I get asked this question probably more than anything else when it comes to knots. I also know when it comes to knots, it can easily turn into a Ford-Chevy-Dodge-like argument that never ends. I’m pretty sure I tried them all, but this is one knot that has never, EVER failed or slipped on me. I don’t think I own any rod/reel combos without superline (braid) on them. I use superlines for everything from walleye trolling, kokanee trolling, jigging and even finesse fishing for Bonneville whitefish or for casting lures for bass. This video shows the knot being tied with THICK mono and braid. Tying the knot becomes more difficult with lighter lines (20lb braid tied to 4lb mono) since the entire knot is very limber and you have to hold things carefully with your fingers as to avoid making a mess.
Modified Alberto Knot | More Stronger This Way | Popular Knot in Mexico
For anyone interested, there’s a NEW Nanofil on the market…
That line looks like a Chinese knock-off to me. Even the English writing on the spool ("super thinner") is incorrect. I’d be wary of buying it for sure. At least with Berkley there may be some quality control? The new stuff ("Forward") by Berkley is pretty good stuff and I’ve used it to replace the Nanofil that wore out on several of my reels. I’d be interested to know if anyone orders this. It is from Ali Express, which is similar to Temu, etc.
I follow the K.I.S.S. principle and use mono for pretty much everything. Many years go I tested a bunch of braid to mono knots and measured the break strength. The best was ~60%. I use braid for jigging rockfish off the coast of Washington, otherwise it’s mono. Trolling walleye behind planer boards, kokanee with downriggers, etc, mono is simpler and also stretches a bit which acts like a shock absorber. Feels much better to me.
I’m a mono guy through and through,Braid is dificult to cut can’t bite it with my teeth. And I break very few fish off. But when a tangle happens trolling or get hung up on the bottom and break off I can get back to fishing more quickly. I really think other than strength there and a little casting distance there is no advantage to braid or other super lines.
THE main advantage is feel. With braid, I swear I can feel a fish LOOKING at my lure. Mono is fine, but that stretch means that you never detect bites that would be obvious with braid.
The technically minded would also say that braid being so much thinner in a given pound test, it lets you troll deeper, bows less in current, and takes up less room on a reel spool.
I’ve used the Alberto, the Yucatan, the Uni-Uni, and the Red Phillips. The Yucatan is possibly the easiest to tie, but is a bit bulkier. The Reverse Yucatan is slimmer but harder to tie. (All can be found on YT)
The Yucatan ends up with the mono coiled over the braid. The reverse has braid over mono. If they are both nearly the same diameter, that may be moot. If I’m tying at home I’ll use the Alberto. Out on a rocking, windy boat, the Yucatan.
I have also moved away from braid/leader on my casting rods with micro guides, because the knot hangs up on a cast and makes birdsnests. Larger guides might be fine. I’ve gone to straight YoZuri Copolymer on those. A crappie rod or two get plain mono. Otherwise, they all get braid.
The FG is thought to be the Cadillac of braid to fluoro/mono knots and I agree. However, for me, it’s a royal pain to tie well. Therefore, I’ve gone with the crazy Alberto. It easy and fast to tie and it has rarely failed me. I like how the braid protects the leader. I also re tie it before each trip. I use it on my micro guide rods as well with no backlash even with my 50 lb braid to 20 lb fluoro. Maybe it’s my casting style, who knows?
At the very least, my casting distance is hurt when I hear that "dit dit dit dit" of the knot going through those micro guides. And if it hangs up even a trifle…backlash city. I like long leaders, and so that knot has to go through all the guides every time, both out and in. It was a good plan to go to a copolymer line. I find that copolymer is neutral density, so it doesn’t tend to float or sink. It’s slicker than braid, knots well, is tough, and cheap.
I said above that I tie the Alberto, but after watching a video, I find that it’s actually the Albright. And if I have some handy, I’ll apply a drop of super glue.
What superline do you prefer?
