How to Tie a Leader to a Main Line (Braided Fishing Line or Monofilament Fishing Line) Using a Uni to Uni Knot

In this article, I am going to teach you how to tie a leader to braided fishing line or monofilament fishing line. But first, we would like to teach you why using 100% fluorocarbon leader is essential to catching more fish.

In our humble opinion, any angler using braided fishing line should also be using 100% fluorocarbon leader. Why you might ask? It's harder for the fish to see, more abrasion resistant making it harder for fish to break off on structure, and fluorocarbon leader provides superior knot strength over braided line which is known to slip. This means landing more fish, which SHOULD BE every angler's end goal. We all want to land that next personal best (PB) catch, and we do that by capitalizing on opportunities and landing as many big fish as possible. And we make the most of those opportunities by preparing well, and tying a leader is one of the many ways anglers prepare to go out and catch big fish. So on to how to tie a leader...

I will be using my personal favorite knot of choice to teach you how to tie a leader to your main line (braided fishing line or monofilament fishing line), and that is the uni to uni (or double uni) knot. I like this knot because it is simple, has a very high breaking strength, and it is very easy to teach others. So how to tie a leader using a uni to uni (or double uni) knot...

  1. Hold the lines parallel to each other.

How to Tie a Leader 1

Start by holding your braided line and 100% fluorocarbon leader parallel between your left index finger and thumb. I like to start with my braided line, so I hold my braid above my fluoro to begin.

 

  1. Create first loop.

 Use your right index finger and thumb to create a loop with your braided line, and then pinch the loop between your left index finger and thumb like so... (I like to pinch the tag from the loop behind the braid and fluoro already pinched in my left hand)

 

  1. Thread braid through loop.

Use your right index finger and thumb again to thread the braid through the loop you just created.

 

  1. Begin wrapping braid through the loop.

 

Begin to wrap your braid around the fluorocarbon leader and loop you just made. I typically will wrap my braid 6-8 times depending on the size of the braid. For this exercise, I am using 65# Distance Braided Fishing Line, which is rather thick so I only used 6 wraps. (If you use mono instead of fluorocarbon, you can use 4-5 wraps on both unit knots).

 

  1. Tighten the first half of your uni knot.

 

 

  1. Flip to start tying second uni knot with the 100% fluorocarbon leader

 

At this point I flip the line so that the fluorocarbon leader is on top and the newly formed knot on the braid side is pinched between my right index finger and thumb.

 

  1. Create a loop with the 100% fluorocarbon leader.

 

I then begin the process again by creating a loop with the 100% fluorocarbon leader like so...

 

  1. Thread fluoro through loop and begin wrapping.

 

I will then wrap the fluoro around the braid and loop exactly four times. Due to the thickness of the fluoro, it does not need to be wrapped as many times as the braided fishing line. (It really doesn't matter what size fluoro leader I use, I always wrap the fluoro four times.)

 

  1. You then will want to tighten your second uni knot.

 

  1. Admire how far you've come.

At this point, you will have two uni knots across from each other with a little bit of extra line in between.

 

  1. Synch your knots together!

 

I like to wet my braid and fluoro with my mouth at this point, and then will synch the two knots together. (I was told long ago by a more experienced fisherman than myself that the saliva helps lubricate the knot which helps the two knots synch together better. For some reason I never doubted him, and I must that my knots have always performed very well.)

 

  1. Cut your tag ends.

 

I like to cut my tags very close to the knot. I make sure that I synch the knot down very well first so that the knot won't slip, and then I will cut the tag ends as close to the knots as possible. For less experience anglers, you may want to leave a little bit of a tag end until you get the hang of synching down your uni to uni (or double uni) knots.

So now you know how to tie a leader to a main line (braided fishing line or monofilament fishing line) using a uni to unit (or double uni) knot.