I ordered this to net the algae in a large pond in our backyard. ru-vid.comUgkxphFK7ETiDP5G4IGsNcg7vbASDp_YfDpI The net is very sturdy and easy to maneuver in the water. The angled edges make it easier to get into the smaller spaces among the rocks. I didn't realize that the front of the net doesn't actually have a frame to it, just the sides do, but it seems to work just fine. The handle extends to various sizes, which is a great feature when I'm in areas that are tight with shrubs at the edges of the pond. I can collapse the handle so it doesn't get stuck in the bushes.
I have solely used the FG knot now for about 5 years & swear by it! If I ever get a break it is the braid failing before knot so you know the knot is 100% the best thing ever. I use a Daiichi 2.0 knot assist for tying mine which for me is way better that any manual method I had used previously. It is said by a few that the PR is a stronger knot, maybe Paul @ifishtv needs to try that one next?? But still Im not changing, if the knot is stronger than the line in a FG then no need to try anything else imo 😉
Same here, even for my freshwater ultralight setup I did FG braid to mono. If only for the practice, gonna keep doing it for everything. Reason why I learned the quick-tie method as well and MAN does it save me some time.
The other thing to consider is how knots survive after 100 casts. The fg has excellent survivability if finished properly. I quite often have mine lasting 2 or 3 sessions before the leader is too short from swapping lures all the time. Another thing is it doesn’t get caught up on runners and casts smoothly.
If you finish the FG with a risotto finish it will last even longer, because the tag is along the length, not at the end. It will not fray and is a lot neater that a series of granny knots.
Or you could just tie a modified Albright special without any special finish, save a bit of time, make thousands of casts going through multiple guides and never have any problems.
@@philippiansfourfour1081 I never accept second best when it comes to knots. The FG is the strongest and smoothest. I can tie it with Rizzoto finish in the rain on a windy boat in under 2 minutes, just using my hands, no feet or relying on a tight line from the rod tip. It takes quite a lot of practice but it's an essential skill if you're a professional fishing guide and you want to be taken seriously.
@@neilrobinson7615 @@neilrobinson7615 and I can tie a modified Albright special on a pitch black night with no tourist head lamp, sweaty hands while being eaten alive by mosquitoes in less than 15 seconds. If it is strong enough to stop a just hooked up fully green 6’ tarpon from diving under the bridge on me and nearly snapping my rod over the bridge railing in the process, I gladly settle for that. The majority of all fishing records have been landed on the basic traditional knots. I don’t judge whether to take people seriously or not by what knot they prefer I judge by what they’re landing on a consistent basis. Every googan at my favorite beaches and bridges to fish ties an FG knot I rarely to never see them land anything of note. The best fisherman I know uses a blood knot to splice lines lol.
Really great abrasion resistance and though I've never put the Big Game line ru-vid.comUgkxQ4x31pJVpClzhxzNFeILZYTW7Xbs7ZIF (any poundage) through an official test it always seems to break well above rated poundage. This line stretches a very good amount before it breaks and does well in saltwater too. Not the best line for a spinning reel in my opinion, especially if you're planning on using it for lures only due to it having a bit of memory but still a great line whether filling a spool, using as top shot or strictly for leader line. I've bought a bunch of Big game line in the past and plan on continuing to do so in the future.
A great test and lots of fun! I did a load of knot tests for Sea Angler magazine using a Berkley line tester, this was some years ago and to my knowledge the FG had not been invented at that time. I tied 5 versions of each knot and averaged the breaking strain, the back to back uni was not that great but could be improved by 50 % using a Bimini to form a double in the braid to attach to the mono. I still use this today fishing out of Mooloolaba and can't remember having it fail. One observation from the tests was as soon as any movement could be detected in the knot it would fail almost immediately, so by wetting and snugging knots up really well they will out perform loose knots.
