The Bob Foran Knot

There aren’t too many guys you can call a “knot head” and get away with it.  Fortunately, Bob Foran isn’t one of them.  As a matter of fact, the Pure Fishing pro staffer relishes the nickname, and it is fitting, because there are few anglers who know as much about fishing lines and how to join them together.

At the recent Great Outdoor Show in Toronto, Bob set up the Pure Fishing knot machine in the Outdoor Canada Magazine lounge and it was great fun to tie up various knots and see how well they tested.

I love fishing with ultra-thin, low stretch, almost invisible, braided lines.  And while I know that I probably don’t need to add a leader, as a “confidence builder” I almost always attach a 12- to 18-inch monofilament or fluorocarbon leader using back-to-back uni-knots.

I’ve tied so many back-to-back leader-to-mainline connections that I can do them in my sleep and I was pleased that when I tested them on Bob’s knot machine that the mainline braid broke before the knot every time.

Still, I was impressed with a new knot Bob showed me, one he designed himself, that is just as easy to tie as back-to-back uni-knots and offers some additional advantages if you’re using bottom bouncers, slinkies, drop-shotting or fishing a Michigan rig.

Bob’s knot has affectionately, and appropriately, been dubbed “The Bob Foran Knot” and it is one you’d be wise to learn how to tie.

With that in mind, click on the following and I’ll show you how to do it: