Perfection loop knot

Wayne Kohan

Wayne Kohan

Life of the Party
I've been a perfection knot user, don't recall ever having one fail, until today. Hooked up on something big, think it may have been a chinook, but it took off like a train engine. I finally got him to stop and he rolled up on the water, seemed like he was two counties over already at that time. Shortly afterward, I felt the painful ping of something letting loose, figured he popped out the hook, but after finally getting my line reeled back in, my 5 foot leader of 10# Maxima was missing entirely. It was attached to an Airflo polyleader loop to loop, both loops made with perfection knots. I tie a ton of flies on with the non-slip loop knot, in fact the fly still attached to his mouth was tied on with that knot.

I just read the Tuna 2024 thread that talks about perfection loops. Sigh..... I guess I will use the non-slip loop knot, though I will say, I have had some of those pull open in the past when using it on a lake in lighter lines and with fluorocarbon.

Let me know if there is a better knot out there.
 
Wayne Kohan said:
I've been a perfection knot user, don't recall ever having one fail, until today. Hooked up on something big, think it may have been a chinook, but it took off like a train engine. I finally got him to stop and he rolled up on the water, seemed like he was two counties over already at that time. Shortly afterward, I felt the painful ping of something letting loose, figured he popped out the hook, but after finally getting my line reeled back in, my 5 foot leader of 10# Maxima was missing entirely. It was attached to an Airflo polyleader loop to loop, both loops made with perfection knots. I tie a ton of flies on with the non-slip loop knot, in fact the fly still attached to his mouth was tied on with that knot.

I just read the Tuna 2024 thread that talks about perfection loops. Sigh..... I guess I will use the non-slip loop knot, though I will say, I have had some of those pull open in the past when using it on a lake in lighter lines and with fluorocarbon.

Let me know if there is a better knot out there.
Click to expand...
In my experience every knot fails—usually due to tying/tightening/tag problems. Not a question of if but when. To prove a point…to myself I guess…everything I landed this year has been with a perfection loop as a line-leader connection and a non-slip loop knot as a leader/tippet to fly knot.

Including:

29 albacore
2.75 catch cards of salmon
100+ src
9 steelhead
100+ trouts
A bunch of other things like flounders, sculpins, carp, panfish
1 lemon shark

Edit: Trouts and SRC numbers are estimates because the spreadsheet simply has a 1 on days if I landed one or more, and a 0 if I landed none.
 
Last edited:
Jake Watrous said:
In my experience every knot fails—usually due to tying/tightening/tag problems. Not a question of if but when. To prove a point…to myself I guess…everything I landed this year has been with a perfection loop as a line-leader connection and a non-slip loop knot as a leader/tippet to fly knot.

Including:

29 albacore
2.75 catch cards of salmon
100+ src
9 steelhead
100+ trouts
A bunch of other things like flounders, sculpins, carp, panfish
1 lemon shark
Click to expand...
color me green...
 
I think part of it is we don’t know what our knots go against under water. Being brushed against rock (abrasion) , rubbed against submerged trees/logs. Stepped on, etc. They eventually fail and at terrible times. I don’t check or replace mine as often as I should. As I have gotten older and eye sight is diminishing, even though using reader type glasses to aid in tying knots I find it a bit harder to tie knots especially in challenging conditions meaning cold, wet, and especially in windy conditions. Mind says this but fingers say nope…It sucks. I use to tie a knot and go. Now from time to time I have to start over because I missed something or didn’t do it right because the knot fails. I always test my knots. And once in a while it breaks down under my pull test. The past years I have let the guys at the fly shop do some of my knots when before I insisted I would do my own. 80% of my knots have become the canoe knot due to its simplicity. I know it’s not the best but it has done well and just fine for fish under ten pounds.




I’m about fly time on water. Not sitting in a corner behind a boulder trying to block the wind to tie a special knot while others are casting, fishing, yelling, and catching. 😉
 
I tied this knot yesterday afternoon in the comfort of my living room. So I feel it was well tied, lubricated and seated well. And I was wearing my readers when I tied it. I know I’m not nearly as good when I’m in the water fishing.
 
