Some help is needed in the fg- hard flouro

[SoCalAngler]

You guys sure do use big knots. L2L is the way to go in hollow braid but for solid to fluoro/mono I just tie. Been using this knot for about 3 years now and tied this one in maybe 30 seconds if not quicker. If you tie it wrong and have slippage you will know it right away then you cinch down and come tight the lines will slip apart

50 lb braid to 30 lb fluro.

[boon]

You guys sure do use big knots. L2L is the way to go in hollow braid but for solid to fluoro/mono I just tie. Been using this knot for about 3 years now and tied this one in maybe 30 seconds if not quicker. If you tie it wrong and have slippage you will know it right away then you cinch down and come tight the lines will slip apart

50 lb braid to 30 lb fluro.

Use what works for you I guess The FG and PR are both proven to be considerably stronger and because the mono/fluoro doesn't double back they are slimmer and run through the guides better.

I would wager a good FG in 30lb would approach the strength of a traditional style knot in 50lb.

[Three se7ens]

I use the FG because of casting.  It does not catch on guides, so I can use a long leader without interfering with casting.  Also, I use it primarily on lighter stuff.  And in light lines its strong.  I have found  that with 15 lb braid main line and 20 lb fluoro leader, if I get a snag, it will break at the knot at the lure every time.  Ive straightened out a few jigs too without breaking anything. 

L2L is a fantastic option for those who run line heavy enough to use hollow core.  But not all of us fish with 60+ braid.  I have used an albright with a lot of success on heavier stuff where I dont need to cast it.  But for light line and casting, an FG passes through even the smallest guides without any resistance.  And thats a big deal when youre trying to get maximum distance out of a 1/4 oz lure.

[Keta]

I use L2L for 20# using a loop knot in the spectra.  It is almost as smooth casting as a spliced loop.

[r8rs4lf]

You guys sure do use big knots. L2L is the way to go in hollow braid but for solid to fluoro/mono I just tie. Been using this knot for about 3 years now and tied this one in maybe 30 seconds if not quicker. If you tie it wrong and have slippage you will know it right away then you cinch down and come tight the lines will slip apart

50 lb braid to 30 lb fluro.

Not sure what you mean by big knots, but that knot you posted is way bigger as far as diameter (what matters) is concerned compared to the FG. The FG may be longer, but there is no thinner knot out there that will cast through guides like the FG. It may take longer to tie (for some), but I usually run a longer top shot so no need to keep tying a knot. If I'm running a short leader I'll just tie an albright as long as it's not being casted through the guides.

Different strokes for different folks. Use what you tie best.

[oc1]

Like you guys, my leader breaks at or just above the jig on a snag but the leader is often frayed as well for several inches to several feet.  The ten foot leader gets shorter and shorter every time it breaks or is frayed on a strong snag.  That's where the fish are so its just the cost of doing business.  I can't tie an FG on the canoe and wait to put on a new leader when on shore.  If it breaks off or frays really short or if the line breaks I tie on a new leader with uni to uni to get me through the day.  The tag end of the fluorocarbon uni knot clicks on every guide going in or out.  It's really annoying.
-steve

[bhale1]

SoCal(Mark)....you didnt say the name of the knot you pictured next to the penny. Is that an RP?
Brett

[Three se7ens]

Like you guys, my leader breaks at or just above the jig on a snag but the leader is often frayed as well for several inches to several feet.  The ten foot leader gets shorter and shorter every time it breaks or is frayed on a strong snag.  That's where the fish are so its just the cost of doing business.  I can't tie an FG on the canoe and wait to put on a new leader when on shore.  If it breaks off or frays really short or if the line breaks I tie on a new leader with uni to uni to get me through the day.  The tag end of the fluorocarbon uni knot clicks on every guide going in or out.  It's really annoying.
-steve

If you have a rod holder, its actually pretty easy to tie an FG on the water.  I can to it just as easy on my kayak as in my house.  Ive been wanting to do a video on it, maybe Ill see if I can get one tying an FG on the water this weekend.

[gstours]

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and pictures on the fg.  There is a lot of good information in these pages.  I,m trying to digest it all now. 🐒 I will use this for casting lighter lines and have used the Albright before and trust it, butt I had some extra time and interest in this fg knot and am knot done yet 🐬

[SoCalAngler]

SoCal(Mark)....you didnt say the name of the knot you pictured next to the penny. Is that an RP?
Brett

Yep RP, John Collins or what ever you want to call it.

