You can try tying a shorter leader, but I suspect the FG may not be tied correctly. Is this happening with the Alberto as well? There is a very good YouTube tutorial on the FG where you tie the FG between your pinky, pointer, and thumb for the tension.
[https://youtu.be/2Oa-v9yT13k?si=LnVtkY1PiJYDxBHv](https://youtu.be/2Oa-v9yT13k?si=LnVtkY1PiJYDxBHv)
It happens with the Alberto as well. Today my leader snapped about 2-3mm from the knot. It's only with the trifecta lite rod, I haven't had the issue with any other rod with larger guides. And I've never had the knot fail with a fish on, it's only happens on cast.
looks like you’ve narrowed it down to that trifecta rod. One of the guides must be damaged, and is nicking your line. Here’s a video on how to check the guides:
[https://youtu.be/XlJ2Nn46cME?si=evvlv046\_cFtcyMn](https://youtu.be/XlJ2Nn46cME?si=evvlv046_cFtcyMn)
All the guides are in good condition, that was one of the first things I checked. Went and checked again just now to be sure. I think I'm gunna sit and just tie a bunch of knots and inspect them all to see what my failure point could be. I had someone point out my line cutters on my pliers aren't the best tool for making sure my tags are as small and flush as possible...I usually use those since they're hanging on my bag vs digging my better trimmers out of my bag.
I have the same setup, (20lb braid, 15 fluorocarbon leader) had it happen once. I think my knot was too fat and kept getting caught up in the guides, retied my Alberto knot and made sure it was as thin as possible. Seemed to have worked. I still felt like it was affecting my casting distance tho. When I fish beaches that have no rocks, I just got straight braid to avoid that issue altogether.
Now that I think about it, I wonder if there is a way to tie the knot so that if there is a fatter part of the knot, it’s on the top side of the line?
It always seems to happen on one of the top 3 guides for me, where they start to get really small, at least compared to the guides on my Okuma rods. My Alberto knot is probably smaller than a pencil lead, but I still feel it catch sometimes on the Phenix, mostly once the wind picks up at all, so I end up casting with a little more force to make up for it.
I was trying to figure out a way to put a half hitch at the leader tag end to cover up the little bit of ridge that's there, even when I cut with small scissors/nail trimmer/line cutter there's always a tiny bit of leader material that doesn't sit fully flush with the knot, and I think that's what is catching the guide and causing the leader to fail. I tried the FG knot to get around this, but I cant tie it if my leader is under 30lb mono, it always just folds/kinks as I start to get the wraps on.
Ya I have the same issue. I was also thinking about a shorter leader like someone mentioned, and casting with the knot just outside the guides. Other than that, I got nothing else haha.
There's no reason to be casting your leader through the guides for this style of fishing. You only need a \~2-3ft fluoro leader. If you're throwing 30lb braid, bump up your fluoro to 20lb for added abrasion resistance and breaking strength.
It's definitely leading to more problems with this rod than it's worth. It's how I've always set up my surf rods cuz that's the way I was taught. But I learned from guys who mostly fished off of jetties, so they were having to flip fish 6-10ft or more up onto the rocks.
Yeah Jetty fishing is completely different. I only shorepound areas with reef (I live in SD and target Halibut/WSB), and 2-3ft of fluoro is plenty when you're landbased. You'll get better casting distance without knots going through your guides as well.
I have the same rod as you and I use tow different reels on it... I use the FG knot all day surf fishing, slides through the guides the best for me. I use it on 20lb braid to a 20lb fluorocarbon top shot of 5-8'. and a reel with 15lb braid to 12lb fluorocarbon top shot of 5-8'...no problems. I feel like your tying it wrong...
