The Slim Beauty is a line-to-line connection knot my friend Simon Becker and I developed to eliminate the bimini twist from tarpon leaders, giving reasonable strength with far less work to tie. It became a worldwide viral sensation before the internet even existed, carried around the globe by anglers heading to Australia, New Zealand, and beyond. On this How 2 Tuesday I tell the origin story, including how it got its name, and then test whether the Slim Beauty also works for braid to fluorocarbon.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
The Slim Beauty was created to connect the two pieces of a tarpon leader without tying a bimini twist. It works for fluorocarbon to fluorocarbon, monofilament to monofilament, or mono to fluorocarbon on tarpon leaders, giving reasonable strength much faster than the older method. It is not as strong as the Huffnagle knot it replaced, but it eliminated a tremendous amount of preparation work. In this episode I also test whether it holds up for a different job, braid to fluorocarbon on spinning tackle, which is a separate question from its original tarpon-leader purpose.
My friend Simon Becker and I came up with it. We were messing around with different knots trying to eliminate the bimini twist from our tarpon setups because the bimini took so long. Simon did most of the work figuring out the actual knot. It came along right as fluorocarbon was arriving, which was easier to stretch and made the idea practical. Before that I used to tie biminis on both ends of a line, store hundreds of them on a coat hanger, and Huffnagle them to leaders kept under tension in a leader stretcher box. The Slim Beauty replaced all of that.
We named it after a nickname I got at a Cuban restaurant. We walked in and a lady started greeting me with all these names, what's going on Slim Slick, what's going on Slim Shady, slim this and slim that, and then she called me Slim Beauty. Everybody thought it was hilarious, so when it came time to name the knot Simon and I had been toying with, we thought it would be funny to call it the Slim Beauty. The name stuck and traveled the world right along with the knot.
Purely through anglers. Without any internet technology, fishermen who learned the knot took it with them when they traveled to fish in Australia, New Zealand, and wherever else they went, and people there started using it. It spread by word of mouth and on the water all over the place, which is a wild thing to watch happen with no website or video pushing it. It worked great for tarpon leaders because it let people skip the bimini while keeping reasonable strength, and that practical value carried it everywhere.
That is exactly what I set out to test in this episode. The Slim Beauty is proven for tarpon leaders, fluorocarbon to fluorocarbon, mono to mono, or mono to fluorocarbon. Some people also try to tie it for other purposes, including braid to fluorocarbon on spinning tackle, and the knot can be tied for many purposes. Whether it is actually a strong choice for that braid-to-fluoro spinning connection is the open question I wanted to answer on the tester, so press play and hear how it shook out.
The Slim Beauty is one of those things that was a true worldwide sensation before the internet. Simon Becker and I were messing with knots trying to kill the bimini twist on our tarpon setups, and the bimini took forever. I used to tie biminis on both ends of a line, hang hundreds on a coat hanger, then Huffnagle them to leaders stored under tension. Simon figured out a way to skip all that. I tell the whole backstory in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here are the steps I walk through in this How 2 Tuesday. I cover the detail behind each one in the episode.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
We named it at a Cuban restaurant. A lady greeted me with every slim nickname there is, Slim Slick, Slim Shady, and then Slim Beauty, and we cracked up. When it came time to name the knot we had been toying with, calling it the Slim Beauty was just too funny to pass up. Then anglers carried it to Australia, New Zealand, everywhere, with no internet at all. I tell that story in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The Slim Beauty is proven for tarpon leaders, mono and fluorocarbon in various combinations. Some folks, though, try to tie it for other purposes, and that is the question I wanted to answer: is it a good knot for braid to fluorocarbon on spinning tackle? The knot can be tied many ways, but tied does not mean strong for every job. I put it on the tester to find out, so press play in the player above and hear the result.
The Slim Beauty earned its place by eliminating the bimini from tarpon leaders while keeping reasonable strength, and it spread around the world on the strength of that one practical advantage.
Whether it carries over to braid-to-fluorocarbon spinning duty is a different test, and that is what I dig into here. Press play in the player above to hear how it performed.
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 knot · Simon Becker · bimini twist · Huffnagle knot · tarpon leaders · fluorocarbon · monofilament · braid to fluorocarbon · IGFA leader · 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.
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