Catch Report

Also called the double uni. Strong, easy and reliable. The best all-round line-to-line knot.

1. Lay the two ends side by side, overlapping by about 15 cm (6 in).
2. Take the end of line A, fold it back to make a loop lying along both lines.
3. Wrap it 5–6 times around both lines, passing through the loop each time.
4. Wet it and pull the tag end to close the knot. Don't fully tighten yet.
5. Repeat with the end of line B in the opposite direction.
6. Pull the two main lines apart so the two knots slide together. Pull hard, then trim the tags to 2–3 mm.

Joining braid to mono? Give the braid side 8–10 turns because braid is slippery.

Neat and slim for joining two lines of a similar diameter. Not good for braid.

1. Overlap the two ends by about 15 cm.
2. Twist end A around line B 5–7 times, then bring it back and poke it through the gap where the lines first cross.
3. Twist end B around line A 5–7 times the other way and poke it through the same gap from the opposite side.
4. Wet it and pull both main lines steadily so the turns bed down evenly. Trim.

The fastest join when your fingers are cold. A bit bulky, so it's best for hooklinks and leaders rather than knots that go through the rod rings.

1. Lay the lines side by side, overlapping by 15 cm.
2. Treat the two as one line and tie a simple overhand knot.
3. Pass the whole end (tag plus line) through the loop a second time. Go three times for braid.
4. Wet it and pull all four ends tight together. Trim.

Joins lines of very different thickness, such as 12 lb main line to a 50 lb shock leader, or braid to fluoro.

1. Fold the end of the heavier line back on itself to make a loop about 5 cm long.
2. Push the lighter line through the loop, leaving about 25 cm to work with.
3. Wrap the light line back over all three strands 10–12 times, working towards the end of the loop.
4. Pass the tag back out through the loop on the same side it went in.
5. Wet it, slide the wraps snug against the loop end and pull everything tight. Trim both tags.

The slimmest braid-to-leader knot. It flies through the rings for long-range casting. It takes practice.

1. Keep the braid tight (clip it to the reel or hold it in your teeth).
2. Lay the leader across the braid and weave the braid around the leader, crossing over and under alternately, 20 times in total.
3. Pinch the weave and tie a half hitch around both lines to lock it.
4. Pull it tight hard. The weave should grip the leader and go slightly see-through.
5. Trim the leader tag, then finish with 4–6 half hitches around the braid only. Trim the braid.

When you cast big leads hard, the line takes the shock. A crack-off is dangerous and leaves a lead and line in the lake.

Rule of thumb: 10 lb of breaking strain per 1 oz of lead. A 4 oz lead needs a 40 lb leader.

Make the leader long enough for 6–8 turns round the spool when you're ready to cast. Join it with a double grinner, an Albright or an FG, and sit the knot at the back of the spool so it doesn't catch your finger.

1. Double 15 cm of line and push the loop through the eye.
2. Tie a loose overhand knot with the doubled line, leaving the hook or swivel hanging in the loop.
3. Pass the loop over the whole hook or swivel.
4. Wet it and pull the main line and tag together. Trim.

The best knot for braid main line to a swivel or lead clip.

1. Pass the line through the eye and bring 15 cm back alongside the main line.
2. Fold the tag back to make a loop over both lines.
3. Wrap the tag through the loop and round both lines 5–6 times (8 for braid).
4. Wet it, pull the tag to close the knot, then pull the main line to slide it down to the eye.

1. Pass the line through the eye and twist the tag around the main line 5–7 times.
2. Push the tag through the small loop next to the eye, then back through the big loop you've just made.
3. Wet it and pull it tight. It can slip with braid or fluoro, so use a palomar or grinner for those.

For a loop on the end of a hooklink so it can go on a quick-change swivel or a ring swivel.

1. Fold the end of the line back to make a doubled section.
2. Take the loop end round behind the doubled line, then back through the first turn, so it makes an "8".
3. Wet it, pull it tight and trim. Use a baiting needle in the loop to set its size.

You need: about 25 cm of hooklink (coated or supple braid, 15–25 lb), a wide-gape or curve-shank hook, a baiting needle, a boilie stop, and shrink tube or a line aligner.

