Improved clinch knot
Also called clinch knot, fisherman's knot
The standard knot for tying line to a hook or lure eye. Five twists, back through the loop, then through the big loop you just made.
Pass the tag end through the eye, twist it around the standing line five times, feed it back through the small loop next to the eye, then through the large loop that creates. Wet it, pull it tight from the standing line, and trim.
It is the first knot most anglers learn and it holds around 90 percent of the line's strength when tied properly on mono and fluorocarbon. The two ways it fails are dry cinching, which burns the line at the twists, and using it on braid, where the slick fibres let it slip. Braid wants a Palomar or an FG instead.
Five twists is right for most freshwater line. Very light line takes six or seven, heavy line takes four, because thick line does not want to close up against itself.
Wet every knot with spit or water before you pull it tight. A dry knot generates enough friction heat to cost you a fish.
Related terms
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The guides that use improved clinch knot and show it on real gear.
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