I must have watched the wrong video, I seen uni-uni and palomar knots which are the ones I have always liked since I started fishing braid… I have a hard time remembering how to do a knot when it’s new to me, so I’ll probably stick with these two since they have always treated me well… Fun to always see if there is something better out there, but I always like easy to tie and still strong over super strong and impossible to tie… Just me, I things simple… Later J
Here ya go…
Thank you Rocky and Scott, I’ve used that one before, and it doesn’t look too hard to remember to tie it, so i’ll try it again and see what I think, it looks smaller than the uni knots… Here’s my question back to everyone, after fishing catfish and losing hooks occasionally I started to get into a habit of not using leaders anymore and that has carried over to all of my other fishing, have you guys really noticed that much difference in catch rates when you use leader over just taking the braid all the way to the hook? I’m still catching fish and seems like the same rate as before when I was using the leader, only difference is when I get snagged and pull hard to get my hook off, instead of the leader breaking I usually drag back a lure with a bent hook… Might just be an eye thing where I don’t like to take my reading glasses with me fishing so I can see to tie knots… bad enough I have to take my other glasses to drive with… But I guess I could rig things up at home before I go out if it was going to be a benefit, but other than the line ends easier to get through the hook eye, I’m not sure how much the leader is helping me… Let me know your thoughts on this topic? J
My thoughts on the leader are, the location I’m fishing, in really clear water it can for sure make a difference in using a leader but in murky or stained water it isn’t as important. I don’t think catfish care either way but sometimes trout will notice the difference and panfish can notice the difference in clear water for sure. It will be interesting to hear what others think.
Catfish, not so much. You could probably use a chain. But fish that are more sight oriented, definitely. And water clarity does indeed matter.
Here are three more easy knots: https://youtu.be/mbUS8A9_lGk?si=qRWZwctVY8uSPBhD
The third one is a clever way to tie the old reliable Blood Knot.
I use a variety. On my "light" (finesse) rods I was a die hard for Nanofil, but they don’t make it any longer. So, I switched to Berkley "Forward" line. It is very close to Nanofil but wears better. On my trolling rods I’m using Spiderwire Stealth as well as Suffix 832. Haven’t tried the Berkley X9 but I may. The Suffix is too rough for my liking. I literally have one Abu Baitcaster spooled with the Original Spiderwire that I bought in 1993 or 1994 and at that time it cost me $24 and people thought I was crazy for spending that much. However, that line is now over 30 years old and I still can’t break it without a glove on my hand, it was 6lb diameter and 30lb test.
I’ve tried it too without a leader and I’m not a fan…most of the time. For catfish fishing, it would not matter due to cloudy water. But it definitely affected my catches at Bear Lake when fishing for whitefish. Fluorcarbon is nearly invisible, but the braids look like a rope in the clear water. I found the same thing while casting for bass at Hyrum and Newton. The braid is easily seen right down to the lure, especially when using top water lures. Not to mention, when you do get snagged, if you have a leader, then the leader will typically break and all you lose is a few feet of leader material. Without a leader, it is difficult to tell where the line will break and you may lose 50’ of line or more if it breaks up near the surface when you are jigging in deep water. Braid is not cheap, so I’ll continue to use my relatively clear leader.
I went through the braid vs mono decision many years ago when gearing up for trolling tuna off the coast of Washington. The choice of what reels to buy depends on which type of line one uses, as mono requires larger reels than does braid. So I bought a couple of [color=#333333][size=small][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]spools of braid, 50# and 65# braid. I tried every known braid to mono knot I could find, and not one of them broke anywhere near the braid’s rated strength. Every one broke at the braid, none of the mono broke.[/font][/size][/color]
[color=#333333][size=small][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]The vast majority of albacore fishermen have migrated to smaller reels with high drag ratings. I choose 6/0 Penn Senators spooled with 50# mono and a couple of Daiwa LD30s at first. I later switched to three Daiwa SLT 50Ws spooled with 60# Big Game and a couple of Shimano Tiagra 30Ws spooled with 50# BG. The 50Ws would not look out of place on the front of a Jeep. Here’s what that looks like:[/font][/size][/color]
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[size=small]We trolled up to 7 lines, 5 on rod and reel plus 2 handlines off the rear cleats. We have hooked up 6 lines at once and landed 5 of them.[/size]
[color=#333333][size=small][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Trolling multiple lined with braid can lead to more crossed lines and tangles, which means you have a real mess on your hands. Mono tangles are no drama affairs, and mono is much better on your hands.[/font][/size][/color]
[color=#333333][size=small][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Vertical jigging deep is the only application where I think braid has much to offer over mono. In October 2024 we went on a long range BFT trip out of San Diego. We caught the vast majority of our fish at night, dropping down to 300’ and reeling up fast. We limited the boat, which was 6 fish/man. I can see braid there, but not for local fishing.[/font][/size][/color]
