Why can we all tie the same knot but have different breaking strengths? I heard quite a few people at the show say they got a bad piece of line, or it all depends on where you get the line from the spool. This has some truth to it but not very much. Different spots in the spool will produce very small changes in breaking strength with all things being equal. So where does that leave us? I say it points to the actually tying of the knot and better yet the cinching of the knot.
Knots: Lessons learned from the knot machine
I have tied a few knots and tested them every year at the Izorline booth. This year I decided I would really spend some time there and see what I could learn.
One thing before we start. This is not about which line is better, which line has a higher breaking strength, which knot is the strongest or what score on the machine you need to be successful. This is about how to tie the best possible knot you can which in turn produces the least amount of damage to your main line.
Enviornment: My observations over the last few days have been using Izorline 60# and 25# on the Izorline testing machine at the Izorline booth.
About me: I do fish Izorline and I tie the UNI knot up to 100#, the double San Diego on my surface Iron and the Palomar on my fresh water gear.
Ok now that you know about the testing environment and a little bit about what I use and tie hopefully you will be able to come away with your own conclusion based on what I experienced this week.
First we need to talk about the knot machine and what we are trying to achieve.
Why can we all tie the same knot but have different breaking strengths? I heard quite a few people at the show say they got a bad piece of line, or it all depends on where you get the line from the spool. This has some truth to it but not very much. Different spots in the spool will produce very small changes in breaking strength with all things being equal. So where does that leave us? I say it points to the actually tying of the knot and better yet the cinching of the knot.
So with that in mind I will take the approach that we are trying to see how well we tie a knot, not how strong it is. What I mean by this is try this in reverse. Try to tie a great looking knot that breaks low on the machine. You probably would cinch the knot high on the main line and slide it tight with no moisture. The knot would look great but would break low due to the damage to the line during the cinch. Avoiding this damage is how we will produce better knots.
I watched one angler tie a beautiful double San Diego Jam, this knot was beautiful, all stacked perfect, no crosses and cinched with moisture. It broke in the 60’s on 60# and the line broke. So off goes the angler mumbling”I tied a perfect knot, the line failed”. So I tie the same knot and it is not so pretty but looks ok. I get in the 70’s (10 more pounds).
Why?
I start to watch some others tie and test and couldn’t see any real glaring difference on why some would be lower than others (on the scale) until I watched the staff tie a few knots. When she cinched the knot she started close to the ring and with a smooth steady motion. Less line through the knot and the wraps are not too tight as it cinched. Ah ha! This must equal less damage to the line. So I tried this and what do you know? All the knots I have been testing where all testing 10#-20# stronger. Tied the same just cinched different. I continued this through out the night and even the next day only to get better and better results as I improved my cinching technique.
The experiment:
I watched one gentleman tie a nice Double San Diego, It broke low. I asked him if he would tie another and allow me to cinch it, he agreed. When he was done with his wraps and ready to cinch I actually just helped him work the coils down slowly and had him cinch it with a steady smooth pull. We throw it on the machine and it tests at 88#’s almost thirty pounds higher then his previous identical knot. He was excited and tried a few more and was consistently higher than before.
The Ring:
Next we should talk about the ring used for the machine. The ring we tie on is much thicker than the hooks we would use and will affect your knots’ strength. I believe this is why the doubled knots seem to test higher on the machine. However I was playing around with tying some single UNI and single SD Jams with 2 wraps (wrapped around the eye twice) these are very difficult to tie but really add strength to the knot under the conditions we are playing with and lead me to believe that we lose some strength when the line pulls tight around the big ring and down into the knot.
Let’s try a hook!
Well we did try a bigger hook on the machine (when pulling 100#’s you have to be careful with the hook you choose) and saw some difference but really didn’t give it enough time. I did try a few knots that tested very low on the ring and we did see some improvement using the hook eye.
Lighter Line:
The youth division would tie with 25# and the single and double San Diego Jam knots seemed to be popular with the kids, top break for most of the days was around 35#. I tried a few of the knots that I was tying in 60# and had poor results until I went back to the recurring theme I’m sure you are picking up on here. The cinch! After tying many many knots in 60# I was over powering the 25#, once I slowed down and was aware of line damage I started to score higher. How ever never beat the kids score.
