# Knot guide > A knot guide with diagrams: palomar, improved clinch, non-slip loop, double uni, surgeon’s, FG, arbor, loop to loop and dropper loop. Source: https://finnfisk.no/en/knuteguide Language: en Alternate: https://finnfisk.no/knuteguide (nb-NO) --- Field guide · Gear The knot is always the weakest point in your setup. Updated 6 October 2026 Nine knots that cover everything you need to tie, each with a diagram, steps and a video. The diagram shows the shape, the steps are the recipe, and the video is there for when your hands refuse to follow the text. ## How do you make a knot hold? Wet the knot and pull it down slowly, and a good knot holds around 80 to 95 percent of the line’s breaking strain. The eight rules below hold whichever knot you pick, and they matter more than which knot you choose. - **Always wet it**: A knot tightened dry heats up from friction, and warm mono loses strength. Spit or water is enough, and it is the cheapest improvement to a knot there is. - **Pull slowly**: Steady pressure, not a jerk. A jerk locks the wraps out of order, and a knot with crossed wraps cuts itself. - **Look at the wraps**: If they lie side by side like the thread on a screw, the knot is good. If they cross, cut it off and tie again. It takes 20 seconds. - **80 to 95 percent**: The knot is always the weakest point. A well-tied knot holds around 80 to 95 percent of the line’s breaking strain, a bad one under half. Line breaks at the knot, not in the middle. - **Trim to 2 mm, not 0**: Trim flush and the knot has nothing to seat against and can creep. A couple of millimetres of tag is the insurance. - **Retie often**: After every big fish, every snag, and every time the last few metres feel rough between your fingers. The knot you saved is the one that goes. - **Braid is slick**: Braid has almost no stretch and little friction, so knots meant for mono slip in it. Give it more turns, or use knots made for braid: the palomar and the FG. - **Test before you cast**: A steady pull with a glove on, or against the rod, exposes the bad knot at the jetty instead of on the fish. ## Which knot do you use for a lure, hook or swivel? The palomar is the strongest of the simple knots, and it holds as well in braid as in mono. ### Palomar knot Lure, hook, swivel The strongest of the simple knots, and the one to learn first. Because the line is doubled through the eye it keeps nearly all the breaking strain, and it holds as well in braid as in mono. The drawback is that the whole lure has to pass through the loop, which is awkward on big plugs with hooks that snag. 1. Double the line and pass the loop through the eye of the lure. 2. Tie a loose overhand knot with the doubled line, without tightening it. 3. Pull the loop down over the whole lure or hook. 4. Wet the knot and pull steadily on the standing line until it seats against the eye. 5. Trim the tag a couple of millimetres from the knot. [EASIEST fishing knot! How to tie palomar knot - Fishing knots for lure, hooks, swivels](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWUuBD0QqOo) · Catfish and Carp ### Improved clinch knot Lure and hook in mono The classic, and the one most people actually use. "Improved" is the extra tuck where the tag goes back through the big loop, and that is the whole difference: without it the knot slips under load. It belongs in mono and fluorocarbon. In braid it slips, so use a palomar instead. 1. Pass the line through the eye and leave 15 cm of tag. 2. Wrap the tag five turns around the standing line. 3. Pass the tag through the small loop right at the eye. 4. Then pass it back through the big loop you just made. That tuck is the "improvement". 5. Wet it, pull slowly on the standing line so the wraps lie side by side, and trim the tag. [How to Tie the Improved Clinch Knot (Fishermans Knot)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YO7JWNdVC0) · Fishing with Nat ### Non-slip loop knot Plug, jig, big fly Also called the Rapala knot. The loop stays open in the eye, so the lure can swing freely instead of being stiffened by a knot cinched around the eye. On plugs and jigs the difference in action is obvious. The number of turns follows line diameter: five on thin line, four on thick. 1. Tie a loose overhand knot in the line, 15 cm from the end, and leave it open. 2. Pass the tag through the eye and back through the overhand knot. 3. Wrap the tag four to five turns around the standing line. 4. Pass the tag back through the overhand knot, the same way you came in. 5. Wet it, tighten, and stop while the loop is still open. The loop is the point. [Rapala Knot - Detailed Fishing Knot Tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmeEudIttCI) · Salt Strong ## How do you join two lines? A double uni joins mono and braid, a surgeon’s knot handles lines of different diameters, and the FG is the slimmest join from braid to fluorocarbon. Joining two lines is the knot people struggle with most, and the one that has to pass through the rod rings. Watch it done on video first, then tie it from the steps below. [Tie 2 Fishing Lines Together - The Easy & Strong Knot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WQDDNPHVnk) Earthling1984 ### Double uni knot Line to line The workhorse for joining two lines: two identical knots pulled against each other, one on each line. It handles mono to mono and braid to fluorocarbon, and you can tie it with cold fingers. Braid is slicker than mono, so give the braid side six or seven turns and the mono side four or five. 1. Lay the two lines alongside each other with about 15 cm of overlap. 2. Loop one tag back over both lines and pass it four to seven times through the loop, around both. 3. Wet it and pull the tag tight so the first knot seats. 4. Repeat, mirrored, with the other line, in the opposite direction. 5. Pull the two standing lines so the knots slide together and meet. Trim both tags. [How to tie the Double Uni Knot! (tie any two lines together!)