How to Tie the FG Knot Like a Pro (Fastest Method)

A must-have skill if you’re getting into fishing in general and sport fishing, in particular, is learning how to tie fishing knots.

Although there are many fishing knots that an angler uses, it’s particularly important to learn how to tie the FG knot.

When it comes to tying the FG knot, it doesn’t matter whether you’re an experienced angler or a newbie.

Irrespective of your experience, this fishing skill is worth learning.

The Best Knot For a Braided Line: What is it?

Before delving into how to tie the FG knot, let’s get into a little bit about the FG knot and why it’s one of the best knots for a braided line.

For anyone interested in sport fishing, it is a must to learn how to tie the FG knot.

The FG knot is also referred to as the GT knot. The FG knot is one of the leader knots in the world of sport fishing.

This leader knot is renowned for being extremely secure with any fishing line.

The strength and security of a knot are significantly dependent on the type of fishing line used.

But what makes FG the best knot is that it is impressively secure with any line such as mono, a braided line, or fluorocarbon.

The GT knot or the FG knot is best-known for its strength and security when it comes to fishing for the Giant Trevally.

The predatory fish Giant Trevally is infamous for its strength.

This fish can take down birds!

Therefore, this fish can easily take down a line if the knot doesn’t hold well because of the force it can exert.

The FG Knot: A Brief History

The knot FG is also referred to as the Sebile knot as this knot was invented by Frenchman Patrick Sebile.

Amongst the plethora of fishing knots that an angler can use, the FG knot is a relatively new addition.

Did you know that FG is an abbreviation?

FG stands for iterations such as ‘fine grip’ and ‘freaking good’.

GT fisherman in Australia found this knot to be invaluable when it came to performance whilst fishing for the Giant Trevally.

The Giant Trevally is one of the strongest fish in the world.

So, GT fishermen were on the lookout for a knot with a slim profile to easily pass through rod guides.

This would maximize the casting distance while maintaining impressive accuracy.

So when Patrick Sebile invented this knot, it acquired worldwide recognition for its efficiency.

The FG knot performs extremely well in braid-to-leader knot contests.

This knot is approximately 30% stronger than most knots such as the Double Uni Knot, the Albright knot, the Bimini Twist knot, and the Crazy Alberto knot

The only thing to keep in mind about the FG knot is that this knot is a little more difficult to tie than traditional knots such as the Uni Knot and the Double Uni Knot.

However, with the right FG knot method, FG knot tutorial, and adequate practice, it will take you (irrespective of your level of expertise or experience) less than a minute to tie.

Learn How to Tie The FG Knot

Although there are several methods that an angler can use to tie the FG knot, the three methods delineated here will help you tie this knot in less than a minute.

However, there is something to remember before delving into learning to tie the FG knot. Before tying an FG, you need to master tying half hitches.

1) Tying Half Hitches: Step-by-step instructions

As already mentioned, learning how to tie half hitches perfectly is key to learning how to tie a GT knot properly.

A lot of the time, people face difficulty in tying FG knots because they haven’t practiced tying half hitch knots first.

When you can flawlessly tie half hitches, implementing any of the three FG knot methods mentioned here can be executed in less than a minute!

It’s important to learn how to effectively tie hitch knots because these knots are used recurrently when you’re tying an FG. Implement the steps given as follows to flawlessly tie half hitch knots:

• Firstly, you need to wrap the fishing line around the support.
• After you wrap the line, you will see that a loop has formed. Now, push the tag end through this loop.
• Create tension by pulling upon the tag end. Your half hitch knot is now successfully complete.

Tying half hitch knots require some practice and if you want some visual guidance, there are several video tutorials that can refer to for tying hitch knots.

2) FG Knot: Method 1

The essential steps for tying a simple FG knot have been delineated as follows:

• Firstly, you must place the braid vertically over the fluoro leader. So, the fluoro leader will be in a horizontal position and the braid must be in the vertical position. While positioning the braid, make sure that you have the adequate line to tie the FG knot (the knot has to be decent in size).
• After positioning the braid properly, stretch the braid to make it tight and create tension. Then the fluoro leader has to be wrapped under one side followed by the other side.
• Continue wrapping the braid around the leader till 12 to 15 double wraps have been formed.
• The wraps that have been formed Should now be locked and secured. For this, you need to use a hitch knot.
• After making the hitch knot, pull the tag end of the fluoro leader line for tightening the wraps.
• The knot will be completed by making half hitches along both of the fishing lines as well as around the braid.
• To make a final locking knot, make three-turn half hitches.
• To maintain tension and stretch, after the knot has been completed, remember to cut off the tag end of both fishing lines.

This FG knot method is easy to execute and for further assistance, just refer to the video tutorial given as follows.

3) FG Knot: Method 2

This FG knot method is quite similar to the aforementioned method.

However, this FG knot method has some small changes which make it easier for tying the FG knot.

This second FG knot method is popularly referred to as the teeth tension method.

