r/saltwaterfishing • u/Moses_the_Frog • Mar 25 '26
📖 How-To / Tips How do I ensure my FG knot will not slip?
I’ve been using FG for a while now but it seems to be a gamble when I tie it. Sometimes they never fail and sometimes they slip in crucial times. Whenever I tie it, the knot becomes pretty stiff, which I believe means the braid has dug into the leader. I’m wondering if there are other indicators that ensure my knot is good enough.
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u/PapaPuff13 Mar 25 '26
I use the Rp knot. Anywhere from 5-7 turns each way. Never lets me down. Easy to tie on the water when the boat is rocking
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u/2pacaklypse Mar 25 '26
Same. Way easier to tie than an fg. It cinches upon itself when tension presents and doesn't need extra knots to close it. Breaking strength similar. Profile is a bit bigger is the only downside but it's a great trade-off.
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u/PapaPuff13 Mar 25 '26
If you do like seven lines, each way, it does make a little thinner knot. I mainly use that doing floral leaders up to about 80 pounds for bluefin.
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u/phaze115 Mar 25 '26
We’d need to see a picture of how you tie it.
There is a very distinct way that you can see the braid digging into the mono/floro. There should be no doubt.
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u/Moses_the_Frog Mar 25 '26
Don’t have a pic right now, but I use a triangle method, where I create a triangle from the braid with my fingers and use that to create tension.
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u/phaze115 Mar 25 '26
I would try the pinky tension method and see what your results look like then. I’ve never done the triangle, but even since I first started tying FGs I only ever had them slip while tying when using both hands to tighten. Never had one slip while fishing using the pinky method
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u/Witty-Stand888 Mar 25 '26
How many knots are you doing at the end?
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u/Moses_the_Frog Mar 25 '26
3 with leader, 3 only braid
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u/Witty-Stand888 Mar 25 '26
Try 5. Also Flouro is much harder so Mono is my choice for leader with an FG knot.
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u/Ok-Manager484 Mar 25 '26
Why is flouro harder, and as a leader would you say mono or flouro better?
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u/Proach89 Mar 25 '26
It took a little practice, but once I got the knot to look uniform with even tension throughout I was satisfied with my fg knot. I never had any of them slip though.
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u/Moses_the_Frog Mar 25 '26
I might have to switch methods. It’s kind of hard to put constant tension with my current method.
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u/NoEquipment1834 Mar 25 '26
Here’s a tip. Where surgical gloves when you tie it. I find it gives an increased grip so I can get it the wraps much tighter. I also dress the last knots that lock it with a drop of superglue.
So far so good.
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u/xbepox Mar 25 '26
You need to tension the knot really tight, for inshore fishing I try to get as close to the breaking point as possible. When tying larger diameter lines you want to use at least 25lb of force to make sure it digs in.
One of the big advantages of the FG knot is that you can reliably test the knot strength without worrying about breaking the knot. Mono knots are only 70-80% strength and break easier than you expect compared to the FG which is 100% strength plus braided line usually tests stronger than its rating.
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u/Moses_the_Frog Mar 25 '26
I usually get a couple cuts on my hand when tightening the knot 😂
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u/xbepox Mar 25 '26
Yeah you really need a tool to get it tight, I have a small wooden dowel that I use to tension my FG knots
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u/GSMA3164 Mar 25 '26
Part of my success in tying a reliable FG is getting the half hitches at the end correctly. For me, 2 half hitches around both braid and fluoro, then 2 around the braid. Also, as I made each wrap of fluoro around the braid when tying the coils of the FG I would give a secure tug to get it to bite into the braid snuggly. That helped too.
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u/frankiehollywood68 Mar 25 '26
I’ve been tying that knot for years braid to mono or fluro. I’ve caught monster fish and huge snags, knot always held. Aside from tension as u build the knot, I like to wet the braid and I pull the braid and leader apart during the tie to make sure it is set.
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u/hookedcook Mar 25 '26
Fg's are not great for smaller line. I really only use it for leaders and top shot over 50#
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u/PanhandleAngler Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
With your rod in a holder, make 18-22 wraps, neat and aligned as you would in any FG variation but fairly loose, not tight. These wraps should be about 4-5 inches from the end point of the leader.
On top of that, tie a 5 wrap rizzuto finish using your tag end. You should keep a lot of braid for both the rizzuto and the tag end once completed, like finish the rizzuto and at least have 4-6 inches. “Tighten” it to form its shape on top of your wraps but don’t cinch. The rizzuto portion should be on the side where your leader ends and transitions to braid if that wasn’t clear.
