There are numerous knots available to the angler, and if you are just starting out in the game, the choices available can numb the brain a little. In my experience only a small handful of those knots need be used. I use the following knots as the occasion suits:

• Improved Clinch Knot – the clinch knot was the first and only knot that I learned to use when I started out fishing. I soon learnt that taking the end of the line and putting it through just one more loop locked the knot and stopped any slippage. Great for tying line to sinker or hook. Very easy knot to learn. Hard to manage in monofilament above 30lb or so. Don’t use with super lines. Retains approximately 85%¹ of breaking strain of line.
• Palomar Knot – I use this knot to tie all line types to a hook or swivel. Really simple to learn. Considered by the some to be the strongest knot available. Retains approximately 90%¹ of breaking strain of line. Some prefer to use the Double or Triple Palomar – not worth the effort in my opinion.
• Bimini Twist – It depends on the fishing application, but I regularly use a Bimini Twist at the end of my main line, whether mono or braid. It adds that extra cushion of strength between my main line and my leader. Very easy to tie once you have the knack, just by using your hands and your knee or foot.
• Improved Albright Knot – I use this knot exclusively to tie my leader line to my Bimini Twist. Same as an Albright Knot, except the wraps are done in both directions.
• Snell – When I use a hook with an offset eye, I normally tie the hook with a snell knot. It makes the hook hang very nicely and I think this assists in setting the hook during a strike. Don’t use with very light lines unless you are using an eyeless hook.
• Uni-Knot - I use this for attaching my superline to the monofilament backing on the spool. I double the superline for about 6″ to tie this knot.
• Perfection Loop – This is the knot I use to tie my main line or leader to a lure. The loop attached to the lure ensures that the lure is not hindered by the line in any way in its movement. Although I will sometimes attach my main line directly to the lure via the Perfection Loop, for larger fish I will tie a Bimini Twist in the main line and attach a strong leader line to this with an Improved Albright Knot. The lure is then tied to the end of the leader line with a Perfection Loop. If fishing for mackerel and the like, however, I will occasionally use about 6″ of wire in front of the lure to avoid losing the larger predators. No Perfection Loop in this case.
• Dropper Loop – I don’t use dropper loops all that much with my fishing, but use it occasionally on light lines to catch live bait. Sometimes used for bait fishing in deeper ocean waters.

All of the foregoing knots work extremely well, but of course they are not the only ones that can do the job. Practice tying your knots and then use the ones you are comfortable with. Just make sure you don’t use knots that slip under fighting conditions.There are plenty of resources including videos on the web to show you exactly how to tie the foregoing knots. So go look for them now.

1. Treat with some skepticism the breaking percentages indicated above. There are so many factors to take into account when testing the knots and no two testers are likely to use the exact same testing methods.