KNOT HAPPY
All fishos use knots. They link your line to the reel, line to trace and trace to terminals. We use them on anchor lines, tents and tarps. Some get by with just one or two favourites while others use a wider range of lashings. We have all had a knot failure at some stage. Sometimes it’s on a snag or while casting but the worst are when you are fighting a fish.
Recently I was at Lake Awoonga. The day bite was slow, so we went into night mode. This involves anchoring near a weed bed and throwing cast after cast…all night. My fishing companions boated a few nice barra, so I knew persistence would pay off.
The second night I connected with a big fish that boiled, jumped and was gone. I wound in and studied the braid end where a length of fluorocarbon should have been knotted. The tiny tangle in the head torch beam told the story. Knot happy!
Amazingly my mate cast to the spot and retrieved my lure.
Events like this really suck. A fish you really wanted is gone thanks to your poor knotting skills! Of course, we all look for a scapegoat. Some blame “slippage”, “fatigue”, or some other reason. In a few cases the line is faulty
