Fishing Knots - Your Pal The Palomar Knot

By Bob Ives

There is nothing more disheartening than to have a big fish hit your bait, only to end up going free because it managed to break your line or you had not tied your fishing knot correctly. A big fish can break anyone's line at any given time, but as for your knot coming untied, that is something you can manage. Learning how to tie a couple of good all purpose fishing knots can't save you any line break, but it can save you a lot of heartbreak. One of my favorites is the Palomar knot.

Most fishing knots are not very hard to learn. Memorizing them is a whole other issue. The beauty of a Palomar knot is that it is so basic that after you tie one a couple of times, it is actually hard to forget how do it. It's pretty much as simple as tying an overhand knot and looping your bait or fishing hook through it. Most fishermen use the Palomar knot to tie on a lure or other fishing tackle hardware such as swivels and and snaps (snaps are used to quickly snap on and remove lures from your line).

The Palomar is a super strength knot that, if tied correctly, refuses to come undone. In fact, theoretically, because of the way it is tied, it cannot come loose. Another great feature of this knot is that it is so easily tied that you can practically do it with your eyes closed. This is ideal for low light situations like early mornings or late evenings on the water.

Most instructions for tying a Palomar knot tell you to take several inches of line and double it, then run it through the eye of the hook. This is very difficult for me for some reason. I find it much easier to run the single line through the eye, then turn it back and run it through the eye again the opposite way you came in, grabbing a hold of the tag end and the loop that was made so you don't drop them and and have to start over. Pull the tag end on through far enough to give you plenty of room to work on both sides of the hook.

From here, all you have to do is tie an overhand knot with the loop end. Just bring the loop end over the eye of the hook and line it up with the main line, cross it over that line and back underneath towards you and pull it a little way through away from the tag end. Now, your bait should be hanging in the middle of a big loop. The way I usually do it, the main line and the tag end is now on my left, and the loop end is now on my right. From here, all you have to do is stick your fingers through that loop and swing it down to your bait. Grab the bait, and pull it on through the loop towards your left.

Now you just start snuggling up the knot to the eye of the hook. Do not force it too quickly or it might get wadded up and not work right. Slowly slide it and right before you really cinch it down, wet it (most fishermen moisten it with saliva) then finishing tightening it while making sure that the knot is closing around the eye of the hook and the loop around the shaft. Once it's tight, your ready to catch that big lunker. Now, if he breaks you off, it's because your line was too light, or had abrasion on it. That's for another discussion.