Whether you're an experienced angler or novice spinnerbait user, it will pay you to give special care to how you tie on a spinnerbait. Most break-offs occur at the knot. It is the weakest link between you and what might be a personal record fish, so make it as strong and secure as possible.
Every time you form a knot, you inevitably bend, stretch, and fold the fishing line in a way that weakens it. Especially with monofilament lines, tightening a knot rubs one strand of monofilament across another, which weakens that section of line through abrasion and heat buildup. You can reduce the break strength of a knot even further if you cinch down a knot carelessly, so that the loops don't lay neatly and end up kinked.
I see a lot of anglers using the Improved Cinch Knot, but the Trilene Knot (90% line strength) and the Palomar Knot (95% line strength) are both very dependable and less prone to breaking off. Personally, I prefer the Palomar Knot if it is cinched down properly. It is certainly easier for me to tie, especially if I am not trying to feed the doubled-over line through the tiny eye of a hook. For spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, that is not a problem.
Once you get the hang of this knot, you will be able to tie it at night, in the height of a driving rainstorm, even with gloves on. It is that easy.
- Double the line, forming a loop about ten inches long, and hang the spinnebait on the loop at the "R-bend" at the apex of the wire frame, as in the illustration at above.
- Bring the loop back around to form a double-stranded roll and make one overhand turn (referred to as an open "half-hitch") to trap the lure. Leave enough of a loop to fit the lure through.
- Guide the spinnerbait through the loop.
- Carefully pull the slack out of the loop, keeping the roll open until the very last to ensure you don't weaken the line by pulling the line though a tightened knot.
- Moisten the knot with saliva and slowly cinch it down, making sure the wraps lie smoothly without kinks or overlapping.
- Clip off the tag end. Give your line a couple of sharp tugs to test the knot, and then get back to fishing.
If you break off, inspect the end of your line carefully. Is the line roughened and the end straight? If so, it probably broke at a weak spot in the line, possibly caused by abraision against metal, rock, or tree bark. If the end is curved sharply, then your line broke at the knot. Take extra care when you retie to (1) keep the knot open as you take up slack, (2) avoid overlapping or kinked line, and (3) moisten the line as you cinch it down.
TakeMeFishing.org offers "Knots You Need To Know," a printable PDF with very good descriptions and illustrations.
Bob Rickard -----------------------<=- 0ยด)))><
July 2, 2006
