The Best Braid To Leader Knot In The World From 24 Fishing Pros
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on September 8, 2016
- Found In: Fishing Knots, Fishing Tips
It’s fishing knot time!!!
In particular, it’s time to talk about the best braid to leader knots.
Do you know which knot takes the honor of “Strongest fishing braid to leader knot in the world?”
My guess is that if you are anything like me, you go with the knot that you are most comfortable with, especially if you are in a hurry and need a reliable knot that won’t slip.
Last year, my brother Luke decided to put all of the most popular braid to leader fishing knots against each other in a “Knot Contest.” (see the full knot contest here)
And although the FG Knot won most of the strongest knot contests, it isn’t the easiest braid to leader knot to tie.
Moreover, many anglers have created their own unique knots with a few extra hitches, wraps, etc that are probably just as strong (and perhaps even stronger) than the FG knot.
But all of this knot analysis got us curious…
We wondered what some of the pros and fishing guides were using out there.
Not so much which knot they thought was the absolute strongest, but which one they thought was the BEST while on the boat trying to get the best line to leader knot as quick as possible.
Otherwise known as their “Go To” or “Best” braid to leader knot.
Here is what we found after asking 24 top fishing pros.
George Poveromo – Salt Water Sportsman
George Poveromo – My favorite braid to leader connection is the Bristol Knot (with a few extra twists… see below)
I tie a short double line (Bimini) in the braid (since braid has a slick finish, I double the wraps and go with 48 wraps – standard with mono is 24). I then will double the Bristol wraps when joining the leader to the braid, from 8 to 16 wraps. Once cinched down, it makes a solid, minuscule connection.
Click here to follow George at Saltwater Sportsman.
Jimmy Nelson – Extreme Fishing Adventures
Jimmy’s go-to braid to leader knot: Double Uni Knot
Click here to follow Capt. Jimmy on his Extreme Fishing Adventures Facebook page.
Most Popular “How To” Knot Videos
- How To Tie The FG Knot The Quickest Way Possible (see it here now)
- How To Tie The Uni Knot The Quickest Way Possible (see it here now)
- The Albright vs The Alberto vs The FG Knot [Strength Test] (see it here now)
Tom Rowland – Saltwater Experience
Tom’s go-to braid to leader knot: Double Uni Knot
Click here to follow Tom Rowland at the Saltwater Experience blog.
Capt. Krista “Redfish” Tucker
Capt. Krista’s go-to knot: Surgeon’s knot for inshore light tackle because it’s fast and easy. For larger line and bigger fish I go with the FG Knot.
Click here to follow Capt. Krista Tucker on Instagram
Capt. Mike Goodwine – Blackneck Adventures
Capt. Mike’s go-to braid to leader knot: Double Uni Knot
Click here to follow Blackneck Adventures on Instagram
Capt. C.A. Richardson – FlatsClass TV
C.A.’s go-to braid to leader knot: The No Name Knot
Click here to follow C.A. at FlatsClass
Rich Tudor – Saltwater Experience
Rich’s go-to braid to leader knot: Double Uni Knot
Click here to follow Rich at the Saltwater Experience blog.
Josh Jorgensen – BlacktipH
Josh’s go to braid to leader knot: The FG Knot
Click here to follow BlacktipH on Instagram
Peter Miller – “Bass 2 Billfish”
Peter’s go-to braid to leader knot: Double Uni Knot
Click here to follow Peter Miller Fishing on Instagram
Luke Simonds – Chief Fishing Addict at Salt Strong
Luke’s go-to braid to leader knot: FG Knot
Click here to follow Luke’s fishing tips on Salt Strong.
Most Popular “How To” Knot Videos
- How To Tie The FG Knot The Quickest Way Possible (see it here now)
- How To Tie The Uni Knot The Quickest Way Possible (see it here now)
- The Albright vs The Alberto vs The FG Knot [Strength Test] (see it here now)
Capt. Ben Chancey – Chew On This
Capt. Ben’s go-to braid to leader knot: Doubled Braid Uni to Uni
Click here to follow Capt. Ben with Chew On This
Capt. Jeff Maggio – Lunkerdog
Capt. Jeff’s go-to braid to leader knot: 12-twist Albright
It the knot he has used for years to catch lunkers in people’s faces…
Click here to follow Lunkerdog on his Mullet Run YouTube Channel.
Bo and Deidra – Fish Tenacity Guide Service
Bo and Deidra’s go-to braid to leader knots: For light tackle fishing for our gulf coast backcountry species, I prefer a uni to uni after doubling the surface area of the braid with a spider hitch.
And for our tarpon /shark rigs, I like a reverse Albright, once again doubling the surface area of the braid with a spider hitch.
For the Goliath Rigs – that’s up to Hercules (aka Bo) to tie that 650 lb weed wacker line! ha!”
Click here to follow Bo & Deidre at Tenacity Guide Services
Blair Wiggins – Addictive Fishing
Blair’s go-to braid to leader knot: FG Knot
Click here to follow Blair Wiggins at Addictive Fishing
Nick Honachefsky – Saltwater Underground
Nick’s go-to braid to leader knot: Albright knot for 50 lb braid to mono leader that is 30 to 50 lb when bottom fishing.
Uni to uni knots when tying light braid like 20 lb to light leader like 10 to 15 lb for casting
Click here to following Nick on his Facebook page.
Capt. Jamie Hough – Flat Spot Charters
Capt. Jamie’s go-to braid to leader knot: I always use a twisted spider hitch to tie a double line in my Spiderwire Ultracast. I use a reverse Albright knot to connect my fluorocarbon to my braid. A lot of guys have trouble with light braid, say 10-pound like I use, and a 20 or 30-pound leader because your line to leader knot will slip depending on the type of line and obviously the type of knot used.
