Knot as simple as it seems...

[lefty]

I was reading a fishin' book yesterday while the Falcons were resting and came to the chapter on knots. "Every fisherman should take the time to learn how to tie the various knots listed in the chart below." And it proceeds to list 20 knots and 8 roles and fill in a matrix of which knots are suited for which roles.

Is it really important to know 14 different ways to tie a hook to a line? How do you decide whether to use a World's Fair, Clinch, Palomar, Jansik Special, Snell, Surgeon's End Loop, Dropper Loop, Perfection Loop, King Sling, Uni-Knot, Turtle Knot, Fisherman's Bend, Two-Fold Open End, or Trilene knot to tie a given hook to a given line for a given target species under given conditions?

All this readin' is getting confusing. I need to stop reading and start doing. Whose turn is it to watch my kids? Oh yeah -- Mine.


("Freshwater Fishing Tips & Techniques", by Gene Kugach, copyright 1997, published by Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg PA)