The improved clinch versus the Palomar knot is a line-to-lure test I run on a force tester to find which connection holds more weight before it fails. In this How 2 Tuesday I tie both knots to a 3/0 Gamakatsu circle hook on 20-pound Daiwa fluorocarbon, pull each one steady on my NexTech tester, and read the breaking strength right off the screen. It is the first round of the line-to-lure Knot Wars, and the winner came down to barely more than a pound.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
In my test the Palomar knot won. The Palomar broke at 18.8 pounds and the improved clinch broke at 17.34 pounds, both tied to a 3/0 circle hook on 20-pound fluorocarbon. It was a tight race, but the Palomar came out on top by about a pound and a half. That one pound of pressure can be the difference between landing a fish of a lifetime and breaking off, so I am going with the Palomar for this connection.
I tied both knots with Daiwa fluorocarbon in 20-pound test, and I connected each one to a 3/0 Gamakatsu circle hook. Keeping the line, the hook, and the tester the same on every knot is the whole point. If you change the materials you change the result, so I use the exact same gear for each knot so the only variable left is the knot itself.
I tie it with six turns. You run the line through the eye of the hook, wrap it six times around the standing line, pass the tag through the small loop near the eye, then tuck it back through the bigger loop you just created to improve it. I lubricate the knot and pull it down tight and seat it consistently every single time. A lot of people just call it the fisherman's knot, and it is one of the first knots most of us ever learn.
You double the line, pass the loop through the eye of the hook, tie an overhand knot with the doubled line, then bring the loop back over the hook and pull everything tight. A lot of bass fishermen tie the Palomar all day long. People think of it as a more advanced knot than the clinch, but it is not hard once you have done a few, and it tested as the stronger of the two.
Because great fishermen control the controllable, and the way you rig your tackle is the most controllable thing you have. You can choose to tie a stronger knot or a weaker one, and you can choose to do the prep work and prove it on a scale. When you test your own knots with your own line and hooks, you stop guessing and you know you are walking onto the water with your strongest possible rig.
Absolutely, and you should test them yourself. You might seat the clinch or the Palomar a little differently than I do, and that can change the number on the scale. The goal is to find the strongest knot that you can tie consistently with your own gear. Tie a few, break a few, and let your own tester tell you which connection to trust.
Here is the simple process I use to compare two knots head to head so the result actually means something.
After the braid-to-fluorocarbon round, where the FG knot won as I expected, I wanted to move to the connection that finishes every rig: line to lure. It is how you actually tie the hook or the lure to the end of your line, and it is the last link between you and the fish. If that knot is weak, none of the strong connections above it matter. I get into why I started here in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The improved clinch broke at 17.34 and the Palomar at 18.8, and the clinch actually failed well into the fluorocarbon leader, which tells you something about where the weak point really was. That margin is small, but on the water a single pound can decide a tournament or a fish of a lifetime. I walk through exactly what I saw on each pull in the episode, so press play in the player above.
This whole series comes back to controlling the controllable. We cannot control the weather or whether the fish eat, but we can control how we rig. Testing knots is the cheapest insurance there is, and it is something any angler can do at home with a scale. I talk through how I think about that mindset in the episode, so press play in the player above.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
improved clinch knot · Palomar knot · FG knot · double uni knot · fisherman's knot · Daiwa fluorocarbon · Gamakatsu circle hook · NexTech force tester · Waypoint TV knot course · braid to fluorocarbon · line to lure · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I am Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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