I get asked countless times about the best way to join braid and fluorocarbon lines and I know of quite a few ways, all which have served me well over the years, so here's a run down of my top 3 picks when your looking to add a leader to your braided main line.

1. Uni to Uni knot: This knot was a mainstay in my boat for years and years and after tying it a few times you can become quite proficient at it. It has excellent tensile strength and the real key lies in a couple of factors... try to keep the lines fairly close in diameter, wet your knots thoroughlyfinally make sure everything is even.

When tying this not I always used 5 or 6 loops on each side and snugged them up relatively tight on each end before sliding them together... when done correctly you can trim the ends fairly close and have minimal guide noise.

Here's is a picture of the knot process:

2. Surgeon's Knot: Again, try to keep the diameters within reason to make this knot most effective... this one is quick to tie and also very dependable. I typically loop the leader through 4 times for this knot and it has performed very well, especially with the smaller pound tests and diameters.

Here is a link to an animated instruction....http://www.animatedknots.com/surgeonsjoin/index.php

3. Finally the third option which is the one that I am currently most infatuated with... this is a combination of a couple of knots that end up being joined loop to loop. By joining the loops together you essentially double the amount of line that is holding on either side making it very shock resistant and dependable.

The braid end I tie a Surgeon's Loop using 6-7 loops in the line: The following link will show it done with 3 loops. Since braid is so small in diameter I find the extra loops really reinforce the knot:

Here's the link:  http://www.animatedknots.com/surgeonsloop/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

On the fluoro or mono end I tie a fly fishing knot called the Perfection Loop... this knot is extremely quick to tie and incredibly strong. Perfect for when you are changing leaders often which is often the case around zebra muscles:

Here is the link for the animated version as well: http://www.animatedknots.com/perfection/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

Join the two loops together and cinch them tight. If your leader needs changing, simply snip one side of the fluoro loop, slid the leader out and tie a perfection loop on your new leader. No need to tie the braid loop in most instances... this will save you time in the boat which hopefully will mean more fish on the end of your line.

Tight lines and long weekends

JP DeRose