Essential fishing knots
Palomar knot
The strongest, simplest all-round knot for tying a hook, lure or swivel to your line, and the best default if you only learn one knot. Rated around 95% of line strength, and works especially well with braid, which some other knots struggle to grip.
Double about 15cm of line and pass the folded loop through the eye. Tie a loose overhand knot with the doubled line (don't tighten yet). Pass the hook or lure through the loop at the end. Moisten the knot and pull both the standing line and tag end to tighten evenly.
Grinner knot (uni knot)
Works for both mono and braid, and ties line to a hook, lure or swivel just as well as the Palomar — worth knowing as a second option, particularly useful when a Palomar is awkward to tie (small hook eyes, thick line).
Pass the line through the eye and back alongside itself, leaving a loop. Make 5-6 turns around both strands with the tag end. Thread the tag end back through the turns towards the eye. Moisten and pull the standing line to draw the knot down tight.
Blood knot
Joins two lengths of line of similar diameter, for example when adding a shock leader or joining main line to a lighter hooklength. Not the easiest knot to tie neatly in the cold or wind, but the standard choice for this job.
Overlap the two line ends by 15-20cm. Twist each end around the other line 5 times. Pass each tag end back through the gap in the middle, from opposite directions. Moisten and pull both standing lines steadily to close the knot, then trim the tags.
Loop knot
Ties a lure on with a free-moving loop rather than a fixed knot, letting the lure swim more naturally — worth using for pike and predator lures where action matters more than a rigid connection.
Tie a loose overhand knot several inches up from the tag end. Pass the tag end through the lure's eye, then back through the overhand knot. Tie a second overhand knot around the standing line, above the first. Pull the first knot down to meet the second to lock the loop size, then tighten.