Line off the front of the shank or off the back ?
Im thinking front these days ?
I only ever use spade end hooks nowadays, the easiest way to tie is by using the snell knot,
Basically create a loop in yer line and place on the back of the shank of hook with the loop about 1/2 " over the end of the bend of the hook,
Now with thumb and index finger pinch the bend of the hook, take the small tag end and wrap several times or more around the shank of the hook,
Now change hands by pinching the spade of the hook and make sure that you firmly keep the wrapped line tight to the shank when you pinch the spade, at this point MOIST the bend of the hook.
Now pass the tag end through the loop and with the other hand now pinch with thumb and finger once again on the bend of the hook keeping a little pressure whilst pinching and now start to pull the main hook length line,
You'll feel the line slipping tightly as yer pinching the bend of the hook and then it will become tight
One last little tweak on the line and by gripping the hook with some small pliers and this should be job done
Wish I could do that Stuart but I know my limitations I bought some hooks for maggots( recommended on here) and I bought spade end in error. The pack contained 8 or 10 hooks I recall but only one of which managed to be tied after a fashion to my line. The rest disappeared in the mud, between the planks on the peg or about my attire
And I do have glasses!
I only ever use spade end hooks nowadays, the easiest way to tie is by using the snell knot,
Basically create a loop in yer line and place on the back of the shank of hook with the loop about 1/2 " over the end of the bend of the hook,
Now with thumb and index finger pinch the bend of the hook, take the small tag end and wrap several times or more around the shank of the hook,
Now change hands by pinching the spade of the hook and make sure that you firmly keep the wrapped line tight to the shank when you pinch the spade, at this point MOIST the bend of the hook.
Now pass the tag end through the loop and with the other hand now pinch with thumb and finger once again on the bend of the hook keeping a little pressure whilst pinching and now start to pull the main hook length line,
You'll feel the line slipping tightly as yer pinching the bend of the hook and then it will become tight
One last little tweak on the line and by gripping the hook with some small pliers and this should be job done
That's the way I do it have done for 40 yrs
I can tie a size 24 in me hands same way :thumbs:
Interesting that nobody mention hook tyers, with cold wet fingers there is no way I could be without one. 10 seconds job done, whatever size hook.
Interesting that nobody mention hook tyers, with cold wet fingers there is no way I could be without one. 10 seconds job done, whatever size hook.
Only ever used the Snell knot from being a kid after I'd learnt it and stopped tying multi single knots on top of one another That's about 50 years ago.
Once had a race with a match angler at work, fastest to tie two hooks, one his choice (24s) One my choice, 4s eyed, I still whip my eyed hooks up the shank. I'd done both of mine by the time he'd completed half of his with his hook tyer
For me there's only one way to tie a hook and that's by hand using the Snell Knot.
Use mostly eyed hooks but buy ready tied small spade hooks these days, dearer but the quality is now far better.
When I was a kid the only hooks I whipped were dubbed straight shanks tied by hand. After seeing what I considered a clumsy mess of a spade knot used by friends I vowed never to use spade ends.
That all changed when I had a trip to the river Wharf. I was watching a bloke catching big quality roach when I walked back to my mates car, I sat down as I was interested in his shotting pattern.
When he finished we had a chat. One thing he explained was his spade end that I noticed when he was showing me his rig. He convinced me that the spade with what I called an untidy knot was actually far stronger and worked just as well as dubbed if not better. That was world cup year 1966.
I've not used a dubbed hook since. If I was capable I would tie hooks by hand instead of a hook tyer, a far superior knot.
Spend time to make sure every knot is perfect whatever hook or method you use.