The Truth About Using SALIVA When Cinching Down FISHING KNOTS (Surprising Test Results!)

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Should you wet your knots with saliva before you cinch them down?
It used to be a necessity when mono was rougher because it would burn itself and create a weaker knot if you didn't.
But these days, fishing lines are much higher quality (not to mention, there are different types of line in braid and fluorocarbon).
So is it still necessary to wet your knot down before you tighten it?
Some people swear by it, while others claim it actually makes the knot weaker.
Since there's so much debate about it, I decided to do an experiment to find out the truth.
I tested each type of line (braid, mono, fluoro) with three knots each of saliva and no saliva.
I also soaked them in water to get the most real-life results, since you're not going to be fishing with dry line.
The results were surprising and I will be changing how I cinch down my knots from now on!
See the full experiment and results below.
Have any questions about using saliva to cinch down your knots?
Do you wet your knots down before you tighten them?
Let me know down in the comments.

[@Saltstrong]

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[@RealisticFishing]

I like these tests. Way better than word of mouth 👍👍

[@reellifewithcinco7858]

Keepin it Realistic!!!!!!🤘🤘

[@higherthanmost1112]

All I could say ab that test was maybe you should’ve regulated the speed at which you were pulling. Maybe turning that crank a millisecond slower or faster increases the weight faster skewing your break strength. Other than that, this club and the information included has put me on exponentially more fish. Worth every penny

[@shawnz4270]

You know why Berkley named it “Vanish” right? If you use it then your lures will vanish.

[@ivantyc147]

Good one😂

[@sheet-son]

My theory: stress=force/area, therefore when you wet the knot and it becomes tighter you are actually decreasing the area within the knot where the stress can distribute and will create a bigger stress concentration.

[@billdillard885]

Brian Exactly.... and I’m sure there is variability with knot configures as well... also 3 reps/knot/line type is not conclusive... more reps required.... But agree dry across the board is probably going to win whether its 3 pulls or 100... An urban myth... updated. Nice job SS!

[@frankiev-tech4630]

Man Luke! These are great comparisons...but there's 2 more knot favorites that should've been shown but I understand of the time. The palomar and Trilene which from what I've seen should be wet before cinch. It'll be great if those make a difference on both mono and floro.

[@Captain_Kdawg]

I agree I’m sure different knots perform differently. Would be nice to see it done on other popular knots.!!!

[@gooddoggo2258]

Very informative. I only use saliva if I’m having a hard time getting a knot to sinch down correctly. I think in that case having a knot that forms correctly outweighs the downsides of using saliva.

[@johngibson1862]

Interesting test. However, the main lesson I take from this is not the wet or dry issue but the strength of knots on different lines. The fashion is to use Flouro as a leader as supposedly fish can’t see it (open to argument!). However, very interesting that mono actually performed 2-3lbs better. Why are we all buying more expensive flouro? I suspect that the trend was useful at one time but better manufacturing has negated this. Now if we could get a definitive answer on whether fish can or can’t see flouro we could all save a bit of money and catch more fish.

[@carnufiasfishing8444]

Wow. This test surprised me a bit. I don't i ever seen my farher wet his knots. Awesome tests & thank you for taking the time to do them. Keep them coming 🎣😎

[@timgreer7440]

Wow... that is a great idea for a test. I've always used saliva to cinch down my knots, but after watching this I think I'll just dry cinch them from now on. Thanks for putting this together.

[@bakemonking]

You could put small piece of foam on tip of the hook when doing these tests. It is safer and also easier to find hook if it flies over the room. I personally use swivels for tests and put piece of rubber tube over crane on scale to prevent swivel from dropping off.

[@Surfer-727]

Knot bouring at at all Luke, Thanks 🏁✔

[@kevinvassar5075]

I use saliva but its not but because I think it makes the knot stronger but because the knots I use alot like uni dont slide down right unless its slick. Just my opinion and what I've seen.

