https://www.sandiegofishreports.com/fishing-knots https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SCJfGSaxmWA/maxres1.jpg How to Tie the Palomar Knot The knot every deckhand will show you on your first trip out of Point Loma. Double the line through the eye, one overhand, and pass the loop over the hook. It holds close to full line strength in mono, fluoro and braid alike, and it's hard to tie wrong. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/SCJfGSaxmWA 50 2026-02-16T09:00:45-08:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PI94Yuru2nM/maxresdefault.jpg How to Tie the San Diego Jam Knot Born on this fleet. It's quick to tie with cold, wet hands, it seats cleanly in the heavy 40 to 80 lb fluorocarbon that's standard on our tuna and yellowtail trips, and unlike the Palomar you don't have to pass the whole jig through a loop. If you only learn one knot for a flylined sardine, this is it. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/PI94Yuru2nM 59 2026-02-11T15:20:01-08:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_3YDVq4K1rA/maxresdefault.jpg How to Tie the FG Knot The braid-to-leader connection for bluefin, yellowfin and the long-range boats. It's slim enough to run through the guides on a cast, so you can fish a long fluoro topshot on a braid-filled reel. Learn it at the kitchen table before the trip. A rolling deck at 3 a.m. is no place to tie your first one. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_3YDVq4K1rA 62 2026-03-13T09:01:04-07:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l_RHQ8YXTgs/maxres1.jpg How to Tie the Bimini Twist Doubles the line into a loop that keeps full line strength, which is the starting point for wind-on leaders and every serious offshore rig. The 10 and 15 day boats run it on the heavy outfits, and tournament crews build their whole system on it. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/l_RHQ8YXTgs 63 2026-05-14T18:59:32-07:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oomlJhX3Jow/maxresdefault.jpg How to Tie the Uni Knot Ties line to a hook, and as a double uni it joins two lines. When the bite is wide open and you need a fast braid-to-mono connection, two unis back to back get you fishing again long before an FG would. It works from the bay bass in Mission Bay to a 50 lb topshot. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/oomlJhX3Jow 55 2026-03-23T09:01:18-07:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Rili_CNxN1o/maxresdefault.jpg How to Tie the Improved Clinch Knot The first knot most of us learned, and still a fine one for lighter mono on a half day out of Seaforth or a morning in San Diego Bay. It loses its grip in heavy fluoro and in braid, so once you move up in line, move up to the San Diego Jam or the Palomar. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Rili_CNxN1o 53 2026-03-27T09:00:27-07:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QOCvBZdvYYk/maxresdefault.jpg How to Tie the Non-Slip Mono Knot A loop knot that lets a jig swing free instead of being cinched tight to the eye. Surface iron, yo-yo iron and knife jigs all swim better on a loop, and a loop is what lets a popper walk. Strong, simple, and tied in the heavy fluoro our jig fishermen use. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QOCvBZdvYYk 60 2026-05-14T18:42:06-07:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ths8YZElTvU/maxresdefault.jpg How to Tie the Blood Knot The classic line-to-line knot for two lines of similar diameter. It's neat and slim, so it passes through the guides, and it's the knot to know for anyone who rigs their own leaders, tapers a topshot or repairs a nick without stripping the reel. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Ths8YZElTvU 50 2026-03-20T09:00:50-07:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/THRqLcTSmVY/maxresdefault.jpg How to Tie the Dropper Loop A loop in the middle of the line, tied with nothing more than twists and a pass-through. It's the rig on every rockfish and bottom-fish trip out of San Diego: a sinker on the bottom and one or two hooks standing off the line above it. Tie the loops long enough to reach the hook, and keep them apart so they don't tangle on the drop. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/THRqLcTSmVY 50 2026-03-02T09:00:53-08:00 yes no https://i.ytimg.com/vi/13YiDUO9Dw0/maxres1.jpg How to Tie the Surgeon's Knot The easiest way to join two lines: lay them side by side, tie an overhand knot with both, and pass through twice. It handles lines of different diameters better than the Blood Knot, so it's the fix when you need a short fluoro leader on mono in a hurry, and it's the leader knot for anyone who fishes the bay or the lakes with light line. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/13YiDUO9Dw0 52 2026-02-25T09:00:03-08:00 yes no