I’m
Wayne Kohan said:
I tied this knot yesterday afternoon in the comfort of my living room. So I feel it was well tied, lubricated and seated well. And I was wearing my readers when I tied it. I know I’m not nearly as good when I’m in the water fishing.
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i have been there. Good knot. Tied at the desk in my garage. Freaking failed later and quickly. It’s fishing. Move on and tie again. There also imperfections within mono lines too. I get a surprised knot failure at least 1 time a year. Can’t be explained. Loop knot too. I use loop knots for my butt connection on most lines.

I gave up long time ago trying to defend my knots. If it failed I failed in tying it right or it got abused (especially salt water) Just my take.
 
for Kings and steelhead leaders always used a small dab of UV to seal perfection loops when making leaders, and only used triple surgeon knots for tippet connections when on the water...anything that can break that deserves freedom.. :)
 
Jake Watrous said:
In my experience every knot fails—usually due to tying/tightening/tag problems. Not a question of if but when. To prove a point…to myself I guess…everything I landed this year has been with a perfection loop as a line-leader connection and a non-slip loop knot as a leader/tippet to fly knot.

Including:

29 albacore
2.75 catch cards of salmon
100+ src
9 steelhead
100+ trouts
A bunch of other things like flounders, sculpins, carp, panfish
1 lemon shark

Edit: Trouts and SRC numbers are estimates because the spreadsheet simply has a 1 on days if I landed one or more, and a 0 if I landed none.
Click to expand...


Sweet humble brag @Jake Watrous
 
Jake Watrous said:
lol. I guess it kind of does come across like that. I’d meant to highlight the diversity of things the much-maligned perfection loop caught without issue so far this year.

I guess maybe I should have leaned into it and have mentioned the ______, ______, and ______.
Click to expand...
A. I'm totally joking.
B. I NEED to know what ______, ______, and ______ is.
C. Ironically, my kid asked me what are all the types of fish I caught this year were.
 
I recently watched a video of a charteboat captain in AK who routinely toasts the end of the line after tying with a lighter to make a bit of a ball on the end so it can't slip through. Seems like a good practice, for knots tied at home, out of the wind.
 
Something we do not usually talk about with knot failures is the fatigue factor in those failures. In our casting, playing fish, etc. there is constant changing pressure, hinging, etc. contribute to knot fatigue which ultimately leads to a failure (lost fish). The lighter the leader the sooner that failure will occur. Frequently checking our knots and retying and even replacing the leader material will lead will reduce the numbers of fish lost to knot failure.
 
Jake Watrous said:
In my experience every knot fails—usually due to tying/tightening/tag problems. Not a question of if but when. To prove a point…to myself I guess…everything I landed this year has been with a perfection loop as a line-leader connection and a non-slip loop knot as a leader/tippet to fly knot.

Including:

29 albacore
2.75 catch cards of salmon
100+ src
9 steelhead
100+ trouts
A bunch of other things like flounders, sculpins, carp, panfish
1 lemon shark

Edit: Trouts and SRC numbers are estimates because the spreadsheet simply has a 1 on days if I landed one or more, and a 0 if I landed none.
Click to expand...
That's what I traditionally have done. Never had much of a problem until last year for albacore and this last summer in Baja...breaking at the perfection loop. Maybe I was just tying them too fast because I got so good at tying them....🤷‍♂️



😆
 
I have never broken at the perfection loop knot but at the loop. That's not a knot problem it's a line problem. It's the same for me if I use a no-slip loop knot or 3x surgeons. There are 3 loop knots I use depending on application... no-slip loop, perfection, 3x surgeon.
 
Perfection loops are good at higher line tests (12#+), but I find them much weaker than the non-slip loop in anything lighter than that. The perfection loop is crazy easy to tie, which is the only real plus. The non-slip loop is almost as quick and easy after you tie a few of them, and it's much more reliable.
 
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