A Uni knot, for example, is one of the best knots on the planet. But the braid part of the Uni is so small when pulled tight, that it will actually go through the mono portion of the Uni. With the double line and the reverse Albright, that isn’t possible. Not to mention, with the Albright there is only one tag end. As a bonus, when it’s time to put a new leader on, you just cut the old leader real close, pull the knot portion out of the double line, and tie a new leader on. You don’t ever have to retie your double line which saves you time.
Click here to follow Capt. Jamie Hough at Flat Spot Charters
Carter Andrews: “The Obsession Of Carter Andrews”
Carter’s go-to braid to leader knot: The FG knot is my favorite knot (and my go-to knot) on all of my leader to braid connections when I leave the dock. The FG takes a few more minutes to tie than other knots, so as I am preparing my tackle before a day of fishing I tie 6-8 feet of leader on all rods and that usually gets me through the day. I have landed many fish over 200 pounds with this knot, and the cast ability is superior to any other.
When I am strictly fishing big game and fluoro is not an issue I use the Brazil knot.
In the heat of the moment on the water if I have to re-tie I will use a variation of the Yucatan knot especially with heavier leaders. I tend to tie this with a shorter piece of leader 2-4 and keep the knot out of the tip when casting
With inshore or freshwater with light braid and light leaders I use a 4-turn Surgeon’s knot when I am re-tying, but I start the day with FG knot.
Click here to follow Carter Andrews and The Obsession Of Carter Andrews.
Gene Jensen – Flukemaster
Flukemaster’s go-to knot: The FG Knot
Click here to follow Flukemaster on YouTube.
Capt. Peter Deeks – Native Sons Fishing
Peter’s go-to braid to leader fishing knot: Blood Knot and Double the braid over – super quick knot, very strong, and won’t leave you catching edges that grab grass or pull water
Click here to follow Capt. Peter Deeks on Instagram.
Billy Clyde Alstrom – Suncoast Fishing Charters
Billy’s go-to braid to fishing knot: I tie a Doubled Braid Uni to Uni knot.
But when I’m tying with braid I double the braid back on itself rather than tie the knot with the loop. The hardest part is cinching the knot down, but that is hand’s down my go-to knot and it’s the strongest one I have come across.
Click here to follow Capt. Billy Clyde Alstrom at Suncoast Fishing Charters
Chasten Whitfield – Fishing 4A Cause
Chasten’s go-to knot: Double Uni knot
Click here to follow Chasten on Instagram.
Capt. George Gozdz – Reel Time Florida Sportsman
Capt. George’s go-to braid to leader knot: The Improved Albright after doubling the braided line with a spider hitch.
Click here to following George Gozdz on Reel Time Florida Sportsman.
Capt. Nick Stanczyk – Florida Keys Swordfishing
Capt. Nick’s go-to braid to leader knot: My go to knot for tying leader to line is Double Uni knot. Instead of 4 turns in the main line on mono I usually do 8 turns on the braid.
Click here to following Capt. Nick at Florida Keys Sportfishing.
Capt. Bouncer Smith – Bouncer’s Dusky 33
We fish 20 and 30-pound monofilament leaders on 20-pound braid loaded Penn Battles for everything from bait to sailfish.
We use a 8 turn uni knot in the braid around the mono, and a 4 turn uni-knot in the mono around the braid. Pull the knots together and pull the knots tight.
This works time after time without fail, Capt Bouncer Smith
Click here to check out Capt. Bouncer’s main website.
Most Popular “How To” Knot Videos
- How To Tie The FG Knot The Quickest Way Possible (see it here now)
- How To Tie The Uni Knot The Quickest Way Possible (see it here now)
- The Albright vs The Alberto vs The FG Knot [Strength Test] (see it here now)
Conclusion
It’s pretty evident that there is no one fishing knot that all fishing guides and pro anglers can agree on after hearing from all of these anglers.
Everything from the Double Uni to the Albright to the FG Knot (and a few in between) were the go-to knots for these pros.
What’s your favorite braid to leader knot?
Let us know in the comments.
Note: If you think your angler friends or fishing networks would like to see this post, please Tag them or Share this with them. You Rock! Pa-POW!
Go To Our Knot Testing Homepage [Full Knot Rankings]
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Great information shared.. really enjoyed reading this post thank you author for sharing this post .. appreciated
Great information shared.. really enjoyed reading this post thank you author for sharing this post .. appreciated
My favourite knot is the FG . On 50lb braid to 40 lb shock leader ,on my scales the knot was breaking at 45lb , I tried it several times and ended up with same result . Can’t complain about that . All other joining knots I tried were too bulky and got caught in my line guides resulting in a break off when casting. I fish off the beach a lot and mainly catch mullaway (jewfish) Biggest being 88 lb .
I use the double uni knot for all my rods.
I use a double strand surgeon’s loop on the braid to single strand surgeon’s loop on the leader, but I pull the loop through twice instead of once to prevent the loops from collapsing. I also make the loops big enough to pull the lure through so I can make quick lure changes, when I am only carrying one rod.
Really nice article. I would suggest adding a knot total at the end just to see which is the most common.
Double the braid with a Spider Hitch and then uni to uni with 6 to 8 turns on the braid (for 10 to 80 Lb braid), 4 or 5 turns on the mono leader depending on diameter of leader (30 to 60 Lb fluoro. Works like a charm. Retie after a long day of casting & catching.