I just got a message from SAMRUSH regarding the knot I used to join fluoro or mono leaders to braid… we did a viewers email on the first show of the season and I know it is hard to master without being recorded and rewound.I use these two knots for joining the lines primarily when fishing clear water and power finesse techniques when braid is necessary… I use a loop to loop connection because I found that when using the smaller diameter braids they would slice through the larger diameter fluoro and mono so by going loop to loop you essentially double the contact and if you continue to loop the lines the contact goes up by 2 every time displacing the pressure put in the leader line. Typically I do 2 or 3 loops with 10 lb braid to 14 lb fluoro.Firstly… the pound tests I use are 10 lb, 15 lb and 20 lb Power Pro braid but it works with braid up to 200 lb test…The Braid loop is called several things by different people… I learned it as a Duncans Loop but the best video I found is for a Double overhand loop knot which is the exact steps but I loop through 7 times rather than 2 making it much stronger. The Double Overhand Loop boasts only 55 percent strength… the modified version is much higher, I dont know the exact number but I have swung 6 lb smallmouth on it and it never let go… thats good enough for me!Heres the link: Braid Loop KnotOn the fluoro or mono side I use a Perfection Loop… quick, easy to tie and very resilient… I have used it up to 20 lb fluoro with great success. Mostly I use 12 and 14 lb test fluoro since its supposed to be practically invisible… why not lay the rocks to them Heres the link: Mono/fluoro Perfection LoopWhen attaching the 2, the main thing is to lay the braid loop over the fluoro/mono loop and thread the tag end of the fluoro/mono through the existing fluoro/ mono loop… I know it may sound confusing but liken it to attaching two rubber bands together… Pull your tag end through, and if you want to double it, run it through the fluoro/mono loop end again.. this will give you 4 contact points from fluoro to braid.Kind of like this video except the fluoro/mono leader had dacron on it because its a saltwater wind on… Loop to Loop ConnectionThe main reason for using this system for me was two fold… I do a lot of long lining and casting for smallmouth in the North and we typically used uni to uni knots and Surgeons knots to connect the lines… the problem was there was a large knot that wreaked havoc on the guides and drastically reduced casting performance… so by spreading the large knot into 3 smaller knots I got around it…The second reason is that with all the Zebra Muscles that we deal with we go through leaders quite frequently and re tying the first two knots we used were painful at best, especially with cold hands or 6 foot waves… with this system… if you need to attach a new fluoro or mono leader, all you have to do it snip one side of the fluoro/mono loop and slide it out from the braid, tie a quick Perfection Loop on a new piece of leader and attach them loop to loop again… the braid never gets touched.Casting performance is better, it cuts down on time and I dont need to search around for my braid cutters, I can cut the Mono/fluoro with my teeth, side cutters, scissors or needle nose…. yes… I am always in a hurry Hopefully this helps SAMRUSH, if there are any other questions let me know… JP
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