# New Casting Knot



## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

I had a go at this the other day and now all my rigs have this one tied up - its not to be done on the water though..... but I'm hoping it wont break on the water ie in the yak :shock: :shock: Its called the mid knot and its quite easy.. although it looks hard... Ive tried pulling it apart and its very firm!!!!! Its very small through the guides and there are no tag ends pointing towards the guides on the cast - so even better.

I found with my doubled allbright and super glue that eventually the glue broke down and the knot started to unravel......

Good luck....


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## paulb (Nov 12, 2006)

Hi Woppie - looks interesting, but I find it a little hard to imagine that the line won't slip. Have you tried it wet too ?


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Paul

Listen mate... to be honest yup it does look like it will slip....... but this knot was suggested as the main knot from a dedicated JT popping and jigging forum... and I doubt weather those guys would entrust their 65 dollar lure to a crappy knot... a did one that slipped right away ... but maybe I did it wrong.......... supposedly the braid bites onto the supple leader....... I'll give it a try in the wet and tell you..


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2008)

Hi Wopfish

The midknot looks like a great knot. Another tip to add is to melt the tag end of the leader so it forms a small blob. This gives the braid a bit more area to grip on.

http://www.jigsdirect.com/eMerchantPro/ ... p#anchorMK


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Kelvin
Yup Ive melted the tag on the leader and the braid.. its a bit tricky protecting the rest of the knot with your nails as you burn the line !!!! Ive been using 40 / 50 lb braid and 60lb leader..... which is Jinkai... do you think its soft enough for the knot to bite on enough..... it seems very precarious... any tips when tyieng it for me... I didnt read any instructions - just worked my way through the illustrations... so I could have stuffed it up....... I'd better start with my cheap poppers and jigs first... but it seems pretty strong .... I might tie to the door and give it a good bloody pull :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Just tried it on the door.... it put up a lot of resistance but did come apart !!!!! Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeet !!!!!!! Back to the drawing board !!!!


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## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

Woppie, that is a PR knot, you should be mainting the winds a fair way up the line, like an inch and a half. You can buy a special tool called a bobbin which you thread the braid thru and spin around the mainline. Jiggers particularly like this knot. As with evrything, the bobbin is from Japan and is expensive :twisted:

I use an FG knot which is kinda similar. Except it twists over and under. I have posted the link up here before. I can show you it if you want.

As far as slippage goes, the GT guys aren't sold on it holding onto mega fish. But then again plenty of fish up to 30 odd kg GT's caught using this knot. So dont give up yet!! Flurocarbon has a very hard outer covering, which makes it harder still for the braid to bite, I use sand paper to roughen up the end of my FC leader just enough for the braid to bite. This works fine even with 20lb FC for our small kingies. If its a soft mono leader like Jinkai etc, it should bite hard.

Casting is fantastic with these knots.

I reckon you MUST be using twisted leaders for your trip to Maldives. Not a knot as such, more of a loop to loop connection.

My GT mate (who does 3 or 4 Nomad trips a year) still sits at home and practices his knots. Being proficient in them is essential if your going to mix it up with the fish where you are going.

Mate I never used to care too much about knots, but now think they are essential and I have more confidence in them. (learnt the hard way)
I reckon the difference between someone who catches good fish continually are because of 2 key points which they direct their efforts to.
1. Catching live bait
2. Tying good knots.
Neither of these are fun or glamorous, but essential for a better chance and bigger fish.

Cheers Dave


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## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13120&p=140249&hilit=+knot#p140249

Above is the link for the FG knot.

Edit, Just opened Kelvins link from his post. Very good and clear instructions on the bobbin.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hey Dave

I like the idea of sanding down the leader a bit !!! I must say that when the knot broke the drag was tightened down pretty much...... maybe 9 or 10 kg...... I suppose I was hoping that one of the lines would have snapped as opposed to the knot coming apart.......... I have retied it again adding more pressure at the wraps stage. I must say though I cant tell the difference between your knot and my knot except in name and the hand twist technique.

Next on the list.... as i know you keep on reminding me .... and I should give it a go is the Bimini...... :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: See how I get on... it cant be any harder that its already getting......... I spend my evenings at the dinner table tieing knots now :? :lol:

I bought the monster mesh popping rod in the end.... and was managing to get a good distance with a blooper at Rose Bay on the weekend ... almost hit the Seaplane with it HAHAHAHAH !

Talk SOon

Woppie


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## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

Sounds like it's all coming together  

I'm around later this week if you want to drop round. Finish work tomorrow so have a 4 day weekend.  
Perfect weather for a cuppa, and go thru some stuff.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

OK Lets hook up .... I'll show you my blooper - if you show me yours !!!


