Foolproof FG Knot-The Secret to a Perfect FG Knot

When the FG knot came on the scene I wasn't sure what to think about it.  I watched someone tie it and thought to myself "what the heck are they doing?".   Well once I finally understood what was going on, I was able to wrap my head around it.

The problem seemed to be that it was easy enough to tie at home the night before a fishing adventure, but if it needed to be retied on the water it could be a real pain trying to get that perfect tension on the leader line.

Also occasionally the knot would lose its grip and unravel.  All this led my to dig in a little deeper and get a better understanding of the knot and prevent any failures.

That led me to this technique which I am sharing with you now.

Here's what I use  to accomplish a perfect FG knot.

Braid-I always use our Atko Leviathan Braid

Leader-monofilament or fluorocarbon 

Lip Balm as a knot lubricant-Atko Fish Slime Lip Balm

Braid Scissors make life much easier!

The video will give you a breakdown of how the knot works, but basically it is like those finger cuffs we played with as kids.  It is a series of crisscrossing wraps that dig into the leader material the more its pulled on.

Where the problem arises is when the knot isn't pulled tight enough before securing and eventually fails.  The secret is to lubricate the braid with lip balm before tying so that it will cinch down properly. Just put the lip balm on your lips and then rub the section of braid on them

While the original way to tie it involved holding the mainline of braid in your teeth while weaving the leader material through it, I show you a different way in the video

By holding the leader between your thumb and forefinger, you can wrap the braid around it with your other hand.  Evenly crisscross the mainline and tag end over the leader and cinch it tight every 4 wraps until you get to 20

After 20 wraps put one half hitch knot and pull very tight between the braid main line and leader material.  Pull until the braid wraps cinch down into the leader and all slack is pulled out.  This is where the lip balm lubrication comes in handy.

finish up with 3 more half hitch knots and trim the leader tag end off, then 2 more half hitches.  A dab of super glue would be perfect here, although I never do.  I will probably start doing it though for extra insurance.

Trim the braid tag and I like to leave a little bit there.  It is soft and shouldn't effect flow through the guides.

Thats it!  Simple and strong.  

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