Interesting knot test

[KP Duty]

It is an article illastrating braid to leader knots and testing them for strength.

 

https://www.sportfishingmag.com/strongest-fishing-knots-braid-to-leader

[The Bassman]

Interesting read.  You would think with the low #'s on double uni and alberto that you would hear of break offs. Nobody on here seems to have a problem with them. 

[BoatSquirrel]

This comparison tests 15lb braid to 30lb fluoro, and 50lb braid to 80lb mono.  Lighter braid to heavier leader is common in salt but not as much in fresh water fishing.  I would love to see a test but with more fresh water line sizes such a as 15lb braid to 8 lb fluoro and 50lb braid to 20 lb mono.  

[Tim Kelly]

My experience of the alberto and double uni knots has been poor, especially if you're casting them through the guides. An FG seems to last for ages, casts through the guides effortlessly and just never (maybe once) breaks. With practice you can tie it fairly quickly, nowhere near as fast as the more popular alberto and uni knots, but fairly fast, and you will almost never need to tie a leader knot again all day. If you start off with a longish leader, 20ft or so, you can keep retying your baits and not need to tie a new leader for a long time. I'm completely sold and a bit of an evangelist for the FG. I was never happy with any of the other options as they broke too often.

 

If you watch you tube and MLF you will notice people breaking off their leaders fairly often. I'm really surprised professional anglers haven't adopted the fg as you just won't need to be re-tying your leader knot as it doesn't break, where they would argue it takes too long. Lost fish and constant retying seem a worse use of time than the 5 minutes it takes to do a single FG, but what do I know.

[MassYak85]

14 hours ago, The Bassman said:

Interesting read.  You would think with the low #'s on double uni and alberto that you would hear of break offs. Nobody on here seems to have a problem with them. 

I used the Uni-Uni for a long time when starting to use leaders, I broke off a good number of fish, especially when fishing things like T-rigs that required heavier hooksets. I think I was using like 30lb braid to 12lb fluoro. The important thing though is that the breakoffs occurred at the knot. I use the Albright or FG now and if I break off it's the knot to the bait itself. 

 

The knot is dead simple to tie and I'll be honest I have still used it if I needed to quickly tie on a leader on the fly, but my experiences with it have shattered my confidence enough I won't use it anymore for most applications. 

[tkunk]

 

20 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I used the Uni-Uni for a long time when starting to use leaders, I broke off a good number of fish, especially when fishing things like T-rigs that required heavier hooksets. I think I was using like 30lb braid to 12lb fluoro. The important thing though is that the breakoffs occurred at the knot. I use the Albright or FG now and if I break off it's the knot to the bait itself. 

 

The knot is dead simple to tie and I'll be honest I have still used it if I needed to quickly tie on a leader on the fly, but my experiences with it have shattered my confidence enough I won't use it anymore for most applications. 

I had the same experience with the double uni. Unless I kept my drag super loose, I'd break the knot on every hook set. I'd also break them when smallies would get close to my boat and dive quickly.

 

I haven't broken an FG knot since you explained how to tie one to me. It's probably been two years now.

[Dangerfield]

I've tried a few different line to line knots, and I don't have good results. I prefer the Alberto to the Dbl-Uni and the Albright. I've tried the Blood knot, which I usually use if I'm not on the water. I'm at the point we're I'm going to remove the braid from my reel and run straight co-ploymer or fluoro - I did it on my jig rod and I feel more confident in my set up except if I get a snag deep in the spool then I'm screwed.

 

Anyone have any tips on a knot stronger than the blood or alberto knot? How does the Yucatan knot, J-Knot or Surgeon's knot compare to the FG? I've got the *** app on my phone, I can tie a knot, just not sure if it will hold up after repeated casting through guides.

[Russ E]

I tie 10lb braid and 8lb flouro or hybrid on my shakyhead rod with an alberto knot.

I don't recall ever breaking off at the knot.

I have had trouble with other knots.

While I am not dismissing what they found, I have not seen the same results.

I am very careful not to burn the line, while cinching the knot.

[J Francho]

I'm not sure how this relates to the average bass angler.  Seems more like a knot tying competition then a knot test.

[Team9nine]

29 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I'm not sure how this relates to the average bass angler.  Seems more like a knot tying competition then a knot test.

Pretty much agree ? If everyone is setting their drags right at 20-25% breaking strength of line like most say they do, you're talking just 2-5 lbs of pressure in nearly all cases. Any halfway decent tied knot should be able to handle that, so which knot you use or which is stronger doesn't even come into play. The fact that so many posters swear by so many different connecting knots bears this out. But, for us lock the drag down backreelers, let the knot tying competition begin ?

[thinkingredneck]

I think using the lines that you use is the only good way to test this.  I have used the Alberto with no problem.  I have had some issues with the triple surgeon's.  Also, as I fish heavy cover and muddy water, I use a leader so I can break off. I usually break off at the hook, probably because of abrasion.  Half the time I will get a pig tail back meaning the knot gave.

[J Francho]

55 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

But, for us lock the drag down backreelers, let the knot tying competition begin ?

Knuckle dragger!

[RealtreeByGod]

6 hours ago, portiabrat said:

 

I had the same experience with the double uni. Unless I kept my drag super loose, I'd break the knot on every hook set. I'd also break them when smallies would get close to my boat and dive quickly.

 

I haven't broken an FG knot since you explained how to tie one to me. It's probably been two years now.

I haven't done enough experimenting to substantiate my claims, but I've been putting a drop of superglue on my double uni before doing the final cinch down and it seems to prevent break offs a bit. 

