FG Knot

How to tie the FG Knot. The FG Knot is a popular leader knot with sport fishing skippers in Australia and around the world. It is very strong and once learned it is also an easy and fast method of connecting a leader to your main line. It is absolutely reliable in all classes of line and can be used with mono, braid and fluorocarbon. There are several methods to tie this knot and many of them result in a knot that is considered difficult to tie. This method, popularized by Captain Jason Ehrlich of Australian, makes it easy to tie.

The key to tying this knot quickly and successfully is to remember to always maintain tension on the lines! Follow the diagrams below and watch the animation and once you tie this knot following these instructions, you can tie it about thirty seconds and will make this your new go-to leader connection knot!

Scroll to see Animated FG Knot below the illustration and tying instructions.

 

 

 

 

FG Knot Tying Instructions

• Open the end of the loop up by going over your index finger and thumb, forming a triangle. You want the lines nice and tight. Bring your middle finger inside where it will be available to help hold the leader as it is passed through the loop.


• In the illustration on the left we have removed the hand to better show the lines but keep the lines as you have them on your hand. Maintain that tension in the braid around the index finger and the thumb. Now take your leader spool and pull off a length that is long enough to run from the spool on the ground, with your foot on it to hold a lot of tension and run it up over your knee. Now feed the end of the line into the loop. Grab the end with your middle finger and hold it, then reach in from the top and grab the line and bring it straight up.


• Wrap the line down one side of the loop, hold with middle finger, then reach in from the top and grab and bring up and then you will wrap down the other side of the loop and grab with middle finger (steps 4, 5, 6, 7).


• Repeat this weaving, down one side, up through the middle, down the other side, up through the middle, alternating one side to the other. Important - keep very strong tension on the leader. At anytime you can also give a few tugs on the leader to make sure everything is locking down nice and tight. Continue until the weaving is about 1 1/2 to 2 centimeters (1/2" to 3/4"). Make more twists for lighter line, fewer for heavy line.


• Pinch the spot where all three lines come together and release the braided line from your fingers. (Relief to those two fingers that have been holding the wraps!) Put some tension on the braid line running to your rod and let the tag end hang loose. Keep some tension on the leader. Now make a half hitch with the tag of the braid around the leader and the braid and pull it up nice and tight. Make about 6 to 8 more half hitches. You can either alternate the direction or make them all the same. After you pull the last one tight, take hold of the braid and the leader and pull very hard in opposite directions to lock it all down. Get any slippage out of it now and get the braid to really bite into the leader.


• Trim the leader close to the knot.


• Now make three or four more half hitches with the tag of the braid around itself to finish it off.


• Trim the tag end close.


• Pull hard to check knot. It should not slip.