7 Best Deep Sea Fishing Knots

Deep sea fishing requires a bit of extra skill to be successful. One of those skills is knot-tying. In addition, there are situations in fishing that require different types of knots. In this blog, we introduce you to seven of the best offshore fishing knots and tell you how to tie them.

1. Palomar Knot

An effortless and easy-to-tie knot, it is arguably one of the strongest knots in the world because it is so simple. Unfortunately, many knots fail because the overlapping material eventually breaks or cuts through itself.

The Palomar Knot is an excellent knot when you need to secure a fishing line – braided or monofilament – to a ring, such as tying the line to a swivel.

To Tie the Palomar Knot:

1. Take about a foot or so of line and double it making a loop on one end.
2. Pass the loop through the ring so that about 3 inches of the line are through the loop.
3. Tie an overhand knot by taking the loop end of the line and making a circle. Push the loop through the center of the circle to face up and is large enough to fit over the ring.
4. Pass the ring through the loop and gently secure the knot by tightening.

If you are new to fishing, this is one knot to know how to tie. It will help you connect your fishing line to the leader via a ring or swivel. Its simplistic steps can help quickly set up a fishing line so that you are ready to fish. The durability of the knot is fantastic, and it will hold under great stress.

2. Double Uni Knot

In many fishing situations, you need to connect two different types of fishing lines. A good example would be joining a braided line to a backing line for fly-fishing. In Florida, fly-fishing is a fantastic way to fish the surface in deep water, the shallows, to sight fish, and to hit the lakes.

Ron Martin, one of the nations’ most outstanding bass fishers, lives by the durability of the double uni knot. The Double Uni Knot will hold well 90% of the time.

How to Tie the Double Uni Knot

Since this knot helps join two different types of lines, these instructions are for that purpose.

1. Position and overlap one foot of each type of line, so each end of the line faces the opposite direction.
2. Take the end of the line on the left side and fold it back to the middle of the overlapping lines to form a rough loop along the two lines. You will wrap that end around both lines, passing it through the rough loop four times.
3. Pull gently until the knot tightens. It is helpful to tighten the knot slowly.
4. Repeat the above steps with the end of the line on the right. You should end up with two knots that slide together, pinning each type of line to the other.

Tip: If the two lines are not the same thickness, increase the wraps for the thicker line to about eight. That is, wrap the thicker line eight times around the overlapping lines and through the rough loop. Adding more wraps helps to secure the thinner line.

3. Albright Knot

The Albright Knot is very useful for attaching two lines that are not the same diameter. An example would be to connect a leader line to a braided line. The general way this knot works is by tension. The more you pull on one line or the other, the more tension the knot experiences and the tighter it holds the lines together.

Because the knot is long rather than tall, it is an excellent knot for use when the knot must pass through the eyes or guides on a fishing rod.

To Tie the Albright Knot:

1. Place the two lines together so that the ends are on opposites of the juncture.
2. Take the thicker line and fold it back on itself, making a loop that wraps around the thinner line.
3. Take the end of the thinner line and near the end of the thicker line, begin to wrap the thinner line around both lines. Start at the far end and wrap towards the loop and back up the length of the thinner line. Wrap about eight times.
4. Take the end of the thinner line and pass it through the loop of the thicker line.
5. Secure the knot by gently pulling on both ends until the loop of the thicker line closes.
6. Set the knot by tugging on both lines.

The Albright Knot sounds complicated, but it is easy to use and very effective once you figure it out. Jimmy Albright is the angler who invented the Albright knot specifically for Tarpon fishing. It’s been on the end of fishing rods since the 1950s, and anything that’s been around that long is good medicine.

4. Bimini Twist

If you are going to fish big, trophy fish off the Florida Coast, you need to know how to tie a Bimini Twist knot. Effectively, the Bimini Twist allows you to add a double strand of line to your fishing rigging. The twist knot acts like a rubber band, giving the line a slight give without it breaking. When you have a monster on the other end, that “give” makes the battle more in your favor.

