How Much Tag Do You Leave?

[toddwchandler]

I generally tie a Palomar knot when tying on my lures, hooks, etc.  Sunday I lost two of my favorite lures because when I went to throw them out, they came off the line and just kept going.  

 

It appears that the knot just came untied.  When I tie the Palomar, I give it a good strong tug to make sure it should hold before throwing it.  I am starting to wonder if I'm cutting the tag to short and after the strain of being thrown a few times, the tag slips  out of the knot and bye bye lure.

 

How much tag do you all typically leave when typing the Palomar?

 

TC

[joetomlee]

I have sampled different tag lengths and not ever found that it made any difference how long it was. For example, Just last weekend I went out and didn't have cutters handy to cut the tag end off, it was about 2" or so but I cast with it anyway and still got a couple decent fish on that lure.

[tholmes]

I leave ~ 1/8" or so. I mostly use an Improved Clinch knot in mono, and never had any problems.

 

Tom

[Hyrule Bass]

i probably leave between an 1/8 to a 1/4 inch

[Felix77]

x2 on 1/8 - 1/4.  Leave a tag you feel confident in.  I don't think it makes a difference to the fish.  The weeds and muck is another story however.  

[Paul Roberts]

Hmmmmm... doesn't sound like the knot seated well enough.

 

I have however noticed something a couple years ago with Trilene XT that made me wonder about the line's formulation. I'd lost a couple large fish to my imp. clinch knot stripping free of the lure. It appeared the line stretched and slipped. And I noticed my tags shortening when under heavy strain. And then another BR member posted the very same problem with XT.

 

I've used XT since the 1980's for heavy cover use. Back then it had low stretch and if I wasn't careful it had the tendency of reaching break point very quickly. More recently while reading the product description that some new text had been added: that it had "shock resistance". I assume this is the line manufacturer's way of saying they added stretch, like some "big game" lines possess. This made me wonder whether the new formula may have the tendency to stretch thin and slip under high strain, rather than reach breaking point quickly. Pick your poison I guess.

 

This is conjecture on my part, and I still use XT. It performs very well for me. But, I now leave a slightly longer tag, and check the knot frequently while I fish.

 

The Palomar I think is less prone to slippage compared to the clinch, but is something to think about when considering tag length and knot maintenance.

[VABassin'14]

I would say that I usually leave about 1/2'' of tag line regardless of which type of knot I tie. I've never had a any problems with my knot slipping that I can remember.

[scbassin]

Make sure the line is not over top of each other as will cut into itself & break.

[GoTakeANap]

I leave 1/2 at the least with whatever knot I tie. My tag line depends on what im fishing with.

[motodmast]

what type of line are you using? if its fluoro, are you wetting it before clinching down?

[Hanover_Yakker]

Sounds to me like you either have line that has weathered and lost its strength from being left out in the sun or your knot was tied incorrectly/moistened improperly.  I personally do not use the improved or traditional clinch knot, because it has failed me more times over than I care to remember.  I use the palomar for most everything, but I have started using the jam knot al ittle lately and like that as well.  If you use the palomar knot on coated lines, then tie the double palomar and your line slippage will be nullified.

[derekxec]

you using braid or mono/flouro? if mono/flouro i leave maybe 1/8? and if braid i take a lighter and burn the end to make a little ball on the tag then if it slips the burned end will stop it from slipping more

[webertime]

As far as tag length I personally leave ~3/8" and that's mostly out of habit.  I fish with a guy (multiple time AOY in the club and on the Federation State Team yearly) that leaves 3-6" regularly, even on his tiny shakyheads.  He also swears by Vanish but that's another story.

[gallowaypt]

I have had this happen with braid. Tie an overhand knot with the tag end upon completion of the palomar.

[dodgeguy]

if it's braid crazy glue it.i use as short a tag as possible to stop weeds from hanging on it.never had a properly tied palomar slip.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

I regularly trim my tag ends down to less than a millimeter with good results using a palomar knot.

 

If you're using mono or copoly, do not pull the slack onto your main line when tying a palomar. What I mean is that you should pull the slack out into the tag end and cut it off, sacrificing the 3-7" of line used tying the knot. The heat and pressure exerted onto the line when pulling it taught can be enough to cause stresses and weaken it, even if the line is wet. The line will look like a spring if you do this. This isn't as much of an issue with braid, but due to slippage you should tie a double palomar when using braided line.

 

If you're using flourocarbon, I would not tie with a palomar anyway. There are so many better knots for flouro out there. A double San Diego jam knot is the way to go with flouro (like Hanover_Yakker suggested.) Once you learn this knot it's as fast as a palomar to tie, and you don't have to bring the lure back through a loop which is great for any lures with trebles on them. Here's a good video of the knot.

 

 

[SirSnookalot]

you using braid or mono/flouro? if mono/flouro i leave maybe 1/8? and if braid i take a lighter and burn the end to make a little ball on the tag then if it slips the burned end will stop it from slipping more

 

This is the exact answer, along with tieing the knot correctly in the first place, they do make a singeing tool for about 10 bucks. I use nothing but an ordinary clinch knot on my leaders, improved clinch for braid.  I learned it from charter boat capts in the ocean, they also showed me to put the reel in a bucket of fresh water to take the limp out.

[WRB]

What type and size line and what diameter wire is the lure eye?

A properly tied knot shouldn't slip. Palomar knots are good with light and medium size wire eye or hook wire between .032 to .047 D and mono or copolymer line between 6 to 15 lb test. FC line usually requires knots like the San Diego Jam or similar. Palormar is marginal for FC, IMO. Braid can slip using most knots and works good with the braid knot ( double line clinch knot) or the Uni knot.

Tag ends; I usually cut off about 1/16 to 1/8", with no knot slippage.

Tom

[Diggy]

I use a trilene knot, I hardly leave any tag. This knot makes it easy to adjust the amount you want.

[Wayne P.]

I use the Uni-knot for all applications except a drop shot hook--the tag end gets the weight attached to it.

With the Uni-knot I have no line tag with any type line. My knots don't slip so there is no need to allow for it with a tag end.

[ColdSVT]

1/4 or 1/8 with flouro

braid I lile to birn the end a little but I still keep it inder 1/4

[Teal]

Im with snakehead whisperer. I clip ALL of my knots down close, except for the snell with braid and still its down to 1/8 or so.

[Darren.]

1/8-1/4 probably.

 

Sometimes a little longer.

 

Zero tag for braid to leader Albright...

[Marty]

I have no idea if a short tag can cause line failure. I leave a tag that I'd estimate at 1/4-3/8". It doesn't seem possible that a fractional inch of a filament can make a difference when you consider swinging trebles, split rings, rattles and the main line all visible/audible.

[skeletor6]

Make sure your knot is very neat. I leave probably a 1/16 of an inch of tag. A well tied knot should not slip and I have had zero issues with my line coming untied. I do not use the palomar knot though.