Line, Knots & Rigs

A walleye spinner rig is a leader strung with beads and a spinning blade ahead of one or two hooks, trolled slow and usually kept near bottom with a bouncer…

Joining braid to a mono or fluorocarbon leader is a different problem than any other knot in this guide, and treating it like a normal line-to-line splice is the fastest…

The San Diego jam knot is built for braided line tied straight to a hook or lure eye, and it’s the one serious jig fishermen reach for when a Palomar…

A snell knot attaches a hook by wrapping the leader around the shank instead of just cinching down on the eye, and it’s the one I reach for anytime I’m…

A blood knot joins two lines of similar diameter, and it’s the one I reach for anytime I’m building a leader from spools instead of buying one pre-tied. It isn’t…

The Albright knot joins two lines of very different diameter, most often a heavier butt section or wire leader to a lighter running line. It shows up anywhere an angler…

A rig, in fishing, is any terminal setup built from multiple separate pieces, hook, weight, swivel, leader, rather than a lure tied straight to the line. The word covers a…

The Alabama rig is a wire umbrella frame that carries multiple swimbaits at once, built to look like a small school of baitfish instead of a single lure. It was…

A loop knot is the one knot on this list that is not about strength. It is about movement. Tie a jig or a crankbait on with a Palomar or…

A sabiki rig is built to catch bait, not the fish you’re actually after. It’s a vertical string of several small hooks, each dressed with flash or feathers, meant to…