Tying Myself (Up) in Knots – Part One

I had the gear to start my new adventure and now I had to find out how to use it. I decided it would be a good idea to learn a few knots so I could attach hooks and lures to the end of the line and make sure they stayed there.

I checked out numerous websites to find what I needed and thought I would share my findings so any other fishing newbies can take this voyage of discovery with me (there’s no charge because I’m kind like that, but please feel free to leave a tip).

Time to let the tie-rade begin whether you’re ready or knot…

How to Tie the Improved Clinch Knot

The Improved Clinch Knot is one of the most widely used fishing knots around. The knot is a normal Clinch Knot with an extra tuck under the final turn. It’s often called the Clinch, Cinch or a variation of the two.

What does it do?
It provides a good method of securing a fishing line to a hook, lure or swivel. The knot is very popular and may be the simplest of fishing knots to tie (I like it already) plus it’s pretty strong.

Why is it useful?
Compared to the regular Clinch Knot, it’s much less likely to break when there’s a bigger fish on the end of the line (hope I get the chance to find out). It only takes a few more seconds to tie an Improved Clinch Knot, so there’s no good reason to tie the regular model on anything but the lightest of lines.

How do I tie it?

1. Pass the line through the eye of hook, swivel or lure.

2. Pull about six to 10 inches of line through and double it back against itself and wrap the end five to seven times around the standing line. Wind the loops in a neat spiral round the standing line and hold the loops under your fingers as you wind the line on. While five or more turns are recommended this may be reduced to four with heavier lines.

3. Note – Another method of tying it is to hold the line and tag end in your fingers and, with the other hand, rotate the hook or lure to obtain the desired number of twists.

4. Holding the coils in place, thread the end of line through the small loop formed just above the eye, then through the big loop. Be careful that the coils don’t overlap.

5. Moisten and pull tag end and standing line while coils are pulled up, making sure the coils do not overlap each other. Slide tight against the eye and trim tag end excess. The knot changes its structure when moistened and pulled tight. Pulling on the line forces the wrapped turns to redistribute the twists so that the inner strand becomes an outer wrap. When tightened the tag end is gripped closely against the hook.

Cautionary note
This knot is always tightening on itself, so if you cut too much tag end excess, you can run the risk of the tag end slipping into the knot and unraveling or breaking. It’s best to leave a 1/16-inch or more tag on this knot. You can double the line before tying the knot and do the same thing to make it more slip resistant.

Here’s an easy-to-follow video that shows how to tie the knot.

As I did my research for the Improved Clinch Knot I was in shock and awe to read “The Improved Clinch Knot is a normal Clinch knot with an improvement.” Hold the front page. Can you believe that?

I can just picture the guy who designed the knot sitting for hours in a darkened room, surrounded by hooks and yards of line, with a pen and paper and a bottle of Moonshine, racking his brains to come up with a catchy name for his findings…

Next time around I’ll be taking a look at the Trilene Knot.