1. Tie a small overhand loop in one end of the hooklink. This is the hair loop.
2. Thread your bait onto the loop with the baiting needle and lock it with a boilie stop. Doing this first sets the hair length exactly.
3. Push the other end through the hook eye from the point side, so the hair hangs down the back of the shank.
4. Set the hair length so the bait hangs about one bait width below the bend.
5. Hold the hair against the shank and wrap the hooklink tightly down the shank 7–10 times towards the point, trapping the hair. Stop roughly level with the barb.
6. Pass the end back through the eye from the point side again and pull it firm.
7. Tie your loop or swivel on the other end (figure-of-eight loop or grinner) and cut to the length you want, usually 15–20 cm.
8. Finish with shrink tube or a line aligner over the eye. Steam shrink tube with a kettle to curve it slightly towards the point.

Where the hair leaves the shank changes how the rig works. Opposite the point gives an aggressive turn, near the bend is safer for fish, and halfway down the shank is a good middle ground.

1. Tie the hair to a tiny rig ring (or a small loop) instead of a fixed loop.
2. Slide the ring onto the hook shank before you whip the knotless knot.
3. Whip the knotless knot as normal, but stop the turns 3–5 mm above the ring, so it can slide.

When a carp tries to blow the bait out, the bait slides away up the shank and the hook stays in the mouth.

1. Use stiff fluoro or a stiff boom (15–25 lb). Thread it through the eye from the point side.
2. Whip a knotless knot 4–6 turns, then pass the tag back through the eye.
3. Slide a small rig ring onto the tag, then thread the tag through the back of the eye, leaving a "D" shape along the back of the shank.
4. Blob the tag end with a lighter so it can't pull through. The ring slides freely on the D.
5. Tie the pop-up to the ring with floss, or use a bait screw.

1. Tie a knotless knot with the hair leaving the shank roughly opposite the point.
2. Finish by passing the tag back through the eye from the back, not the front, so the hooklink comes off the point side of the eye.

This makes the hook sit at a very aggressive angle, so it's hard for a carp to spit out. It works best with wafters and light bottom baits.

You need: a curve-shank hook (size 4–6), a hook bead or shrink tube, a size 11 quick-change (ronnie) swivel, a rig ring, a pop-up, and a 7–10 cm stiff boom (20–25 lb).

1. Slide a hook bead or shrink tube over the point onto the bend of the shank. This makes the hook kick.
2. Thread the hook onto the quick-change swivel's clip and close it.
3. Tie the pop-up to the rig ring on the swivel with floss. It should sit about 1 cm above the hook eye.
4. Tie the stiff boom to the other end of the swivel.
5. Add putty or a shot to the boom, 3–5 cm from the hook, so the hook just sinks.

The hook spins freely, so it turns into the lip from any direction. Check the point after every fish.

1. Cut 5–10 cm of stiff chod filament (25 lb). Put a slight curve in it with steam.
2. Thread a curved chod hook on through the eye. Slide on a rig ring and tie a small blob or knot to form a D, as on a D-rig.
3. Blob or tie a small loop at the other end so it can go on a ring swivel.
4. Fish it helicopter style: the swivel runs on the leader between two beads, 30 cm–1 m above the lead.

Fish safety: the top bead must be able to pull off the end of the leader if the main line breaks. Never glue it or fix it in place.

1. Tie a small loop at the end of a coated braid hooklink and slide a rig ring onto it.
2. Pass the hook point through the loop so the loop sits on the shank, with the ring on the back.
3. Thread the hooklink through the back of the eye and add a shrink tube kicker.
4. Mount the bait on the rig ring. To change a blunt hook, slide the loop off and put a new hook in.

1. Make a short stiff "hook section" (about 5 cm of 25 lb boom) with a D-rig ring for the pop-up.
2. Join it to a 15–20 cm stiff boom with a rig ring or a small swivel, so it hinges.
3. Fish it on a lead clip, with putty on the boom so the pop-up sits about 5 cm off the bottom.

Fish find it very hard to blow out, but it can tangle. Use a PVA nugget over the hook when you cast.

1. Tie a 10 cm stiff boom to the swivel.
2. Join a 5–8 cm section of supple braid to the end of the boom with a double grinner, or with a figure-of-eight loop through a ring.
3. Tie the hook section in the braid with a knotless knot.

The stiff section stops tangles when you cast, and the supple end lets the bait move naturally.

1. Find the depth with a marker or plumbing rod.
2. Tie a hooklink of thin zig line or fluoro (8–12 lb) about three-quarters of the depth long.
3. Use a small wide-gape hook (size 8–10) with a piece of zig foam on a short hair. Black, yellow and red all work.
4. Fish it on a lead clip, then shorten it by 30 cm each time if you get no action.