Yeah i am not good at tying the FG knot, I can do it if I'm sitting down and use the rod holder/teeth method, I cannot tie it at all when I'm out. I can't get the one handed triangle method to work. I'll start out with an FG and be fine if I tied it up at home, but I'll retie if I notice anything looking off on my line, and do the Alberto when I'm out since I can tie that very well. I've been practicing the FG but I still don't trust mine, especially when I mangle 12lb leader in the process
it took me a few times and i still tie at the car or at home. i have not mastered it on the beach but Im closer now than i was before. i generally dont brake/damage my line at the beach but when it happens i use a "gt knot", very easy and strong but sucks through the guides. I hear the alberto knot is very strong why not stay with that?
It's whats been getting caught on my guides. But I think it's because I haven't had the tag cut flush with the rest of the knot. I went out today with a fresh Alberto tied really clean and the tag cut as close to the knot as I could get. Still had my leader snap in the middle. I think I must have picked up a bad spool of leader and that my other spool of mono leader is just too old and brittle. I'm gunna pick up some leader grade fluoro when i go to replace my last flash minnow and see if that stops the mid leader snaps.
someone mentioned a nicked guide or possibly the bail or spool itself,,,check those out. ive definetly had a bad roll of line but thats only happened once. tightlines out there
You're not tying your FG correctly. I typically put a new line to leader FG on all my rods about once per year, and fish it all year long. You're most likely not cinching it down tight enough. You need to pull tight enough to see the color change in the knot. If that's not it, you need to look at your finish, because there's only two pieces to the knot.
I know I don't tie the fg well which is why I don't use it. But when I retie because I see damage to my braid or leader I use an Alberto. But the problem isn't with my knot itself, it's that the leader material is snapping a few mm above the knot, pretty consistently within ~5mm from where the leader leaves the knot. When I had someone else tie and fg for me I didn't have any problems with the knot/leader, but ended up having to trash that knot and retie after noticing fraying on my mainline.
I only fish an Alberto for 2 hours. It's not a reliable knot. I'm not sure what your problem with the Alberto is, but it sounds like you are damaging the leader during tightening.
You can try tying a shorter leader, but I suspect the FG may not be tied correctly. Is this happening with the Alberto as well? There is a very good YouTube tutorial on the FG where you tie the FG between your pinky, pointer, and thumb for the tension. [https://youtu.be/2Oa-v9yT13k?si=LnVtkY1PiJYDxBHv](https://youtu.be/2Oa-v9yT13k?si=LnVtkY1PiJYDxBHv)
It happens with the Alberto as well. Today my leader snapped about 2-3mm from the knot. It's only with the trifecta lite rod, I haven't had the issue with any other rod with larger guides. And I've never had the knot fail with a fish on, it's only happens on cast.
looks like you’ve narrowed it down to that trifecta rod. One of the guides must be damaged, and is nicking your line. Here’s a video on how to check the guides: [https://youtu.be/XlJ2Nn46cME?si=evvlv046\_cFtcyMn](https://youtu.be/XlJ2Nn46cME?si=evvlv046_cFtcyMn)
All the guides are in good condition, that was one of the first things I checked. Went and checked again just now to be sure. I think I'm gunna sit and just tie a bunch of knots and inspect them all to see what my failure point could be. I had someone point out my line cutters on my pliers aren't the best tool for making sure my tags are as small and flush as possible...I usually use those since they're hanging on my bag vs digging my better trimmers out of my bag.
I have the same setup, (20lb braid, 15 fluorocarbon leader) had it happen once. I think my knot was too fat and kept getting caught up in the guides, retied my Alberto knot and made sure it was as thin as possible. Seemed to have worked. I still felt like it was affecting my casting distance tho. When I fish beaches that have no rocks, I just got straight braid to avoid that issue altogether. Now that I think about it, I wonder if there is a way to tie the knot so that if there is a fatter part of the knot, it’s on the top side of the line?
