Who ties an FG knot?

[NinjahGoose]

I live in NC and fish both Fresh and Saltwater, which means most of my rods are braid to leader. In the Saltwater world, especially way out East in Australia, the FG knot is king. I tie an FG on all my braid rods with about a 12' long fluoro leader of various lb-test depending on the application. I find that running braid greatly increases casting distance and sensitivity on bottom contact lures. Plus, for us weekend warriors the braid tends to last at least a whole year, saving some money in the long run.

 

This is the FG knot that I tie:

 

[FrnkNsteen]

Interesting. Not real experienced with the FG yet, but need to give that a try. Wonder how it works on smaller diameter leaders rather than the 100 or 150 he was using.

[MN Fisher]

When I'm pre-rigging my setups the night before, any leaders (not all braid rods get leaders right off...maybe later) are tied with an FG.

 

This is the method I use - and @FrnkNsteen - I use it on 10-15# 832 to 6-8# InvizX without issues.

 

On the water to replace or add a leader - I use the Alberto.

 

 

[GreenPig]

I don't tie the FG but I'll likely give his technique a try. Curious how it'll work with 6,8, or 10 lb FC.

[garroyo130]

I use the knot assist tool and would never to back to tying off on items/my foot/anywhere I can find. I dislike the use of any half hitch/overhand knots and prefer a rizzuto finish. I also burn a "bulb" on both the braid and leader tag ends with a lighter. 

 

 

[Hulkster]

I would rather stick a swizzle stick up my pee hole

[Jig Man]

I switched to it late last winter.  I’ve used the Albright, Alberto, uni to uni and several others.  It is the only knot for leader that I have used and not had the line break at the knot.

[Gera]

I use this same method for my FG knots, its simple and incredibly strong. I pre rig at home my spinning rods and a couple of rigs where I still use braid to leader. Its easy but still a pain to do in the water. 

[NinjahGoose]

2 hours ago, FrnkNsteen said:

Interesting. Not real experienced with the FG yet, but need to give that a try. Wonder how it works on smaller diameter leaders rather than the 100 or 150 he was using.

I fish inshore in Saltwater, not offshore. My leaders are all between 12 and 20lbs with braid from 10-40lbs. 

 

I brought a reel in from the garage and a spool of fluoro and practiced tying the FG this method one evening. I can now tie it in about 2 minutes. I've caught 9lb redfish on 10lb braid and 15lb leaders tied with and FG this way. 

 

The knot is so small it can run into the spool of baitcast and spinning reels without an issue. 

[Bankc]

I tie mine the hard way.  I bite down on the braid and angle my rod so that the weight of the leaning rod creates tension on the braided line.  Then I use my left hand to pinch the knot between my fingers to keep it tight while using my right hand to tie it.  It's cumbersome, but it works.  I could probably learn one of the other, more efficient methods, but I tend to tie long leaders when I use an FG, so I typically tie them the night before and don't need to tie them again.  So it's hasn't been a big enough problem to be worth my time learning something new, yet.  

[FrnkNsteen]

I recently saw a video from Ott Defoe where he puts a loop in the end of his braid and hooks it on the reel handle. He then tensions it by pulling it like a bow as he ties his FG knot.

[Eric 26]

@Hulkster 

[PaulVE64]

I like to tie the FG with tension on both braid ends and tension on the leader too. Havent had many fail over the past 6 years.

I normally use a 12# - 20# mono leader that's about 5' long.

 

I dont think the particular knot or tying technique matters, just use the knot that you can tie consistently and confidently.

 

My 2 cents

[NinjahGoose]

1 hour ago, PaulVE64 said:

I like to tie the FG with tension on both braid ends and tension on the leader too. Havent had many fail over the past 6 years.

I normally use a 12# - 20# mono leader that's about 5' long.

 

I dont think the particular knot or tying technique matters, just use the knot that you can tie consistently and confidently.

 

My 2 cents

I used to think that same way until I started to tie the FG the way Matt does in the video. The knot is cleaner and smaller than when I used to tie it with my teeth. 

[Alex from GA]

Like others I can tie it @ home but on the boat I either tie a 3 turn surgeons knot or Alberto.  I can't tie under 10 lb leader with the FG.

[Peacedivision]

FG is my garage knot. I like to rest the rod on the back of a chair and use my foot to keep tension on the braid. If I'm out and about I'm tying an Alberto or uni uni 

[JackstrawIII]

I run FG on all my spinning rods and some of my casting rods. 
 

I can vouch that works with braid from 10-30 lb and leader from 6-20lb. 
 

Might work on a wider range than that, but that’s all I’ve tried and it’s worked for everything. 

[txchaser]

Belt loop makes a great attachment point for the braid, and use the weight of the rod leaned away from you for tension. 

[waymont]

I use it on most setups. 20lb-40lb braid. Love it. It’s annoying when someone on BR asks about a leader knot and the responses come “don’t use a knot, it’s will just fail” so tired. It doesn’t fail if you know how to use it.

[Bass Rutten]

I tried a few different methods over the course of several years but never quite gained confidence in it and always went back to the alberto. I revisited again several years ago using Ott DeFoe's method with a loop attached to the reel handle, this one clicked with me after a few tweaks. Have yet to have a failure even when breaking off snags, always breaks at the lure.

 

[NinjahGoose]

1 hour ago, Bass Rutten said:

I tried a few different methods over the course of several years but never quite gained confidence in it and always went back to the alberto. I revisited again several years ago using Ott DeFoe's method with a loop attached to the reel handle, this one clicked with me after a few tweaks. Have yet to have a failure even when breaking off snags, always breaks at the lure.

 

I have similar experience. I'm trying to convince my tournament buddy to switch to the FG. 

[Huckfinn38]

I do on every braid rig I use.  At first it seems overwhelming but now I can do it in my sleep.  Using the flex of the rod to hold the braid tight while you are doing your wraps is key.

 

[NinjahGoose]

2 hours ago, Huckfinn38 said:

I do on every braid rig I use.  At first it seems overwhelming but now I can do it in my sleep.  Using the flex of the rod to hold the braid tight while you are doing your wraps is key.

 

I used to tie it that way, requiring the rod to apply tension to the braid. Now I tie it the way he does in the video and there’s no need for rod tension, or even a rod.

[JN94]

FG is king. Never had a failure

[Huckfinn38]

4 hours ago, NinjahGoose said:

I used to tie it that way, requiring the rod to apply tension to the braid. Now I tie it the way he does in the video and there’s no need for rod tension, or even a rod.

U in Raleigh?  Im in Apex. Fish Harris and Jordan most the time