A snelled hook is popular with marine anglers who want a strong, sure connection, particularly for tuna, billfish, grouper and hard-charging inshore locomotives like big redfish. Once you’ve mastered how to tie a snell knot, check out our other fishing knot videos.
1. Form a clockwise loop in the mono, laying the left side clockwise over right side. The left side will be the tag end, the right side the leader.
2. Lay the hook shank, eye toward the leader side, atop the crossed lines and pinch the lines against the shank. Wrap the right leg of the loop up and over the tag and the hook shank, and wrap seven times toward the hook eye. Keep wraps close and tight.
3. When the last wrap is completed, pinch the wraps and hook shank tight, then pull the right-hand tag until the wraps snug and the loop disappears.
4. Pull on both ends of line to further tighten snell around hook shank.
5. Hold bend of hook, and pull on the leader side to seat snell against the hook eye. With heavy mono you’ll need pliers (on the hook bend) and a glove (on the leader) for final tightening.
6. Clip tag end closely.
-(pix: snellHooks-4 Caption: Snelled hook provides a rigid connection for sure hookups Credit: Dave Lear)
