Every knot costs you strength. This is what each of the common knots actually retains on mono, fluorocarbon and braid — plus what each knot is genuinely good at.
| Knot | Mono | Fluoro | Braid | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palomar | 95% | 92% | 95% | Hook and lure attachment. Simple, strong, hard to get wrong. |
| San Diego jam | 95% | 93% | 93% | Hooks and lures where a slim knot matters through the eye. |
| Uni knot | 90% | 88% | 85% | All-purpose. Also the basis of the double uni for joining lines. |
| Improved clinch | 87% | 82% | 70%* | Small hooks in light line. Loses a lot on braid — use a palomar instead. |
| Non-slip loop | 88% | 85% | 82% | A fixed loop that lets a lure swim freely. |
| Perfection loop | 90% | 87% | 78% | A clean fixed loop for leaders and droppers. |
| FG knot | — | — | 98% | Braid main line to a fluorocarbon leader. Slim enough to run through the guides. |
| Double uni | 88% | 85% | 85% | Joining two lines of similar diameter. Easy to tie in the dark. |
| Blood knot | 82% | 78% | 70% | Joining two lines to build a tapered leader. Fiddly with unequal diameters. |
| Albright special | 85% | 82% | 88% | Joining lines of very different diameter, braid to heavy mono. |
| Surgeon’s knot | 80% | 75% | 72% | Quick join on the water. Accept the loss for the speed. |
| Nail knot | 88% | 85% | — | Fly line to leader butt. Slim and passes through the guides. |
| Arbor knot | 65% | 60% | 70% | Attaching line to the spool only. Never use it for terminal tackle. |
* The improved clinch slips on braid rather than breaking, which is why it tests so poorly there. Use a palomar or San Diego jam on braid instead.
A 20 lb line tied with a 95% knot gives you roughly 19 lb at the knot. Tied with an 80% knot you get 16 lb. In practice the knot is always the weakest point in your system, which is why your drag should be set from the knot strength, not the line strength.
These are typical figures from published knot testing. Real results vary with how carefully you tie the knot, whether you lubricated it before seating it, and the specific brand of line. Treat them as a ranking rather than absolute numbers.
Hook or lure to line: palomar for almost everything; San Diego jam when a slimmer knot helps.
Braid to leader: FG knot if you want maximum strength and a slim profile that runs through the guides; double uni or Albright if you want something you can tie on a rocking boat.
A loop that lets a lure swim: non-slip loop, or a perfection loop for leaders.
Line to spool: arbor knot, and nothing else.
Half of knot strength is technique. These make the technique repeatable.
You cannot seat a knot properly with cold fingers and teeth. Pliers plus a cutter is the difference between a 95% knot and a 70% one.
Check current price on Amazon →Practice the FG knot at the kitchen table with cheap line until it is muscle memory. Nobody ties it well the first time on the water.
Check current price on Amazon →Fresh line is stronger than line that has sat on the spool since last season. It degrades slowly and you never notice.
Check current price on Amazon →Trimming the tag end flush matters more than it sounds — a long tag catches weed and a ragged one weakens the knot.
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The chart gives typical retention, your line and knot give the real number. The knot strength calculator works it out for your set-up, the best knots for braid guide narrows the list, and the drag and leader calculator sets the drag that number supports.
For attaching a hook or lure, the palomar and the San Diego jam both retain around 95% of line strength and are consistently strong across mono, fluorocarbon and braid. For joining braid to a leader, the FG knot is the strongest at around 98%.
Almost always one of three things: you did not wet the line before seating the knot, you pulled it tight too fast and heat-damaged the line, or you trimmed the tag end too close to the knot. Slow down and lubricate every knot.
Yes. Braid is slippery and has no stretch, so knots that rely on friction against themselves slip. The palomar, San Diego jam and FG knot all work well on braid; the improved clinch and blood knot do not.
The best knots retain around 95% of line strength and the weakest common ones around 70 to 80%. On 20 lb line that is the difference between roughly 19 lb and 14 lb at the knot, which is why drag should be set from knot strength.
Knot strength. A common rule is one third of the breaking strain of the weakest link in the system, and the knot is nearly always that link. Setting drag from the line rating alone is how people lose fish at the knot.
Knot Strength Calculator · Palomar knot · FG knot · Non-slip loop knot
Knot Strength Calculator · Drag and Leader Calculator · Shock Leader Calculator
Charts on the same subject: Fishing Hook Size Chart · Fishing Line Strength Chart · Fishing Swivel Size Chart
Disclaimer: The numbers on this page are estimates based on published specifications and standard formulas. Real-world results vary with brand, gear condition and how the equipment is set up. TackleCalc is an independent reference site and is not affiliated with any manufacturer. Nothing here replaces the instructions that come with your own gear.