Proper Hook knots

Many people may use the grinner knot or similer to attach swivels, hooks etc. Instead of using the grinner knot for hooks, go back to basics and use the simple 5 turn half blood knot. The reason for this is that the grinner knot or similer knots like the uni knot leave a spur of line pointing upwards which in effect acts as a barb and gives resistence to fish trying to take the bait, especially for flats which take a while to engulf a bait when put in comparison to other fish which just wolf it down without thinking twice. The five turn half blood knot can be cut very close is neater and the tag will not act as a barb. You catch rates should improve especially when flattie bashing.

I would have to disagree . The tag on the uni knot can also be cut short and if you tie the uni knot proper it will be neater and smaller than the blood knot . And this spur of line pointing upwards when tied correctly about keeps the bait from sliding down and masking the hook point .

and being a non-smoker "now" I still have a fag lighter to melt down the tag end ensuring that there is no stickie out bit on any knot

Dave

What works for you works for you...

I've used the same knot for twenty years (bar a bimini twist for big buggers) and damned if I know whether it's a blood, uni, stern or whatever knot, but it has (to my knowledge) never failed. I think some short mpgs showing how to tie knots would be a useful addition, yes?

Adrian posted this link earlier, which is quite illustrative....

http://www.sea-fishing.org/modules.php? ... hing_Knots

I use the uni-knot usually for tying on hooks and links now. It points the tag up the line instead of down to the hook.

As long as it's neat and doesn't come apart.... :D

I found another link to a good site at...

http://www.noreast.com/knots/knotsindex.cfm

Select the knot and the press the continue button to illustrate.

Ian

Certainly the 5 turn half blood is a very neat knot, you just have to get the balance right between bait presentation and resistence to an interested fish. When a bait is lying in the water it sometimes looks as natural to have a worm slumping towards the hook point(imatating a dying worm) rather than having it at a right angle to the sea bed which looks unatural to the fish. I suppose this is where booms come into play, trying to give a realistic movement to a bait.

Im with Kieran on this one,
snood line twice into the eye, twice round the snood and then the tag into both loops and a quick lick and pull it tight, fag lite out and cast away


Dave

easy when you know how

Hi all

For the record, as per Dave's description, this was given to me far too many years ago on Lahinch beach by a match angler who could pull plaice out when the rest of us were pulling nothing but flounders! Good trick that, still have not worked out how he did it, repeatedly I might add!

Line into the hook eye, back up along the snood, twist around the snood line seven times (normally I only make it to five before I get bored!), back down through the gap between line and eye, and back out behind itself, lick, and draw both ends. Thereafter you trim as required.

Out of curiousity what is that called, if you understand / recognise it?

either a 5turn half blood, or a tucked blood knot, depending on if you go back thru the final loop formed (if u get my drift)
personally it's uni/grinner all the way

Very educational thread this. I've been using the same knot as Kieran for a long number of years, again it was shown to me by someone who really knew what they were doing. As far as I can remember I was told to use 8 turns, I've always used about 5 as well and found it plenty (could never keep count trying to do the 8 ). I always thought it was a half blood knot, Frank24 described it as a "tucked blood knot", It appears to actually be a "tucked half blood knot" from what I can see from the two links above in Ian's post. Ians link describes it as "The Improved clinch knot" see here:

http://www.noreast.com/knots/knotspage5.cfm

This is a US site and the clinch knot must be what the americans call the blood knot.

Anyway, that last tuck into the loop which is the difference between half blood and tucked half blood (Or Clinch and improved clinch) is very important if you want to crop the line very close to the knot and not have the little barb described by George. With the tucked half blood, if the loop comes out of the final tuck you've still got a half blood knot, if it comes out of a half blood you've got a lost hook (Or Lost fish if really unlucky).

Everyone is going to have their own personal choice and there's nothing wrong with that. But, if you want a very neat knot, the tucked half blood is a very good way to go. I've found that the grinner is much more difficult/time consuming to tie and I can never get a really neat knot even with lighter mono (maybe I'm not using enought lube).

Another point.
I noticed that some of the knots in the two links above loop through the eye twice, this seems like a good idea, at the point where the hook eye meets the line is going to be the weakest point of the knot. I reckon from now on I'll use the "tucked half blood" with the line looped through the eye twice to improve strength.

Sorry, that was me, forgot to log in.

A tucked blood knot you say Frank?
I use it for pretty much everything, fantastic knot.....no fear of unraveling, even under huge stress.

i am with Wes on this one- tucked blood or a blood knot for everything from flyfishing, coarse fishing and sea fishing. i have never had one come undone in any circumstance be it in a good fish or power casting a 5 ounce lead as far as i can. a good all rounder, easy to tie and can be trimmed ridiculously neat without fear of slippage. Paul Kerry uses this knot for his fishing too and he has set casting records in his day.

I use the the tucked half blood for my coarse fishing as I find the grinner does not suit lighter lines.