Tying blood knots and hook loops

Fishermen are always concerned about tying fishing line knots that give maximum strength, and rightly so.

After all, who wants to lose that fish of a lifetime through a line breaking at weak fishing line knots.

Hook Loop knot for fishing

A fishing loop knot is an essential part of several fishing rigs like ledger rigs, droplines and sabikis.

The conventional dropper loop or blood loop is normally used as a hook loop on these rigs.

It is also very commonly used in many others rigs where a loop knot protruding at a right angle from the fishing line is required.

Paul of Paul's Fishing Kites came up with the Kiwi platted loop at the right after discovering the commercial fishing longlines he was tying conventional blood loops into (to attach his traces to) weakened the 100kg mainline line by over 40%.

He found tying the main fishing line with blood dropper loops were the main cause of breakage in the longlines.

The new loop knot for fishing is one of those easy fishing knots that once mastered are never forgotten. It is also the strongest fishing loop knot around.

How to tie fishing line knots

Paul calls the new knot a Kiwi platted blood loop and suggests the following test for those who need convincing of the immense improvement in knot strength over a conventional blood loop.

• Tie a conventional blood fishing loop knot in a length of 10-15kg (20-30lbs) nylon and the platted loop knot in a second piece of line of the same breaking strain. (The diagrams are done from the tier's view).
• Pull both knots up slowly and carefully.
• Wrap the blood fishing loop tab ends around your hands and see how easy it is to break
• Do the same with the other knot and note that the platted hook loop is almost impossible to break.

Joining and tying fishing line

Paul also uses the plait when tying fishing line together, he simply ties a overhand knot to temporarily join the two lines before tying the platted loop and then cuts off the temporary knot once the platted knot is loosely formed.

One of the ends is then put back through the center of the knot to form another plait before it is fully tightened. Both tab ends are then opposed when the knot is tightened and set.

As with any knot, tightening technique is important. Try to keep even tension on the tab ends and tension on the loop during setting the knot.

You don't need a blood knot tying tool for this knot but you can use a fixed item like a large nail or vice handle to keep tension on the loop if using heavy lines (50kg-100lbs or heavier lineweights)

How to tie a platted knot with more plaits

You can also put in an extra twist in at step one and/or and extra plait after step three if you wish to make the knot bigger or have more coils in the finished knot. See knot tying illustration on the right

If you are tying multiple loops and don't want them in line simply reverse dropper loop instructions every second knot or rotate the line between loops.

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Tying Knots

How to tie a Kiwi Dropper Loop Knot

New Kiwi blood knot fishing loop with extra plait

Strongest Fishing loop knot

Sam Mossman, Special Projects Editor for the N.Z. Fishing News has undertaken independent testing of the Kiwi Loop Knot above on a new line testing machine.

The results are based on the average break load over five tests for each knot

Sam Mossman is a vastly experienced angler who holds or has held dozens of New Zealand and World records, including several for saltwater fly. A respected author, Sam has several books to his credit including the definitive Saltwater Sportfishing in New Zealand.

NOTE : Sam had three plaits in the knots he tested as in the bottom diagram

More tying fishing line knots

fishing knots, catspaw, platted loop, new uni knot, snelling, crimp join, braid loop, tying traces, uni knot, blood knot, clinch knot.