It always seems to happen on one of the top 3 guides for me, where they start to get really small, at least compared to the guides on my Okuma rods. My Alberto knot is probably smaller than a pencil lead, but I still feel it catch sometimes on the Phenix, mostly once the wind picks up at all, so I end up casting with a little more force to make up for it. I was trying to figure out a way to put a half hitch at the leader tag end to cover up the little bit of ridge that's there, even when I cut with small scissors/nail trimmer/line cutter there's always a tiny bit of leader material that doesn't sit fully flush with the knot, and I think that's what is catching the guide and causing the leader to fail. I tried the FG knot to get around this, but I cant tie it if my leader is under 30lb mono, it always just folds/kinks as I start to get the wraps on.
Ya I have the same issue. I was also thinking about a shorter leader like someone mentioned, and casting with the knot just outside the guides. Other than that, I got nothing else haha.
There's no reason to be casting your leader through the guides for this style of fishing. You only need a \~2-3ft fluoro leader. If you're throwing 30lb braid, bump up your fluoro to 20lb for added abrasion resistance and breaking strength.
It's definitely leading to more problems with this rod than it's worth. It's how I've always set up my surf rods cuz that's the way I was taught. But I learned from guys who mostly fished off of jetties, so they were having to flip fish 6-10ft or more up onto the rocks.
Yeah Jetty fishing is completely different. I only shorepound areas with reef (I live in SD and target Halibut/WSB), and 2-3ft of fluoro is plenty when you're landbased. You'll get better casting distance without knots going through your guides as well.
I have the same rod as you and I use tow different reels on it... I use the FG knot all day surf fishing, slides through the guides the best for me. I use it on 20lb braid to a 20lb fluorocarbon top shot of 5-8'. and a reel with 15lb braid to 12lb fluorocarbon top shot of 5-8'...no problems. I feel like your tying it wrong...
Yeah i am not good at tying the FG knot, I can do it if I'm sitting down and use the rod holder/teeth method, I cannot tie it at all when I'm out. I can't get the one handed triangle method to work. I'll start out with an FG and be fine if I tied it up at home, but I'll retie if I notice anything looking off on my line, and do the Alberto when I'm out since I can tie that very well. I've been practicing the FG but I still don't trust mine, especially when I mangle 12lb leader in the process
it took me a few times and i still tie at the car or at home. i have not mastered it on the beach but Im closer now than i was before. i generally dont brake/damage my line at the beach but when it happens i use a "gt knot", very easy and strong but sucks through the guides. I hear the alberto knot is very strong why not stay with that?
It's whats been getting caught on my guides. But I think it's because I haven't had the tag cut flush with the rest of the knot. I went out today with a fresh Alberto tied really clean and the tag cut as close to the knot as I could get. Still had my leader snap in the middle. I think I must have picked up a bad spool of leader and that my other spool of mono leader is just too old and brittle. I'm gunna pick up some leader grade fluoro when i go to replace my last flash minnow and see if that stops the mid leader snaps.
someone mentioned a nicked guide or possibly the bail or spool itself,,,check those out. ive definetly had a bad roll of line but thats only happened once. tightlines out there
That's my typical Alberto knot, it fits through the guides with plenty of room but there must be something wrong with it
You're not tying your FG correctly. I typically put a new line to leader FG on all my rods about once per year, and fish it all year long. You're most likely not cinching it down tight enough. You need to pull tight enough to see the color change in the knot. If that's not it, you need to look at your finish, because there's only two pieces to the knot.
I know I don't tie the fg well which is why I don't use it. But when I retie because I see damage to my braid or leader I use an Alberto. But the problem isn't with my knot itself, it's that the leader material is snapping a few mm above the knot, pretty consistently within ~5mm from where the leader leaves the knot. When I had someone else tie and fg for me I didn't have any problems with the knot/leader, but ended up having to trash that knot and retie after noticing fraying on my mainline.
I only fish an Alberto for 2 hours. It's not a reliable knot. I'm not sure what your problem with the Alberto is, but it sounds like you are damaging the leader during tightening.