How to Tie the Bimini Twist Knot

1. Double the end of the line so that you have a large loop – about a foot long.
2. Holding the end of the line to itself, place your thumb and index finger into the loop. Pull gently to stretch the loop out, flat and long.
3. Twist the loop 20-30 times until the two overlapping lines twist into a thin rope.
4. You will need an object to hold the loop. A small spool about an inch in diameter or dowel rod is fine. Secure the spool or dowel so that you do not have to hold it.
5. Once the loop is secure, move your finger to the juncture where the loop and twists meet. Gently slide your fingers so that the twists move closer to where your fingers are grasping the other ends. You want all the twists to form loops around that juncture.
6. Pass the end of the line through the loop and make a half hitch knot on the loop to lock the twists into place.
7. The last step is to make three additional half hitch knots around the loop and at the end of the twists. The extra half hitch knots hold the tension in the knot. Slide the knot closed and trim the tag end.

This knot is complex, and practice is your friend. The better you are at tying this knot, the more fishing for trophies you can do. A good tip for learning knots is to practice them with more extensive twine and then move over to the fishing line.

5. Uni Knot

As the name implies, the Uni Knot is a Universal Knot with many options for use. You use the basic knot when you need to secure your fishing line to the reel (arbor.) It is also helpful for joining two lines together or for attaching rigging to the end of your line. Another name for the Uni Knot is the Duncan Loop, named for Norman Duncan, who invented the Knot back in the 1960s.

Overall, the Uni Knot maintains 90% strength and offers greater holding power than the surgeon knot or the blood knot. You can use it for braided lines, backing, or monofilament lines. In addition, it is a good knot for tying two lines of different materials together.

How to Tie the Uni Knot

The Uni Knot is pretty easy to tie once you get the hang of it. It is one of the best deep sea fishing rigs knots to learn.

• Run the line through the ring so that there are at least six inches of tail.
• Fold the tail back on the line forming a loop so that the line into the ring and the tail are side by side.
• Take the tail end and from the top, wrap it through the loop five or six times.
• Hold the line with your free hand where the line enters the ring.
• Pull the tail, which will constrict the loop, causing the wraps to settle down near the loop. You want just a little space between the ring and the loops, which will allow the ring to move freely.
• If you use the Uni Knot to secure two types of lines together, you will form a loop with the other line instead of using a ring. The loop would act as the ring. A second Uni Knot would help secure the second line.

6. Haywire Twist

There will be wire involved when you target big trophy fish— Tiger Sharks are a good example. The Haywire Twist knot is what you use when you need to secure your wire leader to your hook.

The Haywire Twist gets its name from the first set of twists, similar to what you would find on a bale of hay. If you are new to fishing and wonder why the wire is needed to join the hook to the line, it is because big fish and sharp teeth would bite right through the braided line or monofilament line. Thus, the wire leader helps reduce the risk of losing a big fish due to line failure.

How to Tie the Haywire Twist Knot 

1. 1. Run the wire through the eye of the hook.
   2. Cross it over and then twist it 3-5 times so that it forms even twists.
   3. When you finish the twists, we move to a barrel wrap.
   4. Take the end of the wire and wrap it straight around the wire five times. Barrel wraps stack up neatly next to each other. If you take your hand and make a fist with your fingers facing your face and pretend that your fingers are the barrel wraps, that is what you are looking for when this knot is finished.
   5. Snap the wire tail off by bending it back and forth until it snaps where the last barrel wrap is. Some people cut the tail off, but that can cause a sharp jag on the end of the wire.

7. The Perfection Loop Knot

Sometimes in fishing, all you need is a good, sturdy loop. That is what the Perfection Loop Knot does. It creates sturdy loops at the end of a line.

The perfection Loop Knot is reasonably easy to tie. In addition, the Perfection Loop Knot can be used to make tiny loops are loops of any size.

How to Tie the Perfection Loop Knot

1. Take the end of the line and form a loop.
2. Take the tag line (end of the line) and from a second loop by wrapping it around to one side.
3. Pass the tag end over the top of the second loop.
4. Fold the second loop through the first loop.
5. Pul the tag end until the first loop closes around the line and secures the second loop.

Note: The second loop will be the fixed loop at the end of your line. Make sure you keep the size of the second loop in proportion to the loop size you need.

These seven knots are the epitome of a great day of fishing or a miserable one. Do you need to know how to tie each of these knots? You do. They may help you tie knots on a charter, or they may set up your pole for you. There are so many opportunities to fish in Florida that these knots will prove their worth time and again.