[@darkinertia2]

thank you for doing this. fishing is FILLED with a lot of woowoo bullshit, more than any other hobby ive been apart of whether its guns to guitars...now if only there was a way to reliably test braid vs floro to fish sight lol

[@rikersbeard6039]

Absolutely. I think the same thing all the time about how there's so much marketing BS and urban legends in fishing and how there's no good data out there for the consumer about how to tell what's what. I have the same suspicion about fluoro vs mono for my leaders. I got tired of paying such a premium for fluoro, went back to mono on my leaders, and honestly haven't notice an iota of difference.

[@codybanks9944]

@@rikersbeard6039 EXACTLY!! In my 50 Years of fishing I've found that if the Fish are Hungry they pay NO ATTENTION to the LINE I'm using. ;~) P.S. I can't remember the last time I "wet" my line with Spit or Water to tie a knot. As a kid my buddies were constantly sticking their lines in their mouths to tie knots and to bite of hooks & lures. I always just used my pocket knife to cut my line and when I tried wetting the line it really made no difference for me in how my knot cinched down.

[@jasl7358]

If I'm cinching down braid I don't bother but I do use water on nylon/ copolymer/flouro mono

[@Tam58851520]

Surprised! It'll be hard to change, knot to lips has always been part of the knot. 👍🏼

[@hoptag]

great video and very informative. on the first testing phase the 11.8 with saliva shows the tag end cut shorter than others. You can see the tag end sliding into the knot then letting loose.

[@Saltstrong]

I see what you're saying. But the knot definitely broke in that case too because I checked both the end of the line and any line remains on the hooks to see how they looked, and none of them had the remnants of a pulled knot (curled up end of the tag). So this one must have broke as the tag end got very close to slipping out.

[@viviendolapesca]

Thanks for sharing. I'd like to evaluate the same case of study but applied to fluoro-braid and mono-braid knots. That combination of braid and leader could have a different result. It's suspected that braid will burn/damage the mono/fluoro leader when cinched. Have you evaluated that?

[@irsalrahmadani1840]

Best knot braid to leader for light jig 🙏

[@tresdoobies6581]

Actually, the only thing that's "100% certain" is the Power Pro braid in the 10 lb line class would not be certifiable by IGFA for potential 10 lb line class records.

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks for sharing!

[@ivantyc147]

Wow thank you for the test! It is interesting content right there! Keep doing what you are doing! Only a true angler will understand the pretty of it. When you catch or lose a fish ,because of a small little detail or tips. Thank you of share your experiences with me🙏 some of you just can't handle facts 😂 but I respect your opinion! I know that I won't share this saying to the future generation 🤣 peace ✌️ and tight lines everybody ♥️

[@davidgalloway904]

Great test Luke but maybe you should also wear some protective gloves too, 'cause a circle hook in the hand wouldn't be good either!

[@Saltstrong]

That would be smart, but the boring tests are more exciting when there is at least some potential for injury:)

[@davidgalloway904]

@@Saltstrong LOL

[@Roscoe0790]

Hey Luke! Thanks so much for putting out the content, really informative and useful. Just curious, does this apply with the FG knot too? I always thought you had to use saliva on the FG, but I’m not so sure now. Thanks for any feed back. Tight lines!

[@michaelhornung7266]

Good information. I’ve stopped using saliva for a long time. Keep up the good work

[@Saltstrong]

Thanks Michael!

[@sonnyreeves8123]

Does Dr Juice add to the mix?

[@lionels839]

Luke I believe you should use same speed of retreive for all tests Moreover, loop not with 2 twist is less prone to melting than other knots like double uni for exemple Also results may vary from brands to brands and even within models So difficult to generalize in my opinion But very good to test and share what you learn PS: saliva problem would be bad scent most of all ?

[@tarunkurkal326]

Now THAT is surprising

[@markhamlin4489]

I have a fishing friend who did some testing about 30 years ago. He has insisted ever since that water is much better than saliva. I'd like to see you compare "water" versus "dry" versus "saliva". Sorry, but I don't have any data to contribute.

[@Saltstrong]

He was surely right 30 years ago... the change has been due to the lines having better manufacturing processes to get super smooth surface which does not need to be wet to cinch down properly. I have done a more testing with water than saliva, and the dry still wins most of the time.

