If you fish Rapala lures, then you need to know how to tie a Rapala Knot. I can't tell you how many people I've met who won't buy them because they don't know how to tie their own knots. Just like any other lure or line, if you don't use the right knot when attaching your lures, you are asking to lose them. This knot is easy to tie and it gets the job done.
First, lay your lure on a flat surface, hook first. Make sure there's enough line left so that you have room to tie the Rapala Knot around the shaft of the hook. Take about an inch or two of line and double it.
Now, make a loop around the shaft of the hook with the doubled line. The line should go over itself at least two or three times to form a nice, tight grip. If you're tying on an offset hook (one that has the point pointing out to one side), be sure your loop goes OVER the top of the shaft. This is so when you tighten it around the shaft, you'll have room to slide your line through the hook eye again without choking up too far on the point.
Now for tying it. You can do one of two things here: just put a simple overhand knot in where I've drawn the arrow or tie a Blood Knot in there instead. The Blood Knot will be both stronger and more secure but can be annoying to tie if you don't have a lot of line to put through the eye. If you've got enough line so that you could fit another lure on after the knot, I'd use the regular overhand knot.
If you're tying a Blood Knot, go ahead and make a loop with your doubled line a little further down the line. Put another overhand knot in that same place as before. You'll notice that I've drawn two lines surrounding where you make the second overhand knot... this is because it's important to keep those extra loops from slipping out of position for TIGHT Blood Knot.
Now pull your knots tight and slide them along the shaft until they're right against the eye of the hook. Then, take your remaining line (the tag end) and put it through both of the loops like I've drawn in there for you. Pull on this loop to tighten down your Rapala Knot. Now cut off the tag end and you're done.
Rapala lures, along with most fishing lures, need to be tied on using a Rapala Knot or something similar. To learn more about how to tie other popular types of fishing knots such as Palomar Knots and Trilene Knots (and many others), check out my extensive fishing knot section .