@@Archenhaust learn the bimini, then use the bimini double as if its a single strand. This has been done for years to improve knot strength here in Australia 👍
thanks for doing that, that was fun! I gave up on the albright knot cuz i was losing to many lures, went to the FG knot and no looking back. more reliable once you get the hang of tying it
I enjoyed this very much. Lots of good data collection. I really like how you redid the fg knot test after not getting consistent data. Most others on here would have not done this. Stuff like this gets makes me subscribe.
For a knot to add 5 kg of resistance to the lines breaking point is incredible. Theres so many applications for big game fish that this would be ideal for. Looks like i got some knot tying to practice thanks for the amazing content!
any extra size will cause drag & scoping, or it will catch seaweed and such. If you have time, the FG is great. Especially for surfcasting. On the fly, I trust the uni to uni. You can keep one had on the knot even you're getting tossed around.
haha that was fun to watch. slim beauty/gt knot is a must for me especially surfcasting although i do enjoy using the fg knot. did get caught once on the guide and snapped my leader off and bent my guide haha that was quite a scary experience.
I love the comparison. I am primarily an alright knot guy now switching from the Double Uni. I don't have straight enough teeth to reliable tie the fg on the kayak. I've had too many double units fail after several casts. So the alright is my working knot. It's thinner than the double uni, ties almost as fast and has held very well.
Just use a blood knot, fast, thin, quick, and strong. but u don’t have to just use ur teeth my man, only do that for tightening at the very very end. You got other fingers
That double uni looked awful. I'm not really surprised it failed so early at barely 50% strength. I've seen other tests with the same knot hitting 90% or more which would have given 18kg holding force in your test. You've really got me pondering and I'm going to try testing my own knots now! Your setup is nice and easy to do the test anywhere.
@steve carkner I just commented the same thing. Hauser Wirth you need to Union I've ever seen it look like there was One Union not and then the other knot was like some overhand knot
Come on mate really? 90% from a uni to uni join knot. "Tell him his dreaming" uni to terminal is extremely effective but for line joining you won't get much more than 60% with double uni. The only three common join knots that pull numbers around that 90% are the PR, GT and FG knots respectively
That’s kind of how double uni looks with that size mono. They do look pretty goofy with that size mono vs normal size braid. I find that the double uni is best when using smaller mono, but it’s definitely not great compared to some of the other knots in the vid based on every test I’ve seen + personal experience
I just did this test on a Instron material tester. (not any of these knots). The best knot that I have found is the alberto knot. It's super easy to tie as well. Also, I have caught a couple of 4+ pound largemouth without a break off due to knot strength. Like your video
FG is best in real world app. If you look it up, it is same knot as a 'stopper knot' used by sailors in mooring lines for big ships. The finish is different, but the action is the same. Power reminds me of Palomar bend. Great test!
Since I use both mono and braid as my mainline, so I choose Double Uni knot. My experience of jokes is everytime I lost my catch, it is always either the main line or leader snapped.
I always used a Uni Knot tie. And it handled the shark perfectly. The sharks length is maybe at least 6 feet n maybe weights 60-70 pounds. It’s just a plain and simple knot but it’s tested by me.
Knot strength/durability etc vary massively. Using a UV coated clear setting glue ( like LOON UV GLUE) will make the knot way more strong etc. I mean for any hook knot the SNELL ius the best by far. The best mono to braid is the FG. then the best swivel is the offshore swivel knot. Then you have the LOOP KNOT - which is super strong. The PALOMAR is excellent. The SC knot is also awesome.....