[@michaelsanders9506]

As far as old school mono goes use saliva or water when sinching down the knot friction causes heat cause damage to the line causes a weak point. Some of the newer monofilament it's not needed but I'll give you an example Berkley big game is the same formula same line that I fished with 35 years ago because it's a tried-and-true line. But it's formula is not changed you used saliva or water on it. It also depends on what knot your tying. Whether it's mono two braid or fluorocarbon to braid or mono to fluorocarbon.

[@kevinvassar5075]

My only question and maybe I just missed it but are each done with the exact line length?

[@Saltstrong]

The lengths of the lines were similar, but they we're measured out precisely the same. Do you believe that the length of the line can impact the results?

[@jelly_fishing]

Great information - done with saliva !!

[@tonyl3461]

I guess that SS should update all their knot videos as all of them show wetting the knot.

[@grantjamrock3812]

Need to do the FG knot wet vs dry

[@Saltstrong]

Noted!

[@104silvae]

Berkey vanish is way too expensive and I've gotten spools that were frayed and inconsistent. Switched to izorline xxx and never looked back.

[@jawjuh1005]

Very interesting.

[@kenslocki4570]

I wonder if digestive enzymes in the saliva play any part in weakening the knots?

[@saito2134]

Hand holding the "anchor" rod where the line is wrapped will affect your result, as there is movement. It needs to be solidly mounted once you complete several wraps of line on it to keep it from slipping... would be much better IMHO.

[@Saltstrong]

I agree that it would likely add some extra validation to the findings. But I haven't found a solution that fits my time and budget constraints, so the handheld anchor rod will continue for a while longer:)

[@sd0753]

My laziness wins out again. I stopped using saliva on knots decades ago and didnt notoce a decrease in knot strength.

[@xyzman001]

I only use saliva or water on mono, fluro lines and braid to mono/fluro. No issues for the last 12 yrs

[@pakde8002]

Ok I totally misunderstood the test. I've never used saliva on just a mono or just a braid knot. I always use saliva when attaching mono or fluoro to braid. I never even heard of it until braid came into the game and we needed to use a leader. Please try it on a mono or fluoro to braid connection with a knot where friction is present.. I'm talking knots where you need gloves or pulling dowels to get a good cinch.

[@fishboy3179]

Saliva can reduce the frictional coefficient by a factor of 1.6 over water. Using water in place of saliva may not yield accurate results. Also.. thanks for another good video frfr

[@roccop33437]

I think the variability is due to the way the knot is tied than anything else. Have you ever just tried testing the line break strength WITHOUT a knot - you might be surprised at the results. That exercise would be required to know the consistency of the line itself BEFORE you ran any tests. It would be like a calibration. I haven't run statistical analysis in awhile but I doubt 3 samples per test is sufficient to make a real determination. Interesting exercise but I don't think there is a statistical difference.

[@SaltySeaCaptain]

I'd assume this is a good indicator that it doesn't really matter either way. And if I have one less step when tying a knot with no noticeable difference im going to skip that step.

[@benh5774]

For sanitary reasons, I pass on the saliva usually

[@CristiNeagu]

Worrying too much about sanitary reasons will lead to a weaker immune system. No matter where you fish, liking that line for a bit won't harm you at all.

[@alejandrogarcia9612]

Hey guys I need help I don't know what brand of braid to buy can you test different brands for castibility and tensile strength ? I wanna use it for surf fishing so I don't need abrasion resistance

[@jasl7358]

Sufix 832. Excellent castibility

[@williamelliott4444]

May as well do some testing on the effects of super glue. I see some folks putting a drop on their knots and claim it makes stronger.

[@pakde8002]

I would not do that as I'm pretty sure some of the same ingredients in super glue are also used in fluoro and it will make the knot brittle over time. Just my no fact based opinion LoL gut feeling

[@Saltstrong]

Good idea William!

[@michaelsanders9506]

Super glue that's hilarious learn how to tie a knot

[@williamelliott4444]

Michael Sanders guys like Roland Martin do it all the time. It isn’t the fact that people can’t tie knots...it’s that they tie good knots and put a drop of super glue on them.

