North American Fisherman Magazine

In Search of The Perfect Fishing Knot

by Steve Pennaz

Your connection to the fish is the line you use, and the line is only as good as the knots you tie. So, in a quest to determine the strongest and most reliable fishing knots, North American Fisherman staff members pitted popular fishing knots in a head-to-head competition.

We used Berkley’s official knot-testing equipment to compare eight line-to-lure knots, testing them each several times with monofilament*, fluorocarbon** and braided line.*** Some knots performed well with every type of line; others didn’t, and still others may surprise you. In 2009, we’ll reveal the results of those tests in this ongoing “Knot Wars” section in each issue of North American Fisherman. We’ll give you step-by-step tying instructions on how to tie each knot, and let you know which one moved on to the next challenger. The winner among the first seven knots will go into the final round against the popular Palomar knot—winner of last season’s Knot Wars on North American-TV.

*14-pound Trilene XT Tough Red

**15-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon

***15-pound Trilene Tracer Braid


		Episode 1 ― No-Name Knot v. Gryp Knot
		Episode 2 ― Gryp Knot v. Eugene Bend Knot
		Episode 3 ― Eugene Bend Knot v. the Miller Knot
		Episode 4 ― Miller Knot v. San Diego Jam
		Episode 5 ― Miller Knot v. Fish-n-Fool
		Episode 6 ― Grinner Knot v. Fish-n-Fool
		Episode 7 ― Palomar v. Fish-n-Fool
		Episode 8 ― Tautline v. Homer Road
		Episode 9 ― Homer Road v Buffer Loop
		Episode 10 ― Homer Road v Canoeman
		Episode 11 ― Canoeman v McNally
		Episode 12 ― McNally v King Sling
		Episode 13 ― King Sling v Two-Wrap Hangman

VIDEO DETAIL

Knot Wars 2009