Always fish a zig with a drop-off or lead clip set-up so the lead comes off if a fish snags.

1. Use 7×7 or 1×7 wire of 20–30 lb, at least 45 cm (18 in) long.
2. Slide on a crimp, pass the wire through the swivel eye and back through the crimp, then crimp it with crimping pliers. Add a second crimp for safety.
3. At the hook end, crimp on a size 6–8 semi-barbless treble, then slide a second treble on 5–8 cm above it and fix it by twisting the wire.

Ready-made traces are fine. Check them for kinks after every fish and bin any that are bent.

1. Put a running ledger (a lead on a clip or boom) on the main line above a bead and swivel.
2. Attach the wire trace to the swivel.
3. Nick the top treble into the tail root of the bait and the bottom treble into its flank.
4. Fish with a drop-off indicator and an open bail arm or a loose baitrunner.

Strike as soon as the line runs. Waiting lets the pike swallow the bait and get deep-hooked.

A float, then the lead on a short weak link at the bottom, with the trace on a boom above it, so the bait is held in one spot off the bottom. Use a sunk float version in deeper water.

Before using livebait, check the fishery's and the Environment Agency's rules on moving fish between waters.

Jig head: thread a soft plastic shad onto the jig hook so the hook point comes out at the top of the lure. For pike, fish it on a wire trace with a snap link.

Drop shot (perch and zander): tie a hook to the line with a palomar, leaving a long tag. Pass the tag back through the hook eye from above so the hook point faces up, then clip a small weight 30–45 cm below the hook. Nose-hook a small soft plastic and twitch it on the spot.

Use 20 lb+ main line, a strong size 2–2/0 hook, and a 50–80 lb abrasion-resistant braid or coated hooklink, 30–45 cm long. Fish a halibut pellet, squid or clam on a hair or bait band on a running ledger. Fish for them after dark in warm weather.

A big cat needs a large cradle or mat. Wear a glove and grip the lower jaw with your thumb. Catfish have rough pads of tiny teeth, not big fangs.

Lock the float in place with two shots, putting about two-thirds of the weight there. Spread small "dropper" shots down the line so the float sits with just the tip showing. Plumb the depth and set the hook bait just off, or just touching, the bottom.

Run the feeder on the main line (an inline feeder is safest) with a 10–15 cm hooklink and a hair-rigged pellet or a small boilie. Pack the feeder with groundbait or pellets, with the hookbait pressed into the mix. Cast to the same spot every time with a line clip.

Use 12–15 lb main line, a 3–4 oz lead or feeder, and a 60–90 cm braided hooklink (bites come hard). Fish a hair-rigged pellet, boilie or meat. Barbel fight hard, so hold them upright in the current until they swim off strongly.

The hook sits tucked up under the lead when you cast. When a fish takes, it pulls the lead up off the bottom, which helps it clear snags. Use a 60 lb rig body, a size 3/0–4/0 hook, and a breakaway lead.

Two short hook snoods on a rig body above the lead. Bait them with lug, rag or a mackerel strip. Simple and good for getting a bite.

1. Pop-up: add putty or a shot to the hooklink 3–5 cm from the hook, so it sits at the height you want, usually 2–5 cm off the bottom.
2. Wafter or balanced bait: put a small shot on the shank, or trim the bait, until the hook only just sinks.
3. Test it: drop the rig in the margin or a glass of water. It should settle slowly and lift if you blow on it.

Log the shot position in Catch Report under "Shot / putty". After a season, Insights will show you which set-up hooked the most fish.

Sharpness matters more than size. Draw the point lightly across your thumbnail: if it skids instead of catching, change the hook.

• Only push the tail rubber lightly onto a lead clip, so the lead can drop off in weed or a snag.
• On helicopter or chod set-ups, the top bead must be able to slide off the end of the leader.
• Never fish a fixed lead that can't come off. A fish trailing a broken line must be able to shed the lead.
• Check the fishery rules. Many ban leadcore, braided main line or certain rigs.

• Wet the unhooking mat or cradle before the fish goes on it, and keep the fish low and wet.
• Put antiseptic (such as Klinik) on hook holds and any marks.
• Use long forceps or pliers for pike, held from under the gill plate with a gloved hand.
• Have your weigh sling, scales and camera ready before you net the fish, so it's out of the water for as little time as possible.
• Support big fish in the water until they swim away strongly.