Testing knots

Many of us learned to tie that one fishing knot and have mostly stuck with it. But is it the best knot? We’ve tried five popular ones to see how they hold up with monofilament, braid, and fluorocarbon. The results may have you rethinking that trusty old knot. Lines We chose three popular lines in 10-lb test. The Daiwa J-Braid, Sunline Super Fluorocarbon, and Berkley Trilene XL monofilament. All line was brand new, tested at 17°C outdoors. Methods We tied each knot carefully onto a fishing snap, hooked that onto a tensile- strength tester, and spooled the other end onto a two-inch diameter wooden dowel. Then, we applied slow, steady pressure. Simple, but effective. We pulled each knot to the breaking point five times, and used a fresh length of line off the spool for each of those, to rule out line-stretch or fatigue from previous attempts. Results Numbers indicate breaking weight, in pounds. LS = Line snapped but the knot was still intact. This is a positive for the knot since it outperformed the line it was tied on. 1. Rapala (loop) knot (3 twists) 2. Improved clinch knot (5 twists) While clinch knot variations are said to be not ideal for braids, we weren’t aware just how consistently this knot slips. Starting at four pounds of pull, the Improved clinch came apart on braided line, every time. 3. Palomar knot 4. Uni knot (5 twists) 5. San Diego Jam (5 twists) The numbers are surprising. The knot I’ve been using most in close to 30 years on the water, the improved clinch, is a letdown and makes me wonder about all the bite-offs I’ve attributed to pike. The Palomar is a good, easy option but doesn’t really work with large lures. The big surprise is how much the Rapala loop held — not a single knot failure. Too bad it’s a complicated knot, especially with cold fingers. Originally published in Ontario OUT of DOORS’ Fishing Annual 2025 For more fishing, click here Click here for more outdoors news Watch on-demand videos anytime on OFAH Stream