The essential steps to tie the FG knot following the teeth tension method have been delineated as follows:

• The first thing you have to do is to use your teeth for biting down on the end of the braided line. To do this, use your back teeth. While biting down on the braided line, make sure to slowly lean the rod away from yourself for applying steady tension on the fishing line as you work.
• Once you establish enough tension in the braided line, the leader has to be threaded on the braid. To thread the leader on the braided line, make sure that one hand is holding the braid coils or wraps that are being made by you.Use your other hand to move the leader around from one side to the other.
• The braided line coils must be tight enough to hold both fishing lines together effectively.
• Wrap the braided line coils around the leader.
• After this, tie a single hitch knot for maintaining tension and to prevent them from unraveling or loosening in any way.
• The hitch knot can be made by making a loop at the braided line’s tag end and then wrap it around the main fishing line.
• After that, you have to pull the braided hitch tightly into the wraps of the braided line. Then tie another hitch knot to close the same. At this point, the coils of the braided line must sit tightly in the outer portion of the leader so that the braid wraps may be locked down.
• Now you must make sure that you are applying consistent and steady tension to the knot so that the braid coils can dig grooves into the leader.
• Once the braid coils have been locked in place, you can cut off the leader’s tag end. However, at this point, you need to make sure that there’s still enough line left to tie two single half hitches so that the top of the FG knot looks smooth. This is done to ensure that the line doesn’t get stuck at any point on any floating debris.
• After this, cut the tag end of the braided line and your FG knot is complete.

Refer to the video tutorial to get further step-by-step assistance to tie the FG knot following the teeth tension method.

4) FG Knot: Method 3

This FG knot tying method makes use of both hands.

The essential steps for tying an FG knot by using both hands have been delineated as follows:

• The first thing you will do is open the loop in the line (braided line).To do this, pass it over your thumb and index finger. This creates a triangle. In this step, ensure that you’re maintaining tension so that the line is tight.
• After you’ve created the triangle, put your middle finger inside it. Doing this will hold the fishing line mono or fluoro leader in place.
• Maintain consistent pressure on the braided line around your thumb and finger. Pull off the adequate line from the fluoro leader spool. The line should be long enough to be able to run up over your knee from the ground.Place your foot on the line so that it remains tight and steady.
• Now you need to use your middle finger to hold the end of the line. Hold the line there before you reach for it from the top. Grab the line straight and bring the line straight up through the loop.
• After you’ve brought up the line straight through the loop, wrap the braided line down the side of the loop while you’re still holding onto it (with your middle finger). Reach from the top side to hold it and pull it up.
• After the loop must be wrapped down the other side. Hold it with your middle finger once again.
• This is how the line needs to be weaved while you maintain tension. Now the leader must be given a few pulls. This is done to ensure that the braid coils are forming tightly.
• Continue the weaving process till the length of the weave is about half to three-fourths of an inch long. If the line is quite light, the weave can be made longer. If it’s a heavy line, make the weave shorter.
• You can then let go of the braided line by holding the point which is the junction at which the three lines are touching.
• Now you need to pull the braided line that is going towards the rod for adding tension. Allow the braid tag end to just hang.
• Make a half hitch (around the leader) using the braided line’s tag end while maintaining tension on the leader. Make sure to pull the tag end properly so that it’s tight.
• Make a few more (about 6 to 8) half hitches. After that, grab the leader and the braid and pull them in the opposite direction as hard as you possibly can. This will help lock down both the hitches and the coils in the FG knot.
• When it comes to trimming the leader, try and trim it as close as you possibly can, to the FG knot.
• Hold the braid tag end and then make three additional half hitches for closing off the knot.
• Now you can test the sturdiness of the knot by pulling (as hard as possible) both the sides in the opposite direction. The knot should slip if it is strong enough.

Refer to the video tutorial to get further step-by-step assistance to tie the FG knot.

FG Knot: The Advantages (over Traditional Knots Like The Double Uni Knot)

There are many advantages to learning how to tie the FG knot and utilizing it in your fishing adventures.

There are several reasons why any angler considers the FG knot to be one of the most popular knots.

Let’s look at some of the key advantages of using the FG knot over other knots such as the Uni Knot connection, Bimini Twist knot, Double Uni Knot, the Albright knot, and so on:

• This leader knot is considered to be the knot with the slimmest profile when it comes to connecting a braid and a mono leader or a fluoro leader. This slim connection is what enables any angler to reel their leader or braided line through rod guides with ease. The thinner the connection (mono connection or fluoro connection), the higher the possibility that the knot won’t suddenly snag or break in the rod guides.The uni knot connection in comparison to the FG knot connection is twice as thick as the latter.
• The FG knot has the highest breaking strength in comparison to traditional knots such as the uni knot and the double uni knot. The FG can deal with weights as high as 20-23 lb whereas the double uni can only withstand weights up to 17lb.
• Almost any seasoned angler is well-aware of the fact that if a light braid is tied to a heavy mono leader, the light braid will inevitably slip underneath the mono connection. A lot of anglers double the braid by tying a knot called the Bimini Twist or a Spider Hitch knot. These knots can be easily replaced by the FG knot.
• An FG knot is any day stronger than the fishing line and this knot doesn’t curl when tied to a fluorocarbon leader.
• It is also great for preventing the fishing line from getting tangled around or wrapped around the lure when used.

Tips for Tying The FG Knot

There are some common mistakes that anglers make when it comes to tying the FG knot which negatively impacts the efficiency of this fantastic knot.

Keeping those common mistakes in mind, here are some helpful fishing tips to implement when tying this knot along with other fishing tips.

• Not tightening the FG knot properly is one of the most common mistakes made by anglers. If the knot isn’t adequately tightened before the leader’s tag end is cut off, then the braid will fail to make proper grooves in the mono or fluoro leader and the knot will not be locked into place. As a result, the coils end up sliding off. So, ensure that the knot is tightened properly before cutting off the tag ends.
• If you’re confused about how tightly the FG knot has to be locked into the mono leader or the fluoro leader, compare it to the tightness of a Chinese finger trap.
• Half hitches can be tied by rotating the braided line either in the opposite direction or the same direction. To close the knot, you can make a chain of single half hitches, double hitches, or triple hitches.
• To avoid the situation where you lose your catch, remember that keeping tension and pressure that is consistent or steady is essential, on the fishing line from the start to the end is absolutely essential.