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## beefs (Jan 30, 2006)

PM'd you instructions on tying a twisted leader... :twisted:

They're the only way to go. And not too difficult...just time consuming.

I lock up drag attach to stationary object and pull like blazes test all new knots I try. Its amazing how many don't pass...

Ooohh monster mesh popping rod  Seems the fever is going around...after our hinchinbrook trip my mate has upgraded the ole ambassadeur 7000 to a brand spankin stella 10000 :twisted:


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## Guest (Apr 15, 2008)

Hi Wopfish
I haven't done and poppering for GT's so can't speak from experience, but I've come across a few discussions on various forums about the topic.
I think most people are using around 100lb or 200lb leader when fishing 50mb braid. The knot is a friction knot. So each wrap, loop or half hitch provides a tiny bit of grip of the leader. When tension is put on the knot the braid pulls and the diameter of each loop of hitch decreases slightly (ie. tightens the loop). So the tighter you pull the tighter the knot should bite. This is the same way a dacron sleeve works on the loop of a wind on leader and the same way a chinese finger trap works.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_finger_trap


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## Guest (Apr 15, 2008)

Theoretically if you increase the diameter of the leader you should increase the contact area and thus strength of the knot. Also starting the knot further up the leader should increase holding power. Jinkai is a relatively soft leader materal and the braid should bite on well.

Let us know how yo go


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Hi Kelvin

Some of them have worked and others not - the Jinkai in general has been good the Jack Erskin x 10 - not so.

Ive been to test them out under pressure - in general when they fail they slip off.... although saying that I think they have failed close to 10kg of drag...

Do you use a bobbin or do it by hand ..........

After the wraps and the initial hitches... do you then tighten the knot up.... or should all the warps be tightened before the hitches ?

I certainly can see the advantages of this very slim knot....... its just that I think each one needs to be tested to the extreme before I dare use it to fish with..... and that seems a bit hit and miss at the moment until I refine my skills

Thanks

Woppie

I must use the Chinese trap soon too :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2008)

Hi Wopfish

I haven't had the pleasure of doing any heavyweight lurecasting and have no experience with using the knot. I remember reading that the first few wraps should be loose and them the hitches tight, but don't take my word for it.

It's worth while checking out the english forum here
http://www.caranx.net/forums/

It would be much easier with a bobbin. I do dabble in a bit of flytying and bobbins can be expensive. I have found you can get away with a rough and ready homemade bobbin. I make mine out of a paper clip. I straighten the clip, then twist it into a small circle. I fold back both the legs and push them either side into a spool of thread. The thread goes through the hole in the paper clip and the paperclip can rotate around the axis of the spool, keeping everything neat.

Also here is another interesting bit of reading comparing the shock capacity of heavyduty knots.
http://www.westernangler.com.au/default ... icle&ID=87


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## Slim (Mar 4, 2008)

just like my name i think that the slim beauty is the prince of knots for casting


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Thanks for the article Kelvin - In western angler - I need to learn the Bimini !!!


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## water_baby (Oct 26, 2005)

wopfish said:


> Thanks for the article Kelvin - In western angler - I need to learn the Bimini !!!


mate, head into your local tackle shop and get the guy to show you how to do it.

I found it impossible to do from animated knot websites but as soon as i was shown it was easy. i now tie it all the time (only use a 12 turn) and it has never failed, or even looked like failing!!


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Thanks water Baby - Ive got Dave 73 coming over I'll give him beers - we shall do Biminis !!!


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## water_baby (Oct 26, 2005)

ahhh beers and bikinis, that takes me back to my college days...

oh, biminis, yeah, they're fun too :lol:


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

5000 killer wasps !!!! Agghhhhhhhh !!!!


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## madfishman (Dec 10, 2007)

Hi Guys, i have one knot which took me ages to get right and in fact its in the latest Modern fishing mag( with free popper lure) , its the Biminy Twist, nothing beats it, i have used for game fishing of WA and locally for jewies and soft plastics, nothing beats it for higher % of actuall break point strenght of line rating. My mate showed this to me and it certainly took some time to learn, but havnt lost a fish to knot yet.

Geoff Wilson has a book out on knots and its got heaps of knots but the "biminy twist" is damn good. In the pics it says to place the loop around your knees, which is quite easy in our circumstances, but i uses the rod holder/s, if done right it will take a hell of a bashing.
heres a couple links you should check out
http://www.fishnet.com.au/library/knots ... twist.html Biminy Twist

http://www.fishnet.com.au/knotsrigs/knotsrigs.html this will show you all the knots you need to know.

Good luck


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## madfishman (Dec 10, 2007)

Another point using the Albright to join is the most effective, sorry forgot to add the joining knot to leader comment, which is probably what matters, but because you have double leader tuse in the Albright gives you no chance of cutting line and no need for glue.


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