I used the Red Phillips knot several times this weekend. It is indeed both quick to tie and small. (I did learn that when snugging up the uni knot in the braid to pull on the standing line first. If you pull the tag end, you risk sliding the uni knot off the short tail of doubled mono, thus ruining the knot. Had to cut and start over the first time I tried it.)
As always, you need a sharp scissors or nail clippers to trim the braid tag end. A knife leaves a frayed, ugly end.
I had earlier lost a snagged lure and leader when my uni-uni knot broke under heavy pressure. No such problem with the Red Phillips, but I never had a hard snag with that setup, either. I replaced a buddy's leader with the RP knot, and the second tying attempt went much smoother. It's a keeper in my bag of knot tricks.
I have a question for you guys regarding your overall opinion of mono vs braid from an overall satisfaction standpoint. First off im old and somewhat set on the things that have worked for me. I never realized i had any line problem using mono untill people kept telling me i did. Over the last few years i switched some of my conventional reels and some spinners over to braid. On light spinners i always just go line to leader with no double with a uni uni. On heavier line spinners and my conventional bottom/trolling outfits which are never spooled over 30# i use a 6 wrap spider hitch double and a yukitan or similar to attach my leader. Ive never had a failure with this with the type fish i target. My problem now with braid is knots. Seems the way ive been doing things wont work with this stuff. The ammount of wraps around the thumb on the spider hitch is impossible for me. Ive tied the Red Phillips knot with no effort and of coarse i can tie uni's. But that leaves out the double line. Im guessing nobody's using a double with braid? If not id like to be clued in on the best way to tie one without using a bimini or some other more difficult knot. Im tempted to just trash the braid and go back to my comfort level, mono.
I'm a huge fan of braid, the sensitivity and reduced drag when fishing deep is a huge benefit, not to mention being able to get a solid hook set no matter how deep you're fishing. Between salt and fresh water for various class of fish I've got well over a dozen rods for the family and having to re spool them every season or every other season due to mono memory is expensive and time consuming. Braid doesn't form any memory and so long as you don't get uv degredation or abrasion, it'll last a long time.
I've settled on the surgeon knot for tying on single mono or fluro leaders.
It may not be the absolute strongest knot, or the smallest knot, but I can tie it quickly and easily and my break tests have shown that I get consistent breaks of 80-000% line strength. Other knots I tested could go anywhere from 50-100% based on if I tied it just right, or maybe fudged the knot. I want a knot I can just easily tie at the comfort of a work bench as the deck of a heaving boat at the end of a long day.
Surgeons knot works great as well as a uni. I used them for years. I bought a little thing called a fast tyer and it hangs on my lanyard around my neck. It ties a quick knot. When using braid to mono i give the braid a half hitch at the end just to lock in down. After ten years and thousands of connections I have yet to have one fail. As fare as braid, i have been fishing it on spinning reels since 2002. I love it as i do a lot of jigging and topwater. Mono now feels like fishing with a rubberband line.
I've been using this one, the "Alberto knot" recently. It ties fast, is very strong, very compact, and trims down well to a tiny size (flies through the guides).
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[quote=4ager]I've been using this one, the "Alberto knot" recently. It ties fast, is very strong, very compact, and trims down well to a tiny size (flies through the guides).
I like that knot, so much so ive saved it on my favorite list. thanks for posting it.
I too have been using Braid on my spinners, agreed that Mono seems almost unusable in most of my fishing interests now. Tip Wrap being the only annoying feature I have. There was a bit of a learning curve on tying functional knots with it as well.
A significant part of the success or failure is the quality and vintage of the reel. Braid is detested by many folks using spinning reels because the reels are not new enough to have had braid use designed into their function.
Using a newer, higher quality Spinning reel with the use of Braid designed in solves most problems. Braid line stacking on the spool is the primary struggle for older reels. As is spool lip wear, and bail roller wear.
One other thing is to get into the practice of closing the bail by hand after casting. Closing the bail with the handle causes excessive line twist. After a day of casting this twist accumulates. This can cause a frustration with the braid twisting.( Similar to mono actually)
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I've been using this one, the "Alberto knot" recently. It ties fast, is very strong, very compact, and trims down well to a tiny size (flies through the guides).
Thanks! I'm going to give that one a try.
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JJHack, I was instructed by my tackle shop guru to close the bail by hand when I bought my first spool of braid. That was good advise. Other than the occasional windknot I never have had issue with braid. Same with circle hooks. I learned to fish with them where appropriate so I never had an issue with them. I do use other hooks as neccessary.
Comparison of Red Phillips knot(top) to a uni to uni knot with 65 pound braid and 60 pound Trilene Big Game mono
I have had good success with the Alberto knot and find it very easy to tie...
The knot is even slimmer than the RP and ends up very neat, with no tag ends sticking out at 90 degrees unlike some of other knots already mentioned...
It is indeed very good. The problem with most of these knots is they leave a tag end of the fluoro than will work loose going back and forth through the guides. The FG knot avoids the problem. Other knots will have a shorter life span and require you to keep an eye on them to retie often. It is important with all these knots to put them under strain and check them before using.
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