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch94pF0BHtc) · Just The Lip Fishing ### Surgeon’s knot Leader and tippet The fastest join there is, and it tolerates the two lines being different diameters, which most other joins do not. It comes out a little bulky and not quite straight, so it is best on leader and tippet where it never has to pass through the rod rings. Use three passes instead of two where the diameters differ a lot. 1. Lay the two lines parallel with a good overlap, running opposite ways. 2. Make a loop of both together, and pass one whole line through the loop. 3. Pass through the same loop again. Three times if the diameters are very different. 4. Wet it, and pull all four ends at once so the knot seats evenly. 5. Trim both tags close. [How To Attach Tippet To Your Leader With The Surgeon's Knot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlQqrtzprtw) · Mad River Outfitters ### FG knot Braid to fluorocarbon The slimmest join there is, because the braid is woven around the leader rather than knotted to it. It passes through the rod rings almost unnoticed, which is the whole reason casters bother to learn it. It is also by far the hardest here, and one to learn from video before you try it in the dark. 1. Hold the leader taut, round your hand or between your teeth if needed. 2. Weave the braid alternately over and under the leader, 15 to 20 times. 3. Lock the weave with two half hitches of braid around the leader, and pull tight. 4. Lock again with three or four half hitches around both leader and braid. 5. Trim the leader close and leave 5 mm of braid. Check by feel that the knot runs smoothly through the rings. [EASIEST Way to Tie the FG Knot (Strongest Braid to Leader Fishing Knot)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPTzkep9xlI) · Salt Strong ## Which knots do you use on the reel and the leader? The arbor knot ties the line to the reel, loop to loop joins fly line and leader, and the dropper loop gives a side arm of 10 to 15 cm. ### Arbor knot Line to the spool The knot that fastens the line to the reel spool. It should never have to hold a fish; it only stops the whole line spinning around the spool when you are down to the last few metres. With braid you need a layer of mono backing or a strip of tape underneath, or the braid will slip around the spool however good the knot is. 1. Take the line around the spool arbor. 2. Tie an overhand knot with the tag around the standing line. 3. Tie a second overhand knot at the very end of the tag, as a stopper. 4. Pull the standing line, so the first knot slides down to the spool and the stopper locks it. 5. Trim the tag, and fill the spool almost to the lip. [How to tie an Arbor Knot by Abu Garcia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3TUP9XL72k) · Abu Garcia ### Loop to loop Fly line and leader Not really a knot, but the connection between fly line and leader, and the fastest way to change a leader on the river. Most fly lines come with a welded loop; on the leader you tie a perfection loop or a double surgeon’s loop. The one thing that goes wrong is locking them the wrong way. 1. Have a loop at each end, one in the fly line and one in the leader. 2. Pass loop A through loop B. 3. Pass the whole leader, the end without the loop, through loop A. 4. Tighten, and look at the result: it should resemble a pair of handcuffs, two squared loops gripping each other. 5. If one loop lies across the other like a girth hitch, undo it and do it again. That version saws into the line. [How To Attach A Leader To A Fly Line](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjpvhmNVLnI) · Mad River Outfitters ### Dropper loop Side arm for a fly or hook A loop standing out at right angles from the middle of the leader, so you can fish two flies or hang a hook above a sinker. It stays perpendicular if you seat it properly and lies flat along the line if you do not. Check the rules: several waters allow only one hook or one bait. 1. Make a big loop in the line where you want the side arm. 2. Twist the loop five or six turns around the standing line, keeping an opening in the middle. 3. Pass the loop through the opening. 4. Wet it, and pull both standing lines at once until the loop stands out at right angles. 5. Tie the fly or hook to the loop, and keep the side arm short, 10 to 15 cm. [How To Tie A Dropper Loop Knot [Fast & Easy Way]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDYQ-oIDbUo) · Salt Strong ## The mistakes that break the line Four mistakes break the line: a dry knot, too few turns in braid, a damaged last metre and old mono. ### A dry knot The most common mistake, and the one you notice least until it goes. Wet it before you tighten, every time. ### Too few turns in braid Five turns that hold fine in mono will slip in braid. Give braid six or seven, or change knot. ### The damaged last metre Rock, teeth and hooks score the line nearest the lure. Feel it with your fingers, and cut that piece off before you retie. ### Old mono Mono ages in UV and heat. Line that has sat in a car window for three summers breaks at the knot however neatly you tie. ## Common questions ### Which fishing knot is strongest? - The Palomar is the strongest and simplest for a lure, hook or swivel, and it is hard to tie wrong because the line passes doubled through the eye. The improved clinch holds nearly as well and is easier on thick line. To join two lines, use a double uni or a surgeon’s knot. [Nine knots, step by step](https://finnfisk.no/en/knuteguide) ### Why does my line break at the knot? - Almost always because the knot was pulled tight dry. The friction burns the line and weakens it exactly where the load is highest. Always wet a knot before tightening, pull it down evenly and slowly, and trim the tag to a couple of millimetres. ### Which knot joins braid to a leader? - The FG knot is the slimmest and passes through the guides most easily, but it takes time to learn. A double uni is the practical choice out on the water, and loop to loop is fastest if you change leaders often. Read next - [Gear Rods, reels, line and setups](https://finnfisk.no/en/utstyr) - [Reel guide Reel types, size and drag](https://finnfisk.no/en/snelleguide)