Snell knot
Also called: snelled hook
Binds the line along the shank of a hook with a turned eye, so the hook stays in line with the leader.
- Use
- Line to hook or lure
- Lines
- Monofilament, Fluorocarbon
- Difficulty
- Takes practice
White: the line to your reel. Orange: the tag end, the part you move. Mirror flips the drawing for tying left-handed.
Steps
Pass about 20 cm of line through the eye from the side the point faces, so it lies along the shank.
Lay the tag end back along the shank to make a loop hanging below it. Pinch the loop and the line against the shank behind the eye.
Wind the tag end round the shank and the line lying on it, from the eye toward the bend, passing it through the loop on every turn: 5 to 8 turns, more in thin line.
Hold the turns and pull the standing line slowly so they close evenly and slide up against the eye. Pull hook and line apart to seat it, then trim the tag end.
Tips
- More turns in thin line, fewer in thick.
- Keep the turns even and side by side, not on top of each other.
Sources
Each step was checked against these written guides:
- Field & Stream, How to snell a hook
- Tackle Warehouse, How to tie a snell knot
- Mississippi Sportsman, How to snell a hook
Drawings and animation by Fishwake. We give no breaking-strength figures: published numbers differ with the line and the test.
