The double overhand loop knot is a very handy loop knot for creating a large loop at the end of your leader.

In the case of a paternoster rig used for bottom bashing/reef fishing, the loop is passed through the eye of a sinker of the type commonly referred to as a snapper lead. The hooks are then attached/presented above the sinker via either a dropper knot or twisted dropper knot that is tied in the same leader as the double overhand loop knot. We will look at an alternative sinker loop next month and after that the dropper knots.

For more detailed discussion on paternoster rigs, see my series that commenced in the June 2012 edition of QFM.

The double overhand loop knot has poor knot strength, often quoted at about 50% of the breaking strain of the line that it is tied in, depending on the variation of the sinker loop knot that is tied. However, it is strong enough to attach a sinker, in fact quite a few anglers prefer the sinker knot to fail if a sinker gets wedged in the reef. This can be preferable to breaking off higher up, especially if one of your hooks further up the leader has a fish attached to it!

Please note that as far as nomenclature goes, it is important to including the term ‘loop’ when referring to this knot, as there are other knots known as double overhands. It is also confusing to refer to any of the sinker loops as a dropper knot, although some older Australian texts do.

The double overhand loop is quick and easy to tie – firstly, tie a ‘single’ overhand loop, and then pass the running loop end through the knot one more time to achieve the double overhand loop knot. Then snug tight as in the accompanying diagrams. Next month I will be giving you more loop knot options for the paternoster rig.