Have you tried the blob knot, use a lighter and warm it's metal end up then very lightly press the end of the mono on it to create a very small blob/flare so it's just thicker than the rest, then 12 turn uni and snug down to end. Used it for long range surfcasting,
I fish in Thailand the the Thai guys I go with all use the PR Bobbin knot, it lasts them all day, several trips, no problems. No hang ups on the guides, was on the boat when a guy pulled in an 80kg sailfish using 60lb leader and 50lb braid using a 60g vertical jig in 30meters of water, gulf of Thailand. Fish threw the hook in the first 30 seconds of the fight when jumping but the leader wrapped around its bill as it flipped in the air and the guy was still able to land it, maybe it forced the mouth closed and tired out the fish faster? It was amazing
You should do an experiment to see which breaking strain leader/braid more closely companies to the knot's breaking strain. What good is 40 lb lone when it breaks at 22lb. Their should be a point at where a swivel is better
For the past 50 years the uni has served me well for both fresh and saltwater. For the braid to mono, I use a small barrel swivel. Tie the braid to one side and the mono to the other. This way I don’t have the braid cutting into the mono, weakening it. The small swivel goes through the guides easily and doesn’t get hung up.
If I'm doing an fg im usually doing it at home for a particularly long leader. I've actually had an fg knot slip while fighting a bog fish, then catch its self.
Interesting to note how much strength is lost in the knot. Would you consider doing the same test with a thicker braid like a power pro, which would be less prone to wear may not cut through the mono as fast under strain.
With 40lb Braid and 20lb mono topshot on a FG I've been able to bring 2 meter long sharks up to the surface without so much a problem. FG is the way to go!
Ill tie the uni just to save time since im never going to use the full strength of the knot anyways. Ill tie the FG if i want a long leader because its more streamlined and won’t grab on the eyelets as bad
It really is easy to tie and takes about a minute once you know it. People always say "FG is too difficult" - that's because they haven't taken time to learn and perfect it. Nothing worth doing is easy.
The best part of the fg is that you never fold the mono over. Most of the time this means you can pull the leader through the lineguides all day, no problems, and cast the leader as well
Doing that test again, on several lines would be great but, grab your sleeper attach the scales at one of the sleeper and a boat winch at the other. Tie the line between them and you can leave that setup for further tests.
The fg knot isn't too bad, it's about the practice. Two main points to help anyone out there, is make sure that once your wraps are done I put in 1 half hitch to secure the wraps then pull on both ends to get the knot to bite into the mono, that's very important. The second most important is finishing the knot well with a rizuto finish. I find half hitches work well, but the rizuto finish is superior.
totally agree buddy! So many people forget to bed the fg down before finishing with a rizutto and then trash talk it about it slipping. I used to finish it with 6 half hitches,but after repeatedly casting through the guides,some would undo or fluff up. Since using the rizutto it just stays tight and perfect.
@@karlstokes874 yep, that's exactly my experience with the knot. Half hitches work well enough for jigging and bottom bashing, but for casting they do eventually ride up and that's what allows the fg to undo itself. That problem is eliminated with the rizuto finish.
@@turbostyler How do you treat your leader's tag? Do you burn it a little at the edge in order to create a protective barrier, and you cover it with half hitches? What's your experience on this issue?
@@Spyros_Mazarakis I see some people like to burn the end of the leader, or mushrooming it, but I find it completely pointless. If you bed the knot down like I described in my first comment then the knot will only lock down harder with force trying to pull it apart. Also, if you finish with a rizuto then there is no feasible way to put down more half hitches, as the tag for the braid is in the middle of the knot and not at the end. With the length of the leader tag, some have suggested cutting right up at the knot. I don't do this, instead I leave about 1mm of leader tag to give the knot a margin of error if it should stretch under load. The strength of the knot is in the first 8 or so wraps, the finishing technique (half hitches or rizuto) are only to stop the wraps coming undone. If you finishing technique fails, then no amount of mushrooming the leader tag will help you.
@@turbostyler I always melt the leader end in my FGs if I have time, not because it really makes it stronger, but because the sharp edges of a cut tag end can both nick the braid mainline over time AND catch on your guides going back in the rod for another cast or drop. Both these things can weaken your connection in different ways. Rounding the end of the leader prevents both of those from happening and makes it much less likely to fail over time.
