How to Tie a Palomar Fishing Knot

The Palomar fishing knot is widely used and considered by many anglers to be the best knot for braided fishing line. The knot is simple and easy to do and with a little practice it can be like second nature.

Fishing Rod

Braided Fishing Line

Lure or Hook

Scissors or Fingernail Clippers

The first step in tying the Palomar Knot is to create a loop several inches long in the line and put the loop through the eyelet of the hook. To put the line through the eyelet, it helps to wet the line by running it through your mouth. Once the line is through the eyelet slide the hook to the center of the loop.

A loose overhand knot is very basic. To tie a loose overhand knot take the end of the line and cross it over the main part of the line and then through the circle that it creates, but don't cinch it down all the way.

Take the loop that is coming out of the loose overhand knot and put the hook through that loop. Once the hook is through the loop it is time to cinch up the knot. When cinching up the knot there will be two different strands of line that it’s possible to pull on, one of them is connected to the lure and the other is the loose end. Always pull on the loose end of line when cinching up the knot to avoid damaging the line connected to your lure.

To trim off excess line take the scissors or fingernail clippers and cut the loose end of line off of the hook. When trimming off the excess line its important to cut the line close to the hook, but not so close that the knot could be damaged.

Now that the knot is tied it’s time to catch some fish. Remember the polymer knot works best on braided line, is very reliable when done properly, and becomes like second nature when practiced a few times.