an improved clinch on fluoro and far more consistent.
- Pass 8" of tag through the eye. Let the lure hang.
- Wrap the tag around both the standing line and itself 6–7 times, working back toward the eye.
- Pass the tag through the loop closest to the eye, then back through the big loop you just created along the wraps.
- Wet thoroughly, cinch slowly, trim.
How it fails: Rushing the cinch. Fluoro wraps that jump over each other cut into themselves under load. Slide the wraps down neatly and you'll see them stack like a coil spring — that's correct.
3. FG Knot — Braid to Leader
Use for: Joining braid main line to a fluorocarbon leader — the connection the entire spinning half of this site runs on. Thinnest profile of any leader knot, so it sails through the guides instead of ticking on every cast, and near 100% line strength when tied right.
- Put light tension on the braid — pinch it between your ring finger and rod grip, hold it in your teeth, or use a knot tool.
- Lay the leader across the tensioned braid and make alternating wraps of leader over and under the braid — 16–20 total wraps (8–10 each direction). The wraps must stay tight and stacked.
- Lock the wraps with two half hitches of the braid tag around both leader and braid.
- Pull the standing braid and leader hard in opposite directions — the wraps bite into the fluoro and the knot visibly darkens/compresses. This seating pull is the knot.
- Finish with 3–4 more half hitches with the braid tag, trim the leader tag flush, trim the braid tag.
How it fails: Slack during the wraps. Every FG that slips was tied with loose tension — the wraps never bit the leader. If the seating pull doesn't visibly compress the wraps, cut it off and start over; it will not fix itself on a fish. Practice at home, not on the water: the FG has a learning curve and it's worth every minute.
Honest note: if the FG isn't clicking yet, the double uni below is 90% as good and 10% as frustrating. Fish the double uni without shame while you practice the FG on the couch.
4. Double Uni — The Forgiving Leader Knot
Use for: Same job as the FG — braid to fluoro leader — with an easier tie, at the cost of a bulkier profile that ticks the guides on the cast.
- Overlap the braid and leader by 8–10".
- With the braid tag, make a loop and wrap the tag 7–8 times around both lines inside the loop; wet and snug it down.
- Repeat with the leader tag in the opposite direction: 5 wraps (fluoro needs fewer).
- Pull the two standing lines apart so the knots slide together and jam, trim both tags.
How it fails: Mismatched wrap counts — thin braid needs more wraps than thick fluoro. If the braid side slips, add wraps on the braid side only.
5. Snell — Flipping and Punching
Use for: Straight-shank flipping hooks on heavy braid or fluoro — flipping, pitching, punching. A snelled straight-shank hook kicks the point up and into the roof of the mouth when the weight pegs against it on the hookset. This isn't preference; it's a measurably better hookup rate in heavy cover.
- Pass 6" of tag through the hook eye from the point side, so the tag runs down along the shank.
- Form a loop alongside the shank, then wrap the tag around the shank and the tag line 6–8 times, working from the eye down.
- Pass the tag back through the loop, wet, and pull both ends to cinch the wraps flush on the shank.
How it fails: Snelling an eye that faces the wrong way — the line must exit the eye on the hook-point side, or the kick-up geometry reverses and works against you. Also: only snell straight-shank hooks; snelling an EWG defeats the purpose.
6. Non-Slip Loop (Kreh Loop) — Action Knot
Use for: Any bait whose action lives or dies on a free-swinging connection: walking baits, poppers, bug baits, jerkbaits, and any topwater on the 12 lb copoly spool. A cinched knot chokes the nose; a loop lets the bait swing wide and hunt.
- Tie a loose overhand knot 6" from the tag end, then pass the tag through the lure eye and back through the overhand knot the same side it exited.
- Wrap the tag around the standing line 4–5 times.
- Bring the tag back through the overhand knot one more time, same side again.
- Wet, pull the standing line to cinch the overhand down, sizing the loop small — about 1/4" — then trim.
How it fails: Oversized loops. A big loop tangles trebles on the splashdown; keep it just big enough to swing. And it's a mono/copoly knot first — on fluoro, downsize the loop further and test hard, as fluoro's stiffness works the knot looser over a day.
7. Uni Knot — Utility and Arbor
Use for: The multi-tool. Terminal knot when your hands are frozen, half of the double uni, and — as an arbor knot — attaching line to the spool when you're spooling up. For braid to a bare spool, put a wrap of electrical tape or a mono backing layer down first; braid alone slips and spins on the arbor.
- Pass the tag through the eye (or around the arbor) and lay it back along the standing line.
- Form a loop, wrap the tag around both lines inside the loop 5–6 times.
- Wet, pull the tag to snug the wraps, then slide the knot down to the eye and trim.
How it fails: It mostly doesn't — which is why it's the frozen-hands knot. Its only real weakness is being a touch below the Palomar in break strength, so it's the backup, not the default.
Which Knot, Which Spool
The nine-spool system, with knot assignments:
| Spool | Leader connection | Terminal knot |
|---|---|---|
| Hi-vis yellow braid (topwater) | None — direct tie | Palomar; non-slip loop on walking baits if action needs opening up |
| Moss green braid (jig & worm) | FG to fluoro leader where clarity demands | Palomar (braid direct); snell on flipping hooks |
| Moss green braid (frog / mats) | None — direct tie | Palomar, drag locked |
| Spinning braid spools | FG to fluoro leader (double uni while learning) | Palomar at the hook |
| Fluorocarbon casting spools | — | Palomar for jigs/single hooks; San Diego jam for cranks, jerkbaits, big treble baits |
| 12 lb copoly (treble topwater) | — | Non-slip loop; Palomar on ploppers and buzz-style baits that don't need the swing |
Retie Triggers
- Any fish landed from wood, rock, or grass — retie.
- Any snag you popped free under load — retie.
- Fluoro leader under 18" from repeated reties — strip it and tie a fresh FG.
- Fuzz, nicks, or flat spots in the last two feet — cut back past the damage.
- Start of every trip — test yesterday's knots with a hard pull before the first cast. Fluoro knots relax overnight.
Keep Reading
- Rod Selection — Foundations Chapter 1
- Reel Selection — Foundations Chapter 2
- Line Selection Guide — Chapter 3, the nine-spool system
- BFS Systems — light-line knot notes live there