Well done Paul, usually I pick on fools, my suggestion would to just add a garden hose trickle so no splash bounce was stressing the line, but then again fish kick there tails , so I shot myself just there, hehe , I think a ‘lots of knots’ would be an interesting outcome as well ,
would be nice to know what a single strand of that braid broke at. Often manufacturers claim actual breaking strain much higher than rating of line. If this is 45lb braid it broke at almost half in most tests in knot form which is not flash really.
As far as I'm aware when fishing line says 45ib that means 45lb of tugging or pulling force not weight, like kinetic energy, a big fish jerking and shaking its head around is what breaks the line not the weight of the fish itself, whenever you have to bust off a snag it always breaks at a knot ( the weakest point in the rig ) , having the braid wrapped around around that hook is a poor control method I think because it's being stressed a tearing on itself if that makes sense Have a look at a rigging booklet and it shows how different rigging methods for cranes effect how much the sling can safely hold, I'd say the same goes for fishing line, Me and my mate have hook unstoppable fish on 20lb line in 20 metres of water it only broke when the fish reefed us or had a poorly tied knot
i think the only thing you can gather from this is which knot will be the strongest and not how much weight the knot will withhold before it snaps because you're right its all up to the lines strength too.
Craid D. The braid still broke and where it broke wasnt my point. Its common knowledge that the knot is the weakest point of an undamaged line. The point is that I haven't seen braid break consistently at 50% its rated strength before. Most of the braids I've tested fail (yes at the knot) under load thats right on or higher than the rated strength stated on the packet. To get more to the point, the reason why I asked what braid it was is so that i know what to steer clear of the next time i'm looking to try another braid. I'd be a bit disappointed spooling up 45lb braid only to find i couldn't stress it past 22lb to 32lbs of pressure.
The triple surgeon and uni to uni are probably the easiest to learn. But as u see in the video, the uni to uni is easy to fail, and the surgeon doesn't enter the rod guides smoothly. The FG know between the once shown here will beat the rest by a lot. But I still have a suggestion. The SC knot: For me the braid breaks before the knot every time, easier to tie than FG, and doesn't look like a monster either.
Fantastic video. I love the idea of the water. I would like to see the same thing done with the SC and the Yucatan knots going up against the FG. They are similar in construction, but are tied in a fraction of the time.
Not bad for a UK bloke... not bad. LOL Just joking. Very good video and entertaining. I like the FG because of the low friction in the loops. Thank you very much my friend and you have a new subscriber! :)
Southern California uses mainly the RP knot/Royal Polaris or Alberto knot. Some guys use the uni to uni knot but that ends up popping guide inserts out eventually. On a cattle boat/party boat everything is about speed and getting back in the water so the FG just doesn't work for us out here. 🤙
I mean if you're constantly having to deal with hordes of other fisherman tangling you and cutting you off I can see how that is the case, but the FG is still better than almost every other knot.
I’d like to see some of the other widely used knots tested for comparison. Alberto knot, etc. not that I’m going to change what I’m doing, but just out of curiosity
I hated to toe the FG knot, until I realized that I just need to practice until it becomes muscle memory. It now takes me about a minute, and the knot is by far the strongest and most reliable that I ever used. Don’t be lazy, and don’t settle - tie the FG..!
U know what i will now try again with fg knot and practice. I usually do double uni but will go fishing on Sunday so will practice fg again and learn it. Thanks for the pep talk😤👍
I don't know where I got it from but I started tying a looped uni knot like a year ago and Its my favorite knot. I've never seen any one talk about it or if it has an actual name but it be cool if you tested it out. Basically just loop the line and put it through the eye like a palomar and then tie a uni knot.
The FG, in my opinion, is worth the time it takes to tie. Disregarding how much stronger it is, it winds onto and off of the reel so much cleaner and easier than other, bulkier knots.
Try the blood knot, it works even better through the guides and reals up nicer on the spool. Not as strong as the fg, but it doesn’t fail and it’s super easy to tie.
