Braid to fluorocarbon

The single most important aspect of your tackle providing that vital link between yourself and your catch. What's everyone's favorites and why? Come on in and find out!
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BRONZEBACK32
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Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by BRONZEBACK32 » Mon Sep 12, 2016 6:09 pm

What knot do you guys use?

I been using the albright for years now and it has done me very well, I recently was checking out knots and
ran into the FG knot and think I will give it a try.

So what knot do you guys use???

-Boris-
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by -Boris- » Mon Sep 12, 2016 8:30 pm

The FG-knot seems to be the best solution, but at the water I prefer a double nail-knot with a nail-knot-tyer.

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KlingerNOK
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by KlingerNOK » Mon Sep 12, 2016 10:22 pm

A lot of guys seem to like the FG, but I use the Alberto knot and can't imagine anything being much stronger. It's stronger than my terminal knot and I can tie it pretty easily.

Inspectorlee
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by Inspectorlee » Tue Sep 13, 2016 12:22 am

I usually use the albright, alberto, or FG knot, depending on the situation:

FG knot: I tie this knot if I'm at home preparing the night before. It's a knot that I still take my time to tie carefully, even though I've used it for about two years now. It's not a knot that can be rushed, so I don't tie it in the field (unless the fishing is so slow that time doesn't matter).

Albright: This is what I tie if I need to reconnect a new leader while fishing. I can tie this knot quickly and consistently. If I have to pick a "worst" knot out of the three, this one might be it; from my experience, it feels like the weakest of the three. It could just be the fluorocarbon that I've used (I've since upgraded to different leader material) but it seemed to snap easier than the other two.

Alberto: Feels about as strong as the FG, but is also consistently thicker than the FG. I feel like I can't get the second set of wraps (the ones going back down) to line up correctly, even when taking my time. So I don't have as much confidence in my knot tying abilities with this one. It could be due to the thin lines I use (15 lb braid to 10 lb fluoro), but the wraps just don't look as pretty as the illustrations. So I always worry that the wraps are incorrect and could be compromising my knot.

If it matters, I'm a fan of the FG. It is my most commonly used knot and has proven super strong. My only concern is that I suck at finishing the knot off, some of my half-hitches have come undone. I've even tried a Rizzuto finish a few times to see if that worked better. I may just end up using a drop of super glue over the half hitches in the future.

Long story short, I use the FG if I'm tying at home and the albright if I need to tie while fishing.

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johnD
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by johnD » Tue Sep 13, 2016 2:00 am

uni to uni , I have no time for a FG knot when the fish are biting (if you have ever had the bite shutdown while you were re-tying a knot you would understand). I use it for tarpon , bass , reds , snook , everything.

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jpd0144
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by jpd0144 » Tue Sep 13, 2016 2:28 am

KlingerNOK wrote: I use the Alberto knot and can't imagine anything being much stronger. It's stronger than my terminal knot and I can tie it pretty easily.
This ...

johnD wrote: I have no time for when the fish are biting (if you have ever had the bite shutdown while you were re-tying a knot you would understand). I use it for tarpon , bass , reds , snook , everything.
And this ...

Brad in Texas
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by Brad in Texas » Tue Sep 13, 2016 3:54 am

I second most of the comments of inspectorlee.

An FG knot is totally different from other junction knots where wraps are the source of the strength. An FG is a plaited knot and is MUCH stronger and smaller, too.

Alas, I only tie it at home the day before going out. It is a bench knot for me and not as easy on the water under many circumstances.

On the water, I tie an Allbright/Alberto knot, about 9 wrap up, maybe 5 or so back down. There is a trick to these junction knots and it has to do with making a loop with the leader so that your index finger and thumb is left free, then one can use both of these digits for both hands to wind up and down the loop with great precision.

Yes, a uni to uni is yet another I tie but in tests, it is generally a bit weaker and takes a bit longer than an Allbright.

Forget that FG knot some show where you hold the line in your teeth and all of that nonsense. YouTube has a great video of an Australian fisherman who shows how to hold the braid in one hand between finger and thumb, under tension, the the leader is held with tension under the foot on the ground. I prefer using the crease under my knee for the tension on the leader.

Brad

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Fishinfanatic115
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by Fishinfanatic115 » Tue Sep 13, 2016 7:51 am

Double-Uni, but I do know a fair number of people who use the Alberto knot.

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IlliniDawg01
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by IlliniDawg01 » Tue Sep 13, 2016 9:19 am

I use the Albright, but sometimes it kinda turns into an Alberto while I'm tightening it. I have almost no problems with it. I tried to like the FG knot but I'm just not good at tying it, even at home, so I've stuck with the Albright.

DaveJ

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hoskope
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by hoskope » Tue Sep 13, 2016 12:44 pm

Improved Albright always.

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zodiak311
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by zodiak311 » Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:21 am

The only one I use is an Alberto knot, and the finger saver is the tool I use to really cinch it down. It's an extremely strong knot when done correctly.

Strewth
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by Strewth » Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:41 am

FG with 16 wraps and a rizzuto finish. No folds in leader and you can't get any slimmer or stronger. Very important to cinch the knot super tight, so the braid changes colour and goes hard, before doing the finish. The Knot Assist 2.0 tool from daichii makes tying the knot easy and fast. I use it on braids from 6 lb to 50 lb with leaders up to 70 lb with great performance. The GT guys in Oz use it on 100 lb braid with 100 lb plus leaders as the knot of choice for throwing giant poppers.

TFOUR
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by TFOUR » Wed Sep 14, 2016 12:58 pm

The FG knot is a great knot however in the field it will give you headaches especially in a tournament, so plus however many to all the people saying not to. If you rush it, it will fail and the more frustrated you are when you go to tie it the harder it is. I;ll have to look into that tool though.

SteveSchmelzle
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by SteveSchmelzle » Thu Sep 15, 2016 9:00 am

I fish for a wide variety of fresh water game fish, including muskie and chinook salmon. For all my knot needs connecting braid to flouro I use the surgeons knot.

I can easily tie it in waves, darkness, etc, and never had an issue yet.

montey
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Re: Braid to fluorocarbon

Post by montey » Wed Oct 31, 2018 10:17 pm

I'm an FG fan.

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