Fishing Knots

Tie it once, trust it all day

A knot is the only part of your tackle you make yourself. These guides teach each one the same way: a diagram for every move, what the knot is for, and the mistakes that actually cost fish.

Terminal knots

Fingers holding a bare fishing hook while line wraps neatly along its shank, golden-hour light on a wooden boat gunwale
Moderate · 5 steps

How to Snell a Hook: The Snell Knot

The traditional snell knot in five diagrammed steps — why wrapping the shank instead of the eye changes hooksets, and where snelling shines.
Weathered hands wrapping clear fishing line into neat twists beside a hook, soft overcast light with river stones blurred behind
Easy · 4 steps

How to Tie a Clinch Knot

The original clinch knot in four diagrammed steps — how it differs from the improved version, where it still makes sense, and its known limits.
Close-up of a person's weathered hands threading a clear monofilament fishing line through the eye of a metal hook over a sunlit wooden surface
Easy · 5 steps

How to Tie a Palomar Knot

The Palomar knot in four steps, why it suits braided line, the three mistakes that weaken it, and when a different knot is the better choice.
Hands seating a compact fishing knot by pulling line steadily, a neat barrel of wraps near a lure clip over cool green water
Easy · 5 steps

How to Tie a Uni Knot

The uni knot in five diagrammed steps — one tying motion that handles hooks, lures, line joins and the reel spool, and why it earns the name 'uni'.
Close-up of hands tightening a small fishing knot against a hook eye, monofilament line catching warm morning light over calm water
Easy · 5 steps

How to Tie an Improved Clinch Knot

The improved clinch knot in five diagrammed steps: the wraps, the two passes, the extra tuck that makes it 'improved', and the mistakes that cost fish.

Line-to-line knots

Extreme close-up of two clear tippet sections being joined with symmetrical wraps meeting in the middle, soft river-morning light
Moderate · 5 steps

How to Tie a Blood Knot

The blood knot in five diagrammed steps — the classic join for two similar lines, the fly angler's leader knot, and the detail most tiers miss.
Two different fishing lines — thin braid and clear leader — joined in the middle and held taut between two hands in warm side light
Moderate · 5 steps

How to Tie a Double Uni Knot

The double uni knot in five diagrammed steps — the standard way to join braid to leader or any two lines, with the wrap counts that make it work.
Hands tying two leader sections together with a doubled overhand wrap, one line thicker than the other, neutral riverside daylight
Easy · 5 steps

How to Tie a Surgeon's Knot

The surgeon's knot in five diagrammed steps — the fastest reliable way to join two lines, and the join that forgives different diameters.
Extreme close-up of a slim woven connection between thin braided line and clear leader held under tension, bright daylight over open water
Advanced · 5 steps

How to Tie an FG Knot

The FG knot in five diagrammed steps — the slim braid-to-leader weave, why tension is everything, and when its extra effort actually pays.

Loop knots

Hands holding a fishing line with a small neat loop standing out from its middle, cool blue coastal light with surf rods blurred behind
Moderate · 4 steps

How to Tie a Dropper Loop

The dropper loop in four diagrammed steps — a standing loop mid-line for multi-hook rigs, plus the twist count and the pull that forms it correctly.

Reel knots

Fresh fishing line tied around the bare metal spool of an open spinning reel on a workbench in warm window light
Easy · 4 steps

How to Tie an Arbor Knot

The arbor knot in four diagrammed steps — the right way to start line on any reel spool, why it works, and the braid caveat worth knowing.

More knot guides

A close-up editorial photograph of a green braided fishing line knotted to a clear monofilament leader on a weathered wooden surface, with a spool of green braid and a spool of clear line in the background
Knots

Best Knots for Joining Braid to Fluorocarbon

How to join braid to a fluorocarbon leader: which line-to-line knots to use, why braid slips, and how to keep the connection small enough to pass the guides.

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