Popping Cork Tips: Loop Knot vs Clinch Knot [Underwater Test]
- By: Matthew Lanier
- on
When you’re tying on your lure on a popping cork rig, should you use a loop knot or a clinch knot?
I asked people that same question in a video on proper popping cork rigging and there was a surprising number of opinions. So, I decided to see if either knot style made a difference in the way the lure looks underwater. What I found was eye-opening!
Loop Knot vs Clinch Knot with Popping Corks
➡️ Join more than 50,000 passionate inshore anglers and become a Salt Strong Member today!
Essential Equipment
- Dr. Popper Popping Cork
- Four Horsemen Popping Cork
- Round Eye Jigheads
- 2.0 Paddletails
- Prawn USA Junior Shrimp Lures
- Dr. Juice Saltwater Slam Formula
- Ande Monofilament
Key Takeaways
- With a shrimp lure, the loop knot tended to let the lure rest in an unnatural vertical position. The clinch knot had a bit of tilt and a more natural glide on the fall.
- With paddle tails, neither knot seemed have a significant advantage.
- Since a quality clinch knot is stronger than a loop knot and there are times when it has a presentation advantage, I’ll go with a clinch knot for my popping cork lures moving forward.
The remaining question is… do the fish care? That’s something I’ll be testing soon, so keep your eyes open for that video!
Serious Savings On More Than Just Tackle!
Did you know that Salt Strong actively negotiates discounts for our Members?
From fishing gear to vacation stays and even boats, there are dozens of businesses who offer Salt Strong Members savings that the public doesn’t have access to!
This isn’t some sort of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” arrangement, either. Salt Strong doesn’t receive any commissions, kickbacks, or finder’s fees when you take advantage of these offers. It’s about getting you the best deals we can by making sure the entire discount gets passed on to you.
It’s one more way we add value to your Membership and another reason more than 50,000 inshore anglers are Salt Strong Members.
Ready to join? There’s no better day than today!
➡️ Already a Member? Click here to browse the current discounts!
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Until this year, I was not a big fan of the popping cork. But I tried the Four Horseman and not I have one fishing pole set up with the popping cork. Thanks for the study on knots
I know you have done tests before using “free line” paddletail lures vs paddletail under a cork. Any results there especially cinch knot vs loop knot for “free line” vs under a cork.
Matt,
One thing I have learned is that when you are using the jerk method, you should always double thread the jig/weighted hook. The heavier the weight, the more stress that is applied to the leader knot. Early on I lost a lot of jigs because of this. The lighter the leader, the greater the risk of having the knot snap.
Like the information like this.
Interesting preliminary test, Matt! In terms of how they fall, do you think there would be similar findings if it was NOT under a popping cork? I don’t recall a test like this being performed on The Prawn if there’s no cork.
Observation . . . when seeing your reference to a “CLINCH” knot, I looked it up as I’ve always called it a “CINCH” knot. I couldn’t find anything conclusive if these two knots are exactly the same, and people calling them by different names. There’s even different ways to tie this knot regardless of what a person calls it. When I viewed your video, I noticed you switched over to calling it a “CINCH”. And it’s not April fools day 🤷🏻♂️🤣 Good stuff, Matt!
Hahaha! I just realized I’m using those words interchangeably! lol. Sounds the same to me in my hillbilly thinking!
There are some test to see what certain lures look like underwater and their fall rate. I believe tony has done some of those test. Maybe make a post in the community to see if he can help find it if you aren’t able in the fishing tips section. Thanks for watching, Rob!
Thanks, Matt. Good stuff. I’ve not used my popping cork yet, but plan to this week. for my circle hooks and HH hooks i’ve ALWAYS have used a loop knot. Not sure why the PC would make a difference, so the question is…..how are you going to tie a HH weighted hook for a paddle tale going forward?
Well matt I’m not a fan of popping corks never really did much on them and as far c as knots go I use a loopknot on all my jigs and shrimp lures and a Palomar for my hard baits like my spinnerbaits and on my hard plugs I use a bill norman speedclip tied on with a Palomar knot because the clip the way it grabs the hook eyelet it has a small circular loop so it moves just as freely as a loopknot does but I only use tge clip on my hard plugs never jigs or plastic shrimp and my braid to leader knot is an improved albright knot but I am also surprised you did this report today considering the area you live at had a direct hit from the hurricane so obviously you miraculously got through it unharmed a true blessing really glad for you anyways though still thanks for the info and all you do
We made it through safe, and grateful for sure Steven! 🙏Thanks for watching!
Matt,
Thanks for the report. think your theory sounds good on paper but how about the practical? Time to do a field test?
Obviously matt actually did a test on both knots that’s probably why this report was labeled loopknot verses clinch knot a test study why would anyone write a report saying a test was done if one was never done kinda sounds contradicting to me and 🤔
Hey Steven I did this visual test, in the pool as you see in this video, but I haven’t taken this to the water yet to see if it makes a difference there. More to report on that later. 💪
I agree Dennis! Time to get on the water to test loop vs clinch! 💪🚣
Thanks for watching!