As far as strength of the knot I don't have access to legit test equipment any longer so I don't know it's true breaking strength. But, I have caught YT pushing 40 lbs on 30 lb like in the pic, sailfish and striped marlin using 40 lb toppers with this knot. Like others if or when I have a break off it is never at this connection, so it seems to hold up just fine. This knot has been tested on LR boats for several years and recommended by some. People pay thousands of dollars to go on these trips in hopes of catching a fish of a life time and the last thing the capt. or crew want to see is a failure in connections especially on a one they suggested.

As far as a knot being a problem going thru the guides when casting, well that is super easy to fix. You can either use a short topshot one where the knot is outside if the guides when casting, like 5-7 feet long, or a long topshot, one longer than you can cast. Now if you rather not do either of these that's cool but that's when I would look at hollow braid and do a inline splice, L2L or Sato crimps.

For me on setups that I cast often I like long toppers. I much rather cast mono than braid but that is more of a personal preference. I have had times though where I get into a tangle, get boat rub or snagged deep in the kelp on my topshot and have to cut out a long section where it is damaged. When this has happened I have never had a problem this connection going thru the guides when casting.

Is it the best knot? Maybe not but my point was, it is a longer knot and IMO the more complicated any connection the better the chance of screwing it up somewhere and having a failure. I'm not saying the FG knot is complicated because it looks pretty easy to tie. In the heat of battle where you may only have one or two shots at catching a fish, like our So Cal BFT, I for one want something fast and easy to tie if I need to do so.

[gstours]

Thanks again for everyone sharing some thoughts on this knot.  Here's another picture of the newest gs version of the knot.  I've shortened the wraps some and eliminated approximately the amount of wraps that were loose on the earlier attempts.  This may have been a culprit as well as keeping the crossing wraps tight.   Butt it's looking better.

[gstours]

This version is done before the most recent idea of making the crossing wraps and using a single half hitch.  I may have locked the knot so it could not grip the mono?  Adding the finishing hitches did not ever help.
    When testing not all of the knots wraps were working.   I,m staying on this one ☝️ as a challenge!
          Thanks again and more later.

[Keta]

Does where you cut the tag off of the mono bump up on guides when line is going out?


Mark, the only time I use longer topshots is on trolling reels to keep wind loops with braid from causing me problems but I can see it being a problem when casting into the wind.  I prefer casting Spectra but understand your thinking.

[SoCalAngler]

I have not had a issue with this knot getting hung up when going thru the guides either going out on a cast or when reeling in even with a fish on. But like I said on setups I cast often I do run long topshots and the only time this knot is going thru the guides on a cast is when I have to cut out a long section of the topper on a trip. When this happens I will change out the topshot when I get home or before my next trip, so not ton of casts this way but over the years I'd say maybe 100 or more have had the knot going thru the guides., which is a good enough sample size for me.

When private boat fishing I do fish a lot of boiler rocks or deep into kelp, sometimes casting 30-40 yards deep into it, so having to cut out a good chunk of my topshot is nothing new. Sometimes on back to back casts I may have to do this so I don't want to cut chunks of braid out because snags or or it getting damaged in the structure.

I could when finishing this knot use the tag end of the spectra and make a couple of half hitches on the mono tag end side of the knot to smooth things out some but at this point I have not seen a need for that.

My main casting setups range from 15-40 lb test I really can't speak to heavier topshots getting hung up or not. Also I trim the mono tag as close to the knot as possible because if you do leave it longer it will hang up.

[Three se7ens]

This version is done before the most recent idea of making the crossing wraps and using a single half hitch.  I may have locked the knot so it could not grip the mono?  Adding the finishing hitches did not ever help.
    When testing not all of the knots wraps were working.   I,m staying on this one ☝️ as a challenge!
          Thanks again and more later.

Now that looks pretty good to me for a light line FG.  Some pressure on the leader will straighten out the bit on the right side. 

I have noticed they occasionally end up sideways at the tip guide when winding back in.  Flip the bail, drop a little line and try again usually works reo remedy that.  But I figure thats a small price to pay for the casting performance of a good FG.