 

I caught a few oakfishes last time I was trying to teach myself how to skip under overhangs and was able to pull down fairly thick branches freeing my lure. 

[NHBull]

.....knock on wood, I have never lost a fish or broken a leader on a hook set. I have lost a few leaders on the cast, mostly with the uni/uni and when first learned the FG. For setups with braid to leader, I keep the leader a little shorter and retie more often. The risotto (sp)  finished has really helped the FG. I believe that we are only a few years away from it being the most popular knot for this function

[FryDog62]

I switched a year ago and it was worth learning the FG.  Too many break offs with Alberto and Albright.  FG has lived up to its top billing and is also no longer difficult to tie - provided you use a “Hook-Eze” instead of your teeth. (YouTube).

[Further North]

I've landed pretty squarely in the FG knot fan club as well.  I have 50# braid to 30# wire leader set ups that are over a year old and show no sign of knot failure.  I've cut the wire back on most of them, but the knot is still goot and goes through the guides better than anything else I've tried.

 

I still use the Alberto on very fine wire like Knot-2-Kinky and for tying fly leaders.

 

I've never been a Uni-to-Uni fan...too many moving parts on two different lines that have to be held just so for me to wrap my head around...holding one side while wrapping the other...

 

...but for perspective, I don't like tying Palomar knots either and that's about the simplest knot out there...I hate trying to roll a bigger bait, a big hook or even worse, a big fly through the loop...so take my preference for the FG with a grain of salt or three.

[fishwizzard]

10 hours ago, Further North said:

 

...but for perspective, I don't like tying Palomar knots either and that's about the simplest knot out there...I hate trying to roll a bigger bait, a big hook or even worse, a big fly through the loop...so take my preference for the FG with a grain of salt or three.

I hate the Palomar as well for the same reason, it’s too cumbersome to tie on anything othet then a bare hook and it wastes too much leader as well.   

 

I use the Alberto and have never had one break on a fish, but about 1 in 10 times the leader knot will break before the tt connection knot breaks when pulling out a snag.  I am going to give the FG a go at somepoint however.  

[WRB]

Meaningful for off shore salt water anglers who use double line and heavy leaders.

Meaningless for fresh water angler who use heavier braid to lighter lb test FC  leaders.

Tom

[Further North]

5 hours ago, fishwizzard said:

I use the Alberto and have never had one break on a fish, but about 1 in 10 times the leader knot will break before the tt connection knot breaks when pulling out a snag.  I am going to give the FG a go at somepoint however.  

The Alberto is a great knot...I really don't have any criticism of it.

 

I gravitated to the FG because I almost always fish leaders and the FG is smaller.

[FishDewd]

I've had the alberto knot slip a few times, but only when I experienced a bad snag and I was basically attempting to break the line anyway. It's funny though... most of the time I manage to tie it in such a way that it slips just before the leader breaking strength. I have no idea how I manage to do that but it happens every now and then! Then there are times when I tie an alberto so perfect that it's nearly as small as an FG knot. Case in point, this one. My own modified version of the alberto after some trial and error:

 

That one shouldn't slip!

[Deleted account]

It sounds counterintuitive, but if your modified albright knots are failing when casted through the guides, use fewer wraps. I found that if the wraps are over a certain length, the knot will eventually fail where the leader exits the wraps. Now if it's unravelling or pulling out, that's different, then you want to make sure the tag end exits the same direction as the main line, and you snug it tight before trimming. I finish with 2 opposing half hitches. 

[Brad in Texas]

Just in case, I thought I'd add a comment about tying various versions of Alberto/Albright knots. For novice anglers learning junction knots, it might be possible that someone will make the passive loop using the braid main line, then make the wraps with the fluorocarbon or monofilament leader.

 

What wraps around what is not optional but I have actually seen a video where a saltwater angler tied it in reverse: He wrapped the leader around a loop of braid. That is one way to guarantee you'll lose a lot of fish. Often, a knot tied reversed like this won't even withstand the good tug it takes to set it. 

 

When braid is wrapped, then snugged down onto fluorocarbon or monofilament lines, it'll cut in a bit, grab hold. But, if a novice wraps the leader around the braid, no, it won't cut in and grab.

 

Brad

 

 

[Boomstick]

I always use the double uni knot and yet to have one break. Also has anyone here followed knot wars? They had very solid results with the double uni.

[Team9nine]

6 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

I always use the double uni knot and yet to have one break. Also has anyone here followed knot wars? They had very solid results with the double uni.

...but it was crushed in a head to head battle by the Alberto, which was over 20% stronger.

[Boomstick]

On ‎6‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 10:07 PM, Further North said:

...but for perspective, I don't like tying Palomar knots either and that's about the simplest knot out there...I hate trying to roll a bigger bait, a big hook or even worse, a big fly through the loop...so take my preference for the FG with a grain of salt or three.

I have gravitated away from the Palomar as well. I can tie a 5-6 turn uni knot and waste little line, plus for whqtever reqson its easier for me to tie in the wind than a Palomar, plus it works on all line.

 

One of these days I will learn the FF knot. I'd learn it much faster if I ever had an issue with the double uni knot, but it's help up for me even when I get in some nasty snags.

4 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

...but it was crushed in a head to head battle by the Alberto, which was over 20% stronger.

According to knot wars, it strongly beat out the Alberto. The other thing worth noting is they only gave the double uni 4 and 5 wraps around each side. I think most people would use 10-12. I know I do, which certainly explains some of the difference here. (I believe knot wars used ten but it wasn't far behind the FG).