The Surgeon's Knot is a very popular binding knot in fishing and boating. It is the preferred knot when attaching a leader (mono or fluoro) to terminal tackle such as swivels, snaps, hooks, lures or flies.
As it can be tied with one hand, it is also known as the "One Handed Clinch". However, many anglers refer to this knot as the Uni-Knot (a misnomer).
The term Uni-knot has been used for different knots around the world and sometimes even by the same person who may not know they are two different knots. The strongest of them all is probably the Butterfly / Duncan Loop which we'll cover in another tutorial.
The Surgeon's Knot is a very strong knot and, if tied correctly, will rarely fail.
It is easily learned and only takes a few practice knots to get it right. Here's how to tie it:
1) Pass the tag end of the leader through the eye of the terminal tackle (eg. hook, lure, fly).
2) Form a loop with the tag end and make 5-6 turns around the standing line with the tag end going in the same direction as the turns (clockwise or anti-clockwise - doesn't matter).
3) Wet your fingers and hold the turns tight against the standing line while you pass the tag end back through the loop you've created by passing it around the back of your thumb (which keeps everything in place).
4) Wet the knot again if needed and pull on both lines to set.
The Surgeon's Knot is also known as: Uni-Knot or One Handed Clinch. It is not to be mistaken with the Uni Knot.
I hope you found this article helpful in learning how to tie a surgeon knot. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please don't hesitate to leave a comment below!
Check out our other fishing knots for more tips and tricks. If you're interested, feel free to visit one of our sponsors websites which are linked in the sidebar at all times or check out some products from our very own tackle shop.
Thanks for reading!
