5 fishing knots you actually need

Three rules for every knot

• Wet it before you pull it tight. Water or spit both work. Dry line heats up from the friction and gets weaker.
• Pull it tight slowly and firmly, then test it with a hard tug.
• Trim the tag end to about 1/8 inch. Don't cut it flush against the knot.

1. Arbor knot: line to the reel

Use it to tie new line onto an empty spool.

1. Pass the line around the center of the spool.
2. Tie an overhand knot with the tag end around the main line.
3. Tie a second overhand knot in the tag end, about an inch past the first. This is the stopper.
4. Pull the main line. The first knot slides down to the spool and the stopper jams against it. Trim.

With braid, put a short layer of mono on first, or a strip of tape on the spool, so the braid can't slip.

2. Palomar knot: strong and simple

It works with every type of line, and it's the knot most anglers use for braid.

1. Double about 6 inches of line into a loop, and push the loop through the hook eye.
2. Tie a loose overhand knot with the doubled line. The hook hangs from the bottom of it. Don't twist the lines.
3. Pass the loop over the whole hook or lure.
4. Wet it. Pull the main line and the tag end together to snug it down. Trim.

The only catch: with a big lure covered in treble hooks, step 3 gets awkward. Use the uni knot instead.

3. Improved clinch knot: mono and fluoro

1. Pass the line through the hook eye and pull about 6 inches through.
2. Wrap the tag end around the main line 5 to 7 times. Fewer wraps for heavier line.
3. Push the tag end through the small loop right next to the eye.
4. Then push it through the big loop you just made. That's the "improved" part.
5. Wet it. Pull the main line slowly so the coils snug down. Trim.

Don't use it with braid. Braid is slick, and a clinch knot can slip. Use a Palomar or a uni.

4. Uni knot: the all-rounder

Works with braid, mono and fluoro, on hooks, lures and swivels.

1. Pass the line through the eye and lay about 6 inches of tag end back along the main line.
2. Bend the tag end back toward the eye, making a loop over the two lines.
3. Wrap the tag end around both lines and through the loop 5 or 6 times.
4. Wet it and pull the tag end to snug the wraps.
5. Pull the main line to slide the knot down to the eye. Trim.

With braid, make 8 to 10 wraps instead.

5. Double uni: join two lines

Use it to tie braid to a fluorocarbon or mono leader, or to join any two lines.

1. Lay the two line ends side by side, pointing opposite ways, overlapping by about 8 inches.
2. With the end of the first line, tie a uni knot around the second line (steps 2 to 4 above). Snug it, but don't pull it all the way yet.
3. Do the same with the end of the second line around the first.
4. Wet both. Pull the two main lines away from each other. The knots slide together and lock. Pull hard, then trim both tags.

Braid needs more grip: make about twice as many wraps on the braid side as on the leader side.

Practice at home

Tie each knot five times at the kitchen table, on a key ring or an old hook with the point cut off. Start with thick cord so you can see what you're doing, then switch to fishing line. It's much easier to learn there than on a windy dock with a fish biting.

Braid is hard to cut cleanly with nail clippers. A pair of braid scissors, like our Sharp Cut Scissors, makes clean trims easy.