[@SaltySeaCaptain]

I think super glue would only be beneficial on main line to leader knots with braid

[@indrahaseo]

Saliva is the most common basic for beginner or Pro wet are the same as saliva than dry afterall for example, albright knot, FG knot is too hard making it when using dry the saliva are the most helpful to make it easy and using super glue if you want to make it stronger more

[@SaltySeaCaptain]

I never use saliva on my FG knot, doesn't really make sense to if you're using the braid to cut into the fluoro/mono and my hook knot always breaks before my FG.

[@alf3071]

isn't putting it in water the same as wetting it with saliva? I don't think it affects it in any way, the results are pretty random

[@Saltstrong]

It was not put in the water until after the knot was tightened simply to mimic the fact that the knot will be dunked in water before it gets put to the test against a hooked fish in the real world.

[@ivantyc147]

Do you use toilet paper after you take a dump or do you use water to water it off ? 🤔 Which is better reason the result the same?

[@MrofficialC]

Saliva doesn't help it's purely based on the leverage of the rope or line over itself. Saliva would only be beneficial if there was a chemical reaction between saliva and your material you use to tie a knot

[@ultimatejay]

First off if your knot is breaking first, then you are using a shitty knot, secondly I think it all depends on the knot you are tying, some cinch knots like San Diego jam knot will burn the line causing damage to the line so a little lubricant is necessary- water is best to use instead of saliva BtW

[@Saltstrong]

Have you done break tests like this where your line consistently breaks away from the knots? If yes, what knots and lines are you using?

[@ultimatejay]

Salt Strong - yes and although no knot is ever 100% all the time I have had good results with single and double sand Diego knot, fish and fool knot, bimini twist, improved trilene, Palomar. I mainly use San Diego jam as it’s easy to tie. If your drag is set properly and you tie a good knot- neither should ever break. If you are using 20lb line and your drag is only 5lbs then you only have 5lbs on the line and knot and it should never break unless chaffed

[@Saltstrong]

@@ultimatejay Of those knots that you listed, which one would you have the most confidence in getting the highest rate of lines break away from the knots when putting them to the test? And what specific lines would you use to get those sort of break results? Yes, the proper drag setting should help ensure that our lines never break due to fighting a fish in open water. The situations where it's most important to maximize our line strength is 1)when we need to stop a running fish from getting into underwater structure and 2) when we get snagged on the bottom and are left to having to power out to get the lure back.

[@bendhilfishing3816]

Gooddd

[@tonykomer2997]

Sorry but that whole test is statistically irrelevant. You might want to brush up on your statistical knowledge. You are getting super low assurances from testing something as wildly variable as hand tied knits and using a mere 3 test sampling. At the very least a bare min of 5 samples and that is only if extreme variation is super low. To get anything remotely close to an conclusive findings you need 10 samples and to remove human or other variables tossing out the two extreme outliers so best to do a sample I f 12 each. Think what your average would be on those tests if you took out those extreme outliers. Come one one out of 3 that is 10x the spread of the other two and you think that has value!?! The one test where you had 18lb÷ vs 15lb and 14.8. So 0.2 between 2 and then 3.0 dif in the other? Another thing when testing fiber rope etc is you need to use much longer samples of line. Consider you are removing all effects of the over all line stretch or how it effects the weave stress point at the knot. Who fishes with 4-6 inches of line? At least use 5-6 feet. It's easy to setup using that same test stand. Mount it horizontal in a rigid pipe setup from home depot etc. Of course even braid stretch way way more than everyone states. Take 10 ft of braid in a knot test. If braid did not stretch or was super limited you would need only a couple inches travel on a fensioner. But look at all those ratchet winch tests of braid. They are cranking in ft of grand before breaking point!! That means a 10ft section of braid stretch possibly 10% to reach braking point. That is not no stretch line.

[@reellifewithcinco7858]

How many complaints on the line you choose 🤣

[@dw734]

Inconclusive

[@Saltstrong]

Saliva does NOT help!

[@gregoryburris6374]

Chuck Norris saliva is best

[@tonylayne5726]

That's a lot of sylvia 🤤

[@24nathan48]

I guess in the crazy Covid era the fewer touch points to our face the better.