The Snell knot is a line-to-hook connection, essentially a uni knot tied over the hook, that some of the best sailfishermen in the world use to tie on their hooks. On this How 2 Tuesday I tie the Snell and test it the same way I test every knot. It is not the strongest hook connection, it breaks at 93 percent, but the angle of pull it creates is why so many anglers still trust it. Here is how to tie it and what the test showed.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
The Snell tests at 93 percent breaking strength. Every time I broke it, it broke right inside the knot, which means the knot is weaker than the line itself, and that accounts for the 93 percent. It is not the strongest connection from the line to the hook, but as I explain, raw strength is not the only reason anglers choose it.
The Snell is basically a uni knot over the hook. Put the line through the eye of the hook and back through, which forms a loop over the top. Take the tag end and wrap it one and then back another six or seven times, keeping the barrels right next to one another. Then put the tag end through the loop, hold it with your Danco pliers or fingers, and pull the standing line to snug the Snell down.
Many fishermen believe the angle of pull you get with a Snell is very important to setting the hook properly. Some of the best sailfishermen in the world tie their hooks on with it for that reason. Even though it gives up a little breaking strength at 93 percent, the way it positions the line for the hookset is worth the tradeoff to them.
The Snell is essentially a uni knot tied over the hook rather than just through the eye. The wrapping and the final pull-through are very similar to a uni knot, but because the Snell runs along the shank it creates a different angle of pull when pressure comes on, which is the whole point of tying it this way.
For this lesson I put the hook in a vise, and that makes it very easy to show you exactly how to tie it. The vise holds the hook steady so you can focus on forming the wraps and seating the knot. Once you understand the motion, you can tie the Snell by hand, but the vise removes a moving part while you learn.
I have a free knot guide at tomrowlandpodcast.com where I have compiled all the test results and videos so you can see how each knot compares. It lets you line the Snell up against every other connection I have tested and pick the one you trust for your setup.
Some of the best sailfishermen in the world tie their hooks on with the Snell, so the obvious question is whether it is actually the strongest way. I tie it and test it so you do not have to guess. I get into the result in the episode, so press play in the player above.
I walk through each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
Each time the Snell broke, it broke right inside the knot, which means the knot is the weak point rather than the line. That is your 93 percent. It still holds more than enough for most fishing, but knowing where it fails matters. I break it down in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The reason elite sailfishermen still tie the Snell is the angle of pull it creates for setting the hook. Sometimes you trade a little strength for a better hookset, and that is a legitimate choice. I explain how I think about it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The Snell is not the strongest hook connection, but it has a real reason to exist, and now you know both how to tie it and exactly where it breaks.
Grab the free knot guide at tomrowlandpodcast.com to see how the Snell stacks up against every other knot I have tested, then pick what fits your fishing. Press play in the player above.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
Snell knot · uni knot · sailfish · hook connection · angle of pull · breaking strength · Danco pliers · free knot guide · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
Tom Rowland Podcast — Episode 868: Tom Rowland
In this episode: I tie the Snell knot — basically a uni knot over the hook — put it to the test, find it breaks right inside the knot at 93 percent, and explain why the angle of pull is why some of the best sailfishermen in the world still tie their hooks on with it.
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Tom Rowland: So there's a lot of different ways to tie the Snell on. The Snell is basically a uni knot over the hook.
Tom Rowland: What we're doing today is the hook is in a vice and that makes it very very easy for me to show you exactly how to tie it. I'm gonna put the line through the eye of the hook and then back through which forms a loop over the top.
Tom Rowland: I'm gonna take the tag end and I'm gonna wrap one and then back another six or seven times back keeping the barrels right next to one another.
Tom Rowland: And then, I'm gonna take the tag end and put it through the loop. Hold on to the tag end with your Danco pliers or your fingers, and then pull the standing line to snug down the Snell. So we tied the knot. Now, we're gonna test it.
Tom Rowland: The results are in. The Snell tests at 93%. The Snell is not the strongest knot from the line to the hook. Each time that we broke this, it broke right inside the knot. That means that the knot is weaker than the line, and that accounts for the 93% breaking strength.
Tom Rowland: Many fishermen believe that the angle of pull that you get with a Snell is very, very important to setting the hook properly.
Tom Rowland: If you're interested in how the Snell breaks in relation to all the other knots that we tie on the Tom Rowland podcast and test, I've got something for you. We've got a free knot guide where we've compiled all the test results and all the videos where you can go and see how each knot compares to one another. You can get that for free at tomrowlandpodcast.com. Go get your free knot guide.
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