Just curious, you guys that use the FG knot, let's say you are using 40 lb braid, what's the smallest fluro line leader you'd consider using? The reason I'm asking is, I was watching Bill Dance the other day and he was was fishing a Texas rig on a baitcasting outfit using 30 lb braid with a 30 lb leader. So...one of my bc's that I don't use that often is spooled with 40 lb braid so I decided to tie on a 17 lb leader using the FG knot and give Bill's method a whirl. I Do know how to tie the FG, use it on my spinning stuff all the time and never had an issue. I actually tied this one twice because I wasn't satisfied with the wraps on the first one. Did everything right, number of wraps, kept tension, two half hitches to lock it down, pulled hard....really hard to cinch it down. No slippage. None. Went to the pond and after a number of cast I hung a fish only to have the fluro slip right through the braid. The one thing I did forget to do when tying the knot was lube the wraps before cinching. So my question after saying all that is, #1... Is 17 lb fluro too small to use for leader with 40 lb braid, and #2...and I guess this may be a no brainer...did me forgetting to lube the wraps have a something to do with the knot slipping? Sorry for this being so long and thanks in advance.

No, 17lb fluoro isn't too small for 40lb braid. How many wraps? Did you use your hands to tighten them? What brand of braid?

For me 40lb Suffix 832 braid with a 17lb fluoro leader would be 20 wraps, 4 half hitches, Rizzuto finish, then pulled with these:

https://a.co/d/0dU3LfWt

I routinely use 12-14 lb fluoro with 40 or 50lb braid and the FG knot, also 8-10lb with 20lb braid on spinning. I’m jinxing myself but never had it fail after cinching and testing. Have had it fail while testing bc I didn’t get it right.

Definitely getting a set of those knot pullers. I had seen them before I think but forgot about them.

In theory, I would feel comfortable pair 40# with as low as 10# fluoro, but I can’t imagine where there would be an application. 17# would be no problem.

35 to 40 wraps, 2 half hitches with Rizzuto finish. I have 2 dowel rods wrapped with duct tape to wrap the line around to pull. 15 lb Strike King Contra fluro and 40 lb PowerPro braid.

That is too many wraps. It would be difficult to get all of the braid to constrict into the leader. Any unconstricted braid is basically slack in the knot. 18 or 20 wraps is the right amount.

13 hours ago, Happybeerbuzz said:

That is too many wraps. It would be difficult to get all of the braid to constrict into the leader. Any unconstricted braid is basically slack in the knot. 18 or 20 wraps is the right amount.

Ok. I always get confused on how the wraps are counted. To me...and maybe I've been doing this wrong... I counted one wrap as every time I wound the fluro under the braid. Hence 20 in front and 20 behind were 40 wraps. Please educate me here! 😆

I use the FG all the time on braid from 30-50 lb. Leaders from 6-17lb. Never had problems until going below 6lb for the leader or over 50lb for the braid. The braid I use is Suffix 832, almost exclusively.

I think 30-40lb mainline is ideal with 8-17lb leaders, personally.

Ps. I always do 20 wraps (20 per side, that is). I also don't think you have to kill yourself on the tightening either. Just pull it tight with your hands, tie your overhand knots, and call it a day.

16 hours ago, VTFan said:

Ok. I always get confused on how the wraps are counted. To me...and maybe I've been doing this wrong... I counted one wrap as every time I wound the fluro under the braid. Hence 20 in front and 20 behind were 40 wraps. Please educate me here! 😆

You’re counting correctly. You just don’t need to do that many. Salt Stong on YouTube is where I and a lot of people learned the knot. Initially I think he advocated 10-11 per side. More recently after testing, he advocates 8-10 per side. I have always done 10 per side because that’s how I learned to tie it so I guess I am a creature of habit. The general rule in knot tying seems to be the more wraps/twists, the better, but there are limits snd diminishing return. With the FG knot the number seems to 16-20. Personally, I find it hard to constrict all the wraps after about 22 (11 per side).

There are a couple things worth noting. Don’t trim the tag until you are done cinching it completely. You don’t have to use just one hard pull. You can apply tension, release the tension, snd apply tension again several times. Visually inspect the knot as you are cinching it. You can tell if it is a good tie just by inspecting it and seeing it constricted the entire length of the wraps. Sometimes the very first wrap seems tight but slightly less constricted than the rest. It seems to be okay when that happens.

Here is a picture of 17# Armilo Defier with 30# 832.

That's a nice looking FG you got there @Happybeerbuzz I retied yesterday using only 20 wraps...10 per side, 4 half hitches, wet it completely, tensioned, clipped tag end, Rizzuto finish, tensioned again. No slippage. We'll see.

I used to use the FG knot for all leader applications no matter the size of the braid or fluorocarbon leader. I bought the gizmo for tying and never had a knot fail. I did 15 wraps each way, 2 half hitches and a Rizzuto finish.

After 9 hand surgeries spinning setups are no longer possible and I don’t use leaders with bc setups.

I do 16 wraps on all sizes. Lube up before cinching down and never have a problem with slippage if I do everything right on my end .

The FG is a good knot for dissimilar line dia. FG is pretty good down to #8 or even some #6 mainlines FC, but thin leader material like #6 Grand Max or Gold Label or under, the FG isnt as effective. Once you get under #6 the PR is more effective than the FG.

Just for fun, I tried tying an FG with 20 wraps a side, 40 total. I used 15# fluoro and 30# braid. The first picture is pre-cinch. The second picture is as constricted as I could get it before the leader snapped. It’s about 3/16” or so of unconstricted knot that could potentially spread throughout the rest of the wraps. Is it enough to compromise the knot? It is hard to say but I just assume not have any part of the knot unconstricted especially since the leader snapped without the benefit of many of the wraps.

1 hour ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

The FG is a good knot for dissimilar line dia. FG is pretty good down to #8 or even some #6 mainlines FC, but thin leader material like #6 Grand Max or Gold Label or under, the FG isnt as effective. Once you get under #6 the PR is more effective than the FG.

I have had similar experiences. I don’t know how to tie a PR knot, and I don’t have a bobbin to even try. When the leader is 7# or lighter, I just tie an Alberto or double-uni knot. The nice thing is that when you are talking about leaders and mainlines that thin, the knots are still pretty small regardless of the knot. It’s been a while though since I used anything under 8# for bass.