dbofblacksouls

I use Kamasan Animal or Drennan Specimen, not tried many others to be honest. I did go through a patch of different hooks but no idea what they all were... always went back to Drennan Specimen in the end. I might give these Longshanks or these Wide Gape a look now though.

Just a word of warning, go for Mono Hair Rigs, as a Braid Hair Rig can be a nightmare for a first timer (as I found out), you'll often find the Boilie stop will have a tad excess plastic thats hard to cut of or file down that can catch the hair's loop and fray it quite badly... making it VERY hard to actually put your baits on it after a few casts... If I recall, I lost my rag with it after 20 minutes and walked a mile to the nearest tackle shop to buy some Korum Mono Hair Rigs, lol. Also use Boilies or Fake Corn... real corn comes off easily with nibbles and you won't want to be re-applying corn every 5 minutes, lol.

Personally I tie the old Loop to Loop as it's strong and adds no weight to the rig. The only time I use a swivel is the old Swivel Beads for Feeders.

lol, fished for a good few years and not once has the hook/knot ever given away. From Chub, Pike, Perch etc.. Even caught in a tree once on one those most annoying casts, that the line manages to get caught on the handle and backfire... when pulling back the 15lb line snapped after a while of fighting but the knot stayed strong and remained in place, allowing me to eventually tangle it around my hands and rip it out of the tree, taking the bark with it. I'd say the Double Knot is most underrated, or perhaps I just tie them well?

Yeah the typical Shoelace Double Knot has worked a treat for me and friends. If tied tightly with each loop on a decent line. It holds out pretty easy, even when fighting a real battler like Bream or Pike. I've not tried for Carp, but when I step up I might give the Palomar a try, i've tried it a few times before when my cousin tied it.. although it did break on a fairly average Chub, wasn't impressed. But maybe it was a fluke? I've looked it up and I'll give it a shot tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.

During learning and failing to tie Half Blood knots etc... I've began wondering why a normal Double Knot isn't recommended? I've heard: Scares Fish Off, It's Weak and It's Fiddly as excuses but haven't found any of these to be true? Many a time I've landed more fish than people with the fancy knots. Many a time their knots have given away, when mine has lasted a long pull against reeds and big fish, and they tie in seconds, unlike fancy loops which get lost in big fingers. So why the big deal with fancy knots?

lol they're even worse, 5 loops, that I have to prevent overlapping each other. It all ends up looking like a twisted line. I picked the Centauri due to the low amount of loops i'd have to hold in one hand, but i just can't do it. Looks like I may have to stick to an old fashioned double knot.

Basically I'm looking to try a knot other than a rookie's double knot (which landed me a huge Perch yesterday I might add) But still, i've been trying to tie a Centauri Knot. I've been following this guide: http://www.marinews.com/fishing/Knots%20&%20Rigging/fk_centauri.htm But i'm not having any luck at all. 99% of the time, it's too many turns to hold and my fingers being big, mess up the turns, to when I come to a final pull through, it all un-coils and I end up with a mess. OR I pull through and get the knot about 5 inches up the line and a giant loop with the hook in it. If I use any less line, it doesn't loop right, so how on earth do I tie these decent knots? Last guy I spoke to, suggested Pre-Tied.. but obviously forgot, i'd need a good knot to actually tie the pre-tie line to my line, lol Any advice, because i've been practising for weeks on end and having no luck, it's really frustrating me now.