The Slim Beauty is a line-to-line connection that joins a small class tippet to a heavy shock tippet, and it was built to eliminate the bimini twist from a standard tarpon fly leader. My friend Simon Becker and I invented it in the Florida Keys, and people started using it everywhere. In this How 2 Tuesday I tie it with 12 pound monofilament to 50 pound fluorocarbon, then put it on the scale to see exactly how strong it is. Watch me tie it and test it in the video above.
Watch now: press play in the player above and follow along.
The Slim Beauty connects a small line to a much heavier line, like a class tippet to a shock tippet in a tarpon fly leader. Simon Becker and I invented it in the Florida Keys to get rid of the bimini twist in a standard tarpon setup. It eliminated the need for leader stretcher cases and pre-stretching 80 pound monofilament, which was very difficult to do, so it made building heavy leaders a lot simpler. I still use it today for small line to heavy line.
Tying 12 pound class tippet to 50 pound shock tippet, the Slim Beauty broke at 14.46 pounds, 11.9 pounds, and 12.19 pounds for an average of 12.85 pounds, which is a 107.08 percent breaking strength. More important than the number is where it broke: two out of three times it broke in the class tippet itself, not at the knot. When the knot is stronger than the line you are fishing, you have done your job.
Tie a double overhand in the leader and pull it down to a figure eight that looks like it could hold water, kind of a bowl shape. Double over your lighter line, run it in and out through that figure eight, and pull it down just hand tight. Then pinch and wrap the lighter line five times up and four times back over itself, feed the tag back through, grab both strands and the leader, and pull so it cinches down. The stopper knot in the leader stops everything in place. I walk through every step in the video.
The most common mistake is pulling the figure eight down way too tight before you wrap the lighter line. You want it pulled down just hand tight so the knot can seat properly when you cinch it. Pull it too tight early and the connection will not finish the way it should. I point out exactly where people go wrong in the video.
It is not because the knot is super slim. We were at a Cuban restaurant and the lady working there called all of us by different names. One of my friends was Slim Slick, and for whatever reason she called me the Slim Beauty. My friends thought it was hilarious, so when Simon and I needed a name for this knot, the Slim Beauty stuck.
Yes. I still use the Slim Beauty for connecting a small class tippet to a heavier shock tippet. It has held up for years, it tests stronger than the line two out of three times, and it saved me from pre-stretching heavy mono and carrying leader stretcher cases. It earned a thumbs up the day I tested it on camera, and it has kept earning it ever since.
The Slim Beauty came out of a real problem we were solving in the Keys. Building heavy tarpon leaders with a bimini twist meant pre-stretching 80 pound monofilament and hauling around leader stretcher cases, and it was a pain. Simon and I wanted a connection that did the same job without all of that, and this is what we landed on. I tell the whole story in the episode.
The heart of this knot is a figure eight in the leader that looks like it could hold water. If it lies flat, it is wrong. You want that little bowl shape so the lighter line has something to seat against when you cinch everything down. I show the exact shape on camera, so watch the video above.
The wrap count is what makes the Slim Beauty grip. Five wraps up the line and four wraps back over the top, then the tag goes through, almost like a blood knot and a bimini had a baby. In the video I only wrap it three or four times for the demonstration, but I tell you exactly what to do on your own leader. Watch me do it above.
Three pulls with 12 pound class tippet to 50 pound shock tippet: 14.46, 11.9, and 12.19 pounds, averaging 12.85 pounds, or 107.08 percent. The number I care about more is that it broke in the class tippet two out of three times, with the knot fully intact. That is the goal for a world record or any time you want maximum strength. See the breaks in the video.
The Slim Beauty solved a real rigging headache and it is still in my kit all these years later. When the knot is stronger than the line, the line is your weak point, not your connection, and that is exactly where you want it.
If you want to see the figure eight, the wrap count, and the breaks for yourself, press play above. And the name still makes me laugh every time.
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.
Slim Beauty · Simon Becker · Florida Keys · tarpon · class tippet · shock tippet · bimini twist · fluorocarbon · monofilament · Danco · Star brite · 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 knots and technique to gear and the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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