Tips to tying an effective FG knot

[Capt. BassinLou]

I know I have been talking a lot about the FG knot lately, but I have done so simply because the knot is so darn good. I finally made a video showing how to tie it effectively, and this thread is a follow up to that video. After this thread, I will knot talk about this knot again, I promise.   

I mentioned the importance of having the proper amount of braid tension when tying the FG. But I feel like I didn't emphasize this critical point enough.

Regardless of the method one chooses to tie the FG, which is holding the braid with either your teeth or with your pinky. Having the wrong amount braid tension will result with an unsuccessful attempt right from the beginning.

The tension sweet spot is where the wraps form nice and easily. An indicator of too much tension is what people describe as the "balling effect". This is where the knots wraps begin to take the shape of a ball versus a regular long series of braided wraps that this knot is known for.

When that "balling effect" begins to happen, there are two things one can do, or must do rather. Ease off the tension, unwrap a couple of coils and resume tying with the correct tension. Or, stop tying all together and start over.

The other extreme are loose wraps. When the wraps are too loose there is too much space between the wraps so when the knot is cinched down, the wraps will over lap each other causing a deformed twisted look. This will ultimately lead to knot failure.

Best advice, when commencing the wraps, I start high and low on the braid watching the leader material slide down the braid and forming a neat wrap. If one continues the wraps too close to the "pinch point" I believe there's not sufficient sliding distance to form an effective wrap. I know this is a very technical observation, but its one of the most important steps I feel many anglers miss and do incorrectly.

I hope I didn't just ramble on on this post, but managed to help someone out. In case your interested in watching the video, click there --> Tying the FG

Thanks for reading, and best of luck. 

[J.W.]

The few times I tried the FG I wound up with the "balling" situation you were talking about. I need to learn this knot, but the few times I really tried, it took so long and the knot was so balled up, I just said forget it! 
Reading your post, I guess I was assuming the tighter the better and wound up shooting myself in the foot with too much tension on the braid.
I'll have to give it another go.

[FlatsNBay]

Great advice. There's a million videos out there about the FG knots but none of them as far as I could tell mention the causes of a balled up knot. Nice job Lou.

Coincidentally, today I was interviewing an Elite Series Pro for an upcoming article and he brought up the topic of the FG knot, He started laughing and then admitted to me that last year on tour, he had another pro tie all his FG knots for him every night for the tournament! Just shows you that even the pros have difficulty too!

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[Capt. BassinLou]

The few times I tried the FG I wound up with the "balling" situation you were talking about. I need to learn this knot, but the few times I really tried, it took so long and the knot was so balled up, I just said forget it! 
Reading your post, I guess I was assuming the tighter the better and wound up shooting myself in the foot with too much tension on the braid.
I'll have to give it another go.

Do not give up on this knot. It's a really, really good knot. Took me MANY attempts to get it right. But as you surmised, that balling effect is due to too much braid tension.  Ease off the tension just a hair, and you will see those wraps developing nicely. Good luck this time around.

[Capt. BassinLou]

Great advice. There's a million videos out there about the FG knots but none of them as far as I could tell mention the causes of a balled up knot. Nice job Lou.

Coincidentally, today I was interviewing an Elite Series Pro for an upcoming article and he brought up the topic of the FG knot, He started laughing and then admitted to me that last year on tour, he had another pro tie all his FG knots for him every night for the tournament! Just shows you that even the pros have difficulty too!

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk

Thanks bud happy to help.

[Capt. BassinLou]

Coincidentally, today I was interviewing an Elite Series Pro for an upcoming article and he brought up the topic of the FG knot, He started laughing and then admitted to me that last year on tour, he had another pro tie all his FG knots for him every night for the tournament! Just shows you that even the pros have difficulty too!

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk

That is pretty funny.

[FlatsNBay]

With Lou's help I've got it down pat. I even tied one on the water the other day in probably under 2 minutes. What worked for me was loosening up the tension on the braid a tad. I've also found that using a lot of tension pulling on the fluorocarbon with both hands to set and lock in the knot works for me. No more balling up anymore. For me it's much easier to loop the braid over the reel handle like Ott Defoe does in his video instead of holding the braid in my teeth.

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[Capt. BassinLou]

With Lou's help I've got it down pat. I even tied one on the water the other day in probably under 2 minutes. What worked for me was loosening up the tension on the braid a tad. I've also found that using a lot of tension pulling on the fluorocarbon with both hands to set and lock in the knot works for me. No more balling up anymore. For me it's much easier to loop the braid over the reel handle like Ott Defoe does in his video instead of holding the braid in my teeth.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk

Wtg Flats, I know this knot was giving you issues in the past. So happy to hear you figured it out. 

[Kal-Kevin]

Okay now I see it is just not me that sucks at this knot, I'll watch the video and see if you can show this a old man how to tie this knot. 

[Capt. BassinLou]

Okay now I see it is just not me that sucks at this knot, I'll watch the video and see if you can show this a old man how to tie this knot. 

If you have any questions  just ask.

[Kal-Kevin]

 I will Capt. but I got all my stuff packed away for the winter right now but might have to go dig some out. Thanks

[Capt. BassinLou]

I will Capt. but I got all my stuff packed away for the winter right now but might have to go dig some out. Thanks

It's a great opportunity to practice.

[FlatsNBay]

This video helped me out. For me, looping the braid over the reel handle worked easier.