Have you ever lost a fish due to a knot?
Whether you want to admit it or not, we probably all have. Unfortunately it’s just going to happen if you fish enough.
What’s crazy is the fishing knots we use to catch our prized fish are one of the most important and overlooked factors in fishing… especially when using artificial lures.
I can say this because I never actually tested any of my knots until very recently… and the results shocked me.
Just a couple weeks ago, I published findings for a braided line to fluorocarbon leader knot contest that has given me a 30% stronger overall system compared to what I used for years… even when fishing tournaments (click here if you haven’t read that one yet).
Now, I’d like to share my findings for the next most important connection for saltwater anglers… the leader to lure knot.
This is considered the 2nd most important knot for a saltwater angler who uses light braided line and connects to a heavier leader (to withstand the sharp mouths of their target species) because the weakest link will almost always be the line to leader connection.
For example, a 99% knot tied to a 10lb line is weaker than even a 50% knot tied to a 30lb leader… 9.9 lbs vs. 15lbs.
So for this leader to lure knot analysis, strength was not quite as important as before… other important factors need to be considered too.
Leader to Lure Knot Contest Details
First, we narrowed this contest to only include knots that connect a leader to a lure via a loop because the loop gives lures the most natural action underwater allowing for more strikes.
Here is a quick list of the loop knots that were included in this analysis… they were the ones that seemed to be the most popular and tested out to be strong options in our pre-screening process.
- Kreh Loop Knot
- Perfection Loop Knot
- Rapala Loop Knot
- Canoe Man Loop
For determining the winner of the loop knot leader to lure connection, we took into account the following 3 factors:
- Breaking Strength
- Ease of tying in all conditions
- Ability to not snag onto floating debris (weedless)
Leader to Lure Knot Contest Winner
The Non-Slip Loop Knot (also known as the Kreh Loop Knot) took the top prize in our loop knot contest.
Although it was not quite the strongest option (its breaking strength was just a bit behind the Rapala loop knot), it is much easier to tie than the Rapala and it’s the more weedless option… meaning that it’s tag points back towards the lure which doesn’t give floating debris much to snag.
Non-Slip Loop Knot Tutorial Video
Here’s a quick video showing how to tie this great lure to leader knot:
➡ CLICK HERE to get a FREE PDF guide showing all of these essential steps on tying this knot so that you can have a printout whenever you need it.
Conclusion
Our fishing knots are the only thing we have absolutely 100% control over when it comes to catching the biggest fish of the day, so it’s up to us to make sure we are using the best overall knot for each connection. That goes for leader knots to hooks, lures, or to another line.
When fishing with lures, it’s extremely important to use a loop knot so you can get more strikes. If using a fluorocarbon leader, we highly recommend using the Non-Slip Loop knot shown in the video above because it’s strong, very easy to tie, and it’s weedless.
Note: 30 lb Ande fluorocarbon line was used in the contest… click here to see the breaking strengths from the contest.
Go To Our Knot Testing Homepage [Full Knot Rankings]