Which Knot Should I Use?

Everyone has different knots that they prefer to use when fishing in different situations. In the past I have only used a few knots for attaching the line to the lure, but after reading a previous post written by a friend of mine titled "Tying the Right Knot With the Right Line", I was inspired to learn more.More...
Normally, I use a Palomar Knot for about 90% of the time. I find it is the strongest when flipping jigs, using any kind of plastic worm, and on spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. I also use it on crankbaits, but I am considering making a change to either the Homer Rhode Loop Knot or the Brubaker Loop. These two loop knots would allow the lure to swing more freely, resulting in better action. It will be really hard for me to make this change, at least until I gain confidence in the new knot's strength. Some variation of the loop knot should also be used on jerkbaits and topwater lures.
As for fluorocarbon line, I have tried the Palomar Knot and the Uni-knot with limited success. I have had many line breaks. In an article I found on the Washington Council of Trout Unlimited website, a Berkley Trilene representative was said to have recommended the Crawford Knot for fluorocarbon line. Instructions for tying the Crawford Knot and the Brubaker Knot can be found at fishingknots.com. Several others have recommended a Berkley Braid Knot for fluorocarbon. Instructions for the Berkley Braid Knot can be found at probass.net.
Another great site to learn all kinds of knots is marinews.com.

My trial setup for this season is going to be:

1. Palomar Knot for worms, jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and most other plastics when using monofilament or braid.

2. Homer Rhode Loop Knot or Brubaker Loop Knot for crankbaits, topwaters, and jerkbaits when using either monofilament, braid, or fluorocarbon.

3. Crawford Knot or Berkley Braid Knot when using worms,jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, or other plastics when using fluorocarbon.

I look forward to reporting my experiences over the course of this Spring. Happy fishing!

Tying The Right Knot With The Right Line

Last year I decided to try out the new popular rave in fishing fluorocarbon line. I spooled up nearly all my reels with the most expensive fluorocarbon money could buy, with the exception of my top water reels. I read great results from the pros that use fluorocarbon and they seem to love the line. More... It’s most commonly known for its ability to help increase the amount of bites you receive because the line is invisible to the fish. It also sinks faster, is more sensitive, and has less stretch than monofilament so you get a better hook set. This line compares closely to braid, but is looked at to be a much better line due to the invisibility aspect and fast sinking for deep diving lures. So, I thought I would give it a shot last year. However, when I started fishing the line I did not research which knot was best to tie or use, and I paid dearly for loosing good quality fish due to my line breaking. I was using the Palomar Knot and it was not working with this line or at least not for me. There may be other reasons my line broke, such as not getting the line wet enough upon tying or brushing up against some rocks, or who knows what else may have happened. I do know one thing for sure, and that is my line broke a lot last year and this was the only change I made. I do have another problem that could have caused the line to break and that’s a hard hook set, but I have always been known for breaking a jaw and I really don’t want to stop any time soon, so I must find something else that works for me. So, even though I’m still not confident in the strength of fluorocarbon line I have researched more and it appears that the Berkley Braid Knot, Trilene Knot, Uni-Knot, and even the Palomar Knot I was using are all preferred when fishing fluorocarbon line. After doing all this research I come to the conclusion that I need to work on making perfect knots and focus on tying my knots much better than before. I will begin to work on my knot tying this year and hopefully it will lead to landing those lunkers I lost last year, which caused my team from placing or winning a tournament. If you are just beginning to test fluorocarbon line, then I recommend wetting your line, making a perfect knot from the knots listed above and testing its strength before casting into the big gulp. If you follow these simple rules I did not last year, then you will get those extra keepers into the livewell.