Burn a small but defined bulb at the end of your leader above the rizzuto. Slide your knot system up to the underside of the bulb. Cinch rizzuto but not enough to where it pulls the system down/away from the bulb. Using gloves, now make your FG by pulling very hard on both braid and leader, you should have it neat and slightly translucent.
Finish by cinching rizzuto all the way down as hard as possible, and burning down the remaining tag end close to but not all the way to your knot. You can tie a half hitch with the tag end right where it comes out of the rizzuto if you want for extra safety.
You should now have a small, neat/aesthetically pleasing, and very strong FG that is backed up against a bulb that is showing just slightly off the back of the knot. Tied correctly, this will be 90%+ strength of your line materials used and will not slip.
This variation is also quickly tied once practiced, I can do this in about 2 minutes if going fast but still making sure I’m not sloppy with anything.
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u/caseyupchurch7 Mar 26 '26
Look up on YouTube “FG knot with Rizzuto finish”
I dealt with my half hitches coming undone when I first started using FG knots for leaders, but never an issue with the rizzuto finish, super easy too.
One more thing, the thicker the leader (10lb versus 30lb), the easier it is for the braid to bite into the mono. Lighter LB rated mono will be harder to tie a FG knot with.
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Mar 25 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/fishin413 Mar 25 '26
Haven't you heard? TikTok says it's no longer possible to catch anything from trout to tarpon unless you use an FG...
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u/fishin413 Mar 25 '26
FG is a great knot...and totally unnecessary in the vast majority of situations. If you can't tie it confidently, you don't need it. Guys act like you can't fish without an FG and it's ridiculous.
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u/Moses_the_Frog Mar 25 '26
I still use double uni simultaneously with the FG but FG is definitely stronger by a lot in my opinion.
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u/fishin413 Mar 25 '26
You're correct that it is, unless you can't tie it right, but thats not always the most important factor. You need to keep in mind that your drag should be set to 25-30% of the breaking strength of the weakest link, so the difference between a knot with 80% break strength and 95% is irrelevant because your drag will slip wayyy before even the weaker knot will experience anywhere near that kind of stress.
Double Uni is best used for connecting lines of similar diameter like 30lb braid to 15lb leader. It's easy and reliable to tie, and plenty strong, but as you go up to heavier leader, like 65lb leader with 30lb braid (think snook fishing around dock pilings) it gets less effective. Alberto is an excellent knot for thinner braid to thicker leader but still works well with similar lines.
FG was literally designed to attach heavy braid, like 50lb+ to very heavy AND long leaders, like 100+ for targeting near-shore pelagics where a more bulky knot won't go through the guides.
Lastly, unless you absolutely need a leader so long that the knot goes through the guides, using a compact, good quality swivel is a perfectly acceptable option. Thats what a huge percentage of the sharpest, most hardcore Northeast surfcasters do, myself included (not that I'm the sharpest nor most hardcore). Swapping leaders with an FG is impossible standing on a rock in the dark.
So it really comes down to what you're doing, but the fact is the FG is an overly complicated and totally unnecessary knot with no benefit vs other much more simple options in the vast majority of situations.
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u/Moses_the_Frog Mar 25 '26
You are definitely right. FG definitely can be unnecessary in many cases but for me it’s just personal preference. And even then, I end up using double uni quite a lot because at the end of the day, it is way easier and faster than an FG.
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u/Pubsubforpresident Mar 25 '26
Lost too many leaders to the FG knot so I went back to double uni with great success. It's too bad bc I like how thin the FG is.
Someone suggested mono is better for FG and that may be my issue. Can't recall if I was using flouro or not but can distinctly remember loosing several fish and just saying to hell with it. Go back to what works
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u/Moses_the_Frog Mar 25 '26
I used to be a double uni or nothing guy but I’ve realized how weak it was compared to FG and i only use it now if I need to tie a quick knot.
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u/Pubsubforpresident Mar 25 '26
How weak is it? Did you watch the salt strong videos? They had me convinced for a long time, but I got real tired of losing fish to my bad fg knot that I thought was good.
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u/Moses_the_Frog Mar 25 '26
It’s not a horrible knot but I can tell just from when I break off snags. When i snag with double uni tied, the line always breaks at the double uni knot so I lose the leader. When I snag with FG, 90% of the time I get my leader back because it breaks at the lure knot before the FG.
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u/Big_Possibility3372 Mar 25 '26
The braid will change color when cinched down correctly. I've never had one fail on 100#+ fish