By : Mark Hicks
Few anglers have had as much experience with a wider variety of fishing knots than Mark Zona, host of Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show on the Outdoor Channel and a member of Strike King’s pro staff.
“It shows what a dork I am, but I am so crazy about knots that I constantly practice tying them when I’m home watching television,” Zona said.
Zona doesn’t like trying to learn a new knot while fishing. Practicing at home teaches him how to tie each knot correctly and to do it faster and more efficiently when he gets on the water.
After decades of fishing fresh and saltwater across the country and experimenting with countless knots, Zona has settled on four essential knots for all of his fishing. Some of his choices may surprise you.
Many bass anglers tie a snell knot to a straight-shank worm hook when punching a Texas rigged bait through matted vegetation. This tactic requires a large tungsten sinker that weighs 1 ounce or more. During the hook set, the snell knot forces the hook’s point outward. This ensures that the sinker doesn’t prevent the hook from penetrating flesh.
Zona also employs a snell knot anytime he fishes a Texas rigged bait with a slow presentation. That includes casting, flipping and Carolina rigging.
“To me, a snell knot provides the best hookup ratio on earth when you’re fishing a soft plastic bait,” Zona said. “I’ve missed too many fish with a palomar and other knots.”
This isn’t to say that Zona eschews the palomar knot altogether. He ties it whenever he is fishing a moving bait with braided line, such as Strike King’s KVD Sexy Frog or Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait.
“I don’t know the correct name for this knot,” Zona said. “I call it the shark knot because I learned it from a shark guide when I was fishing in Key West. It is simply the strongest knot there is.”
He relies on this knot when fishing moving baits, such as spinnerbaits and crankbaits, with fluorocarbon line. It is also a good choice when fishing moving baits with monofilament line.
“If you tie a palomar knot incorrectly, the line can cut into itself and break when you set the hook,” Zona said. “That can’t happen with the shark knot. The harder you pull, the stronger it gets. Your line will break before that knot fails.”
Although the FG knot is challenging to tie, it can’t be beat for joining braided line to a fluorocarbon leader, Zona emphasized. It is incredibly strong and much thinner than any other knot used for this purpose.
“I’ve been tying braid to fluorocarbon for nearly 20 years,” Zona said. “I started with the double uni, went to the crazy alberto and finally graduated to the FG knot. It’s super strong and so thin it doesn’t chatter through the rod guides.”
Thanks to hours of practicing in his living room, Zona can tie any of his four essential knots quickly on the water, including the FG knot.
“Whatever knots you choose, learn how to tie them correctly,” Zona said. “Practice, practice, practice.”
