The Uni Knot Snell is a snell where you tie a uni knot around the shank of the hook, passing the line through the front of the eye so the point pulls toward the fish on the hookset. After I posted a simpler snell, a lot of you said that was not how you tie yours, so this week on How 2 Tuesday I tie the uni-knot version of the snell, walk through every wrap, and put it to the test against the hook.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
You pass the line through the front of the hook eye, the same side as the point, then form a loop around the shank of the hook just like you would for a uni knot. Pass the tag end through that loop and around the shank seven times. Then change your grip so you hold the loops and pull the standing line slowly, letting the wraps form nice barrels, and slide the finished knot right up to the eye of the hook.
I go through the front of the eye, the same side as the point, on a circle hook because when you set the hook it pulls the point toward the fish's mouth rather than away from it. That gives you a little extra leverage on the hookset. It is a small detail, but it changes the angle of pull in your favor when a fish eats.
The difference is where the tag end exits. On the simpler snell I tied the week before, the tag comes out the top toward the eye. On the uni knot snell, the tag end comes out the bottom of the hook side. You wrap a uni knot around the shank instead of wrapping and pulling the tag back through a loop toward the eye. Both finish as a clean snell at the eye of the hook.
The biggest mistake people make is letting go after forming the wraps. With mono or fluorocarbon especially, the loops will hop over the eye and end up on the line instead of staying on the shank. To avoid that, switch your fingers, hold the loops firmly with one hand, and pull the standing line slowly with the other so the barrels seat where they belong.
You do not need a vise to fish it, but having the hook in a vise made it far easier for me to show you exactly how each wrap goes. Once you understand the motion, you can tie it by hand on the deck of a boat. The vise just removes one moving part so you can focus on forming the uni knot around the shank correctly.
Watch and listen to the episode for the breaking-strength result on this version, because I tie it and test it the same way I test every knot. The point of this series is to give you real numbers, not opinions, so you can pick the connection you trust for the fish you chase.
When I posted the simple snell, the comments lit up with anglers telling me that is not how they tie theirs. A lot of people learned the uni-knot version, so I wanted to tie it, show every wrap, and test it the same way. I get into why both belong in your repertoire in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Running the line through the front of the eye is the detail most people skip. On a circle hook it points the hook toward the fish on the set instead of away from it, and that little bit of leverage matters when a sailfish or a big fish eats. I explain how I think about it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
I walk through each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
The wraps want to hop over the eye and slide up onto the line, especially in mono and fluorocarbon. The fix is all in the grip and a slow, deliberate pull. I show exactly how I hold it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The uni knot snell is a clean, strong way to put a hook on your line, and now you have both versions of the snell to choose from. Tie it slow, keep the wraps on the shank, and seat it at the eye.
If you are rigging for sailfish or anything that demands a solid hook-to-line connection, this is one worth practicing at the kitchen table before the trip. 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.
Uni knot snell · snell knot · uni knot · circle hook · sailfish · mono · fluorocarbon · Danco pliers · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm 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's 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.
Tom Rowland Podcast — Episode 870: The Uni Knot Snell (H2T)
In this episode: testing a different variation of the Snell knot — a uni knot tied around the shank of the hook, run through the front of the eye for a better hookset, and breaking three of them to see how the knot holds up.
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Tom Rowland: There are lots of ways to tie the Snell. Is this the best way, or is there a better? Recently, we tied a very simple Snell knot. And in the comments, a lot of people said, well, that's not the way I tie a Snell knot. This week on the Tom Rowland podcast brought to you by Danco, we are testing a different variation of the Snell knot. Last week, we did a very simple Snell, tested it out. And this week, we're going to do a different version of that, which is essentially a uni knot around the shank of the hook. We're gonna tie that and test it coming up right now.
Tom Rowland: There are a lot of different ways to do the snell. Last week, we did a very simple snell, which many people commented that's the easiest way they've ever seen to do a snell. This week is we're going to tie a uni knot basically around the shank of the hook. So you want to when you're gonna snell, especially with a circle hook, we're gonna go through the front of the eye. So the front would be on the same side as the point of the hook rather than going through the other direction.
Tom Rowland: And the reason I do that is because when you go to set the hook, it will pull the point towards the fish's mouth rather than away from the fish's mouth. So it does give you a little bit of leverage there.
Tom Rowland: And so the way we're gonna do this is we put it through the eyes as I told you, and then I'm gonna put my fingers around the eye of the hook, and I'm going to make a loop exactly like I would if I was going to tie a double uni knot around the standing line. So now I have the standing line coming through the eye of the hook, and I have a loop, like I'm gonna tie a uni knot, around the shank of the hook.
Tom Rowland: So now, I'm gonna pass this through the loop and around the shank of the hook, and we'll do it seven times. So that's seven right there. Okay. So we've now formed the knot.
Tom Rowland: We have the uni knot tied basically around the shank of the hook, and the way that many people will mess it up at this point is they'll let go and these loops, especially with mono or fluorocarbon, will hop over the eye and be up on the line. You don't want that.
Tom Rowland: So what I do is I change my fingers and I hold the loops with my what is now my right hand, and I'm pulling the line with my left hand, the standing line, and I'm just holding the tag end with my right hand. And as I pull this slowly, these loops are gonna start to form nice barrels just like you would, on any other uni knot. Then I hold the tag end with my right hand, and I'm pulling the standing line with my left. And as I do that, it's a snell forms, and it slides right up to the eye of the hook just like that and makes a beautiful snell. Okay?
Tom Rowland: The difference between this snell and the one we tied last week is that the tag end is coming out the bottom, the bottom of the hook side rather than the top towards the eye. Last time, we wrapped around and then used the loop to pull the tag end back through and be right there. Okay. So now I snip that off, and you have a uni knot tied around the shank of the hook that goes through the eye and is a good snell.
Tom Rowland: So this is what I call the uni knot snell. The other one, I'm calling the simple snell. So if you go to get the knot guide, you can tell the difference between these knots, and you can see how they break. This is a uni knot snell. Now we're gonna test them and see which one's better.
Tom Rowland: So we tied the uni knot Snell this week and tested it with 15 pound Daiwa J Fluoro. And I also tested this line, and it tested just under 15 pounds. And I think it tested out at 14.65 pounds, so slightly less than the label states on this, and that's where we based all the tests. I tied three uni knot snells, broke each one of them, and they broke at 11.35, 10.73, and 10.53 for a 73.24% knot breaking strength. And you can go and see how that stacks up against all the other knots, including the simple Snell that we tied last week.
Tom Rowland: You go to tomrowlandpodcast.com, download the free knot guide, and you can see how all the knots stack up in their breaking strength. It's guaranteed to make you a better angler.
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