This is the knot i use the mayhin knot it tappers towards rod tip, iv never had a fail with it yet one tip with this knot is when cutting tags leave them about 1cm long as they go through the guides really easy and quietly because they are supple if short they are stiff noisy and snag guides when retrieved being longer you also have less chance of losing a fish through slippage if tied correctly this won't happen. When tieing knot keep s/leader tight makes it alot easier to tie I put my foot on the s/leader spool to keep it taught. When tied both tags should be sat parallel to each other and resemble a carrot which is another name it goes by.Hope this helps floatfisher.tight lines.

 

The knots you’ve mentioned are fine. If these knots are slipping your not tying them properly. Learning to tie proper knots is a crucial part of Angling that a lot of people ignore. I would sit for hours tying different knots.

 

Might be worth considering a tapered leader using back to back Uni knots for similar diameter lines. Doesn't fail me!

 

I use a spider hitch knot for sea and carping. Easy to tie and hauled in catfish to 100lb plus and carp to over 79lb. All bullied im due to weed.

 

Double uni or double blood knot, although I prefer the blood knot as the two ends are close together rather than further apart on the uni knot.

Both never fail me when tied properly and I use tapered leaders.

 

Leader knots seldom fail while actually fishing ie landing fish as mostly never put that much pressure on them due to the weight supported by the water factor.
But it's when stuck/hauling in dead weight(s litrally)that you break/snap as non living matter.

But 60lb plus mono leader to 15lb for many it's the overhand knot in leader and either Blood knot or grinner knot in main line.

Tapered Grinner to grinner is good but always tye carefully with lots of lube slowly form up as pulling towards each other only using force once together as many esp tapered leaders are coated/hi tech/polymer lines and if not carefully tied will either one side or both eat into each other as get a reaction as could be friction/heat but you can see surface breaking on some! had some just snap before as tying!

So had to do really slowly and gentle(look under a magnifying glass!)

All my leaders now are Braid so braid to braid braid to mono braid to nanofil 100lb braid ties a nice small knot and far less weed gathering.

Tie over hand in braid then a 8 turn grinner/uni knot and again gather slowly and gently the mono grips the braid very well.

but with all lines and knots it's how well you pay attention and carefulness tying that counts as a well tied blood knot is far better/stronger than a poorly tied Bimini hitch etc

May the Knots be with you!

 

I use a standard albright and regularly bend out hooks on rocky marks.

It all depends what marks you're fishing really... There are knots out there that are 100%+ effective, but this means that if you have a kink in your main line, you could potentially lose half of your line, shockleader and rig, as oppose to only your shockleader and rig.

Any of the knots above are suitable for clean to mixed ground, if tied correctly.

 

The one you can tie consistently and repeatedly even in the dark wet and freezing cold!

KIS=keep it simple!

 

Overhand knot in the leader, mailine goes through this.
- Bloodknot the mainline with the turns going up the mainline (towards reel).
- Wet with saliva.
- Snug the leader overhand first.
- Then snug the blood knot.
- The tags should then sit side by side.
- Leave a 1.5mm tag in each case.

With a lighter on its lowest flame and blob the two tags very carefully. Really you are just nudging the tag end quickly up to the flame, not actually in it.

If you get it right you can roll the hot blobs around the knot as its cooling, or just leave as micro blobs.

You can hold the line to make the tags stand off as you blob them, otherwise the flame will trash your line.

The blobs remove any possibility of the knot pulling through. On the beach, just tie without the blobbing.

 

I use the spider hitch and It's never failed me yet. It's a real strong knot and easy to tie even with cold hands.

 

12lb mono is never going to give a strong knot. A Bimini hitch is what id use but its not simple for a novice to tie properly.

Once learnt you will be amazed at how strong the knot becomes. Only problem is that your mainline will part at the weakest point. It's quite often not the knot!! .

 

Forget the Blood Knot and stick with the Improved Albright, which will never slip if it is tied right.

 

The one I learned when I started, and the simplest, is an overhand knot in the 50lb and pass the mainline through and then make a 5 or 6 turn Grinner (Uni) Knot around the 50lb. Moisten and pull the knot in the mainline nearly tight and tighten the overhand knot then pull the mainline knot tight and trim off ends.

Having said that, I think the Albright or Improved Albright are probably the strongest and best.

 

Just another thought, (as others have mentioned) if you’re using 12lb mainline why not use a tapered leader? You can then use a Double Grinner (Uni) Knot which is foolproof.

 

are the knots unravelling or snapping like cotten

 

the knots are snapping

 

Its only 12lb line and its going to be weaker at the knot.
Are you simply pulling too hard ?

 

The standard shockleader knot can be a strangulation knot but never an Albright. Have you tried testing your mainline to destruction?

 

Spider hitch mate, 12lb is a light main line though,might be worth a tapered shock leader if fishing clean ground.

 

good thread.... I would add one thing, pull your knot like you mean it, if you can snap it...... its sh1t3 and you need to go again.

 

The Thinner the line the more important it is to be careful with knots and line care!

As I said also some lines don't like being tied to other lines with Chemical reactions! as many coated(Modern line) so become more brittle esp if not carefully tied as the reaction causes heat/tears surface coating and lines like Asso hardskin for instance once surface become damaged become brittle(Shingle it on Chesil will soon see)

Say a knot leaves you 70/80% of strength left well 70/80% of 70lb is still a lot/far more than you can tug! but 70/80% of 12lb ain't much at all so far easier to tug hard too much

What brand/breed of lines are you using?

 

I use a Modified Albright knot:

I use a little rig glue over the knot and its solid. attracts less weed as well because it doesn't have tags.

M::

 

I’m also a fly tyer and have a clear product called Vycoat which is basically liquid PVC and is great for coating and smoothing out knots so there’s nothing to catch on casting, especially on fixed spools.

 

Just a thought are you tying on a new shock leader because the old one broke pulling out of a snag? If so your mainline could have been stretched past the point of return depending on the brand of line you are using and may need changing .

All 12lb lines are not the same and if you are using a high tech low diameter mainline you will find it has little stretch and will damage very easily leading to knot failure.

Just my thoughts as I've had this happen to me before , a change of mainline sorted it and all was well again.
Pete