Top Shot

When at home, I do the Alberto Knot.  If I'm trying to re-tie on the water, I do the UNI-UNI.

Not a huge braid fan, but the strongest and sleekest braid/mono connection I've mastered is a Bimini twist to an improved Bristol.

Not a huge braid fan, but the strongest and sleekest braid/mono connection I've mastered is a Bimini twist to an improved Bristol.

If I am tying at home for pelagic fishing from a boat, bimini-albright or bimini-improved bristol. If I am tying on the water in a kayak, double uni. To tell you the honest truth, I have never had a double uni break under real kayak fishing conditions although I never push my drag past 40%. The fish I have broken off broke the leader from abrasion on the mouth, rocks or cheek. For nor-cal kayak fishing, I think the double uni should work fine. You have to remember that after 3-4 pounds of drag, the fish tows the boat so your knots are never pushed that hard with the exception of a ling cod hunkered down in a hole. In those situations the leader usually breaks from rock abrasion not knot failure. I really like the double uni because it is small and compact so you can cast it through the guides really easily.

Boat fishing for pelagics however puts maximum stress on knots. I would use one of the bimini options.

Last year when we fished yellowfin and bluefin we used the albright knot.

For big pelagic fish like Tuna and Yellowtail, I serve the top shot inside hollow braid spectra.  It produces a grip on the line like the Chinese finger trap and eliminates a knot which can fail.  I crimp the hooks making it a completely knotless system.  For fishing up here its overkill.  I double the braid and do the alberto knot.

All this knot talk.  This is why I really considered trying hollow braid, where there is a splice using a "fid" .  Cost is high, would probably be impossible to do OTW, but no knot!

In 10yrs of fishing norcal from a kayak, I have never used or needed a top shot.
Maybe if I was fishing albies from a boat. Or fishing tuna in socal.
But that's just me. And I like to keep it simple.

In 10yrs of fishing norcal from a kayak, I have never used or needed a top shot.
Maybe if I was fishing albies from a boat. Or fishing tuna in socal.
But that's just me. And I like to keep it simple.

Are you using straight braid or straight mono? Straight mono sounds reasonable but I can't imagine using straight braid directly to a bait.

Back in my bass fishin' days I'd direct tie a few things to braid. One example is tossing frogs up onto a thick weed mat. Fish can't really see the line OR the frog, they just attack because the vibrations and movement mimic a crawling or hopping along the mat. Heavy braid was needed to drag fish out of the muck or slide them in on top of it, and there was no need for mono.

Braid to a spro barrel swivel to mono leader (3 or 4ft).

Blood is all I can get to work.  I tried last week, while at home before heading out to tie on the Alberto Knot, but no luck, broke on tightening (4 tries, and with magic spit  ).

This is my first season with braid-- definitely looks like a great line for froggin.

Which line did you loop, and which one did you twist?  Works easiest when you loop the mono, and wrap the braid.  Only do 6 wraps up and 6 down.  Takes some practice, but works great once you learn it.

Depends on the application.

Here's some situations I typically come across:

30# Braid 15# mono - FG or Alberto Knot
4# Braid 6# mono - Alberto or Uni Knot
40# Braid 20# mono - Alberto Knot
80# Braid 50# mono - Bimini to Albright

With applications that have a larger connecting knot I'll usually tie a finisher, also known as a "lock knot"

Roland

+1 for the Alberto. I use it to join 40# braid to either 30# or 40# flouro when jigging for lingcod. It has always held up to 100% of the line strength, and runs through the guides easily. I tie a improved clinch knot to my snap>jighead that holds at 95% strength. When i get badly snagged, I lose my jig but do not lose the leader.

http://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/alberto-knot/

I recently tried the Alberto for the first time and I like it.  It'll be me new goto knot or my top shots.