Tying the Palomar Knot

By R. Karl

Often mistakenly called the Palmer Knot, the Palomar Knot is arguably one of the best knots to know how to tie – especially for the avid fisherman. It is an extremely easy knot to tie, exceptionally strong, and very popular with bass fishermen for tying on jigs and worm hooks. It’s also the only knot that will work with Fire Line®. I’ve been told that it is somewhat awkward to tie when using lures with treble hooks, but it is the knot of choice for many anglers I know – including the owner of the resort I frequent in the summer.

To illustrate the tying of the Palomar knot, I have taken the liberty of crafting an insanely large “hook” from a coat hanger, and then using braided nylon clothesline so that the steps of tying the knot can be more easily seen and followed.

	The first step is to double about 4 – 6 inches of line (don’t skimp) and pass the loop through the eye of the hook.
	I’ve found that although it doesn’t seem to make any difference, it works best to pass this loop through the “front” of the eye of the hook to start.
	Let the hook hang loose and then tie an overhand knot in the doubled line.
	Avoid twisting the line when tying and don't over-tighten the knot at this point. Make sure that there is an ample portion of the loop remaining.
	Pull the loop of line far enough to pass it over the front end of the hook. (From the second photo above, if you start by passing the original loop through the “back” of the eye of the hook, you would now pass the loop from the overhand knot over the back end of the hook.)
	Make sure the loop passes completely over the hook.
	To tighten the finished knot, pull the tag end while holding the standing line. Clip the tag end. Note: The “tag” end is the end of the line not leading to the fishing reel.
	That’s it. That’s the Palomar knot in a few easy steps.

It has been said that this knot can be easily tied in the dark. For me, it begs the question: “What the heck are you doing fishing in the dark for? Didn’t you catch your limit during the day?” Just kidding… In any case, I hope that this gives you yet another method of attaching a hook or lure to your line. I also hope that it helps you to catch and release more fish. Good fishing… and I’ll see you On the Lake.