I had my kids at the show on the last day and they wanted to try so I gave them a little how too on the Palomar knots. They followed along and with some assistance got it tied. Each was tested and went 26# and 28# so I said ok lets try it again but STOP before we pull it tight. So they copy me as I tie one in the air and then we all spray the knot and cinch together with a SLOW steady smooth motion and not to tight. These 2 knots tested at 32# and 34#. Not bad for their second knot and a “say it with me” steady smooth cinch.
STOP! Don’t say it:
“I got 40#’s and I only fish 15#’s of drag on 60# test” yes you might get you fish. But you have reduced your lines capacity by up to 50%. And remember we are trying to tie the best possible knot not one that is “good enough”. I know this is putting this to the extreme but the purpose of this article it to help in improving how we tie knots and how to get the most out of our line.
I feel if the line break was below 70#’s on 60# test and you are trying a 100% not, you have damaged your line in the tying of the knot. And remember this was one steady pull, how many long steady pulls do you experience during the fighting of a fish?
OK cut to the chase, what is the perfect knot?
In my limited experience I would say the perfect knot is the one you tie well every time. I know we have heard that a thousand times but I feel it rings true once again here.
As far as what tests well and what I saw on the machine, here is a run down. This list is general and only what I saw after 4 days.
25# Line
San Diego Jam – Is very popular and was tied by most the kids and I believe won the contest on most days however I feel the UNI is a better option in the smaller diameters.
Uni – The UNI seemed to test very well in the lighter lines and cinches better than the San Diego in my opinion.
Palomar – As stated earlier the Palomar is very easy to tie and works well in the lighter tests.
60# Line
San Diego Jam – The SD knot was tied by almost everyone at some point and is a very big but strong. The Double SD is always among the leaders in the breaking strength. I was tying a double SD with 1 extra wrap (1 doubled extra loop around the ring) and this would produce high 80’s every time and 96.5 one day to win. The extra wrap is not practically in a fishing scenario but helped with the stress on the big ring. I did see a few and tied a few my self of the quad SD Jam this is a big knot that would always test in the high 80’s to 90’s if tied correctly (I saw some pretty weak attempts) and again is not a practical knot for fishing.
Uni – The UNI/Double UNI seems to test better than the SD Jam but is not tied as often. I was able to get both UNI and Double UNI to test within a few pounds of my SD Jams but felt it cinches better and more cleanly than the SD with a smaller profile.
Erwin – I just learned this knot this week and really enjoy tying it. It is very small in profile and just looks good. I had mixed results on breaking strength as did others but most of us had just learned it and if you have seen it you will know the cinch is not for the faint of heart. I did try a few variations and had good results with the double Erwin (92#) and was starting to get solid high 70’s to low 80’s with the standard. The problem was the break for me was usually close to the knot which tells me line damage during the tying. I did try a 3 wrap(3 wraps around the ring) Erwin and man this looked good but it broke low so more testing needs to be done on this one. Note 3 of the 5 knot leaders on Sunday all tied Double Erwins.
Improved Clinch – One of the first knots most of us learned is still tried and true. We saw some high numbers with the double Improved Clinch. This also is a very large profile knot which proves to be very strong in the double version.
Trilene – I do not tie this knot well and only tried a few with out much success. I never really saw this knot test that well. I feel that this is due to what we have discussed so far. It needs to be tied and cinched correctly. I did watch one gentleman tie a beautiful Trilene and it tested very well (78#) you could tell by watching him tie it that it would be just fine. Brad got one in the 80# range but only tied a couple.
What does it all mean?
Is the guy that tied the 90# knot just luckier than the guy that tied the 60# knot? Not in my opinion. Luck of the line will only account for 3 or less pounds from what I’ve seen.
Will 50#’s be enough? Yes but would you use a hook that only had half of its barb?
After 4 days of tying many knots one underlying theme shone through and it was a knot is only as good as it is tied. I know we have all heard this before but it never really occurred to me how much damage could be cause by how you tie a knot.
Having your equipment at 100% is to your advantage, so practice your knots learn how to tie and cinch them well. Tying a knot that is “good enough” only reduces the condition of your equipment. The knot machine is a lot of fun so next time you see the machine give it a try!
