Christopher Knot

This knot was developed by Donald R. Gore, American Angler Magazine. He named it after his grandson who it was developed for. It is used to join two pieces of tippet material, and their research (and my use of it) have shown it to be stronger than the blood knot and about equal in strength to the surgeon's knot...and a lot easier to tie even when your hands are frozen.

Step 1: Overlap the ends of the monofilament pieces by about 6 inches. The end of the leader should be pointed to your left. (These directions are for a right-handed tier.)

Step 2: Pinch both ends of the doubled section with your right thumb and index finger, forming a large loop.

Step 3: Place your left index finger inside the loop and twist it three times. (More twists make the knot difficult to tighten.)

Step 4: Pass your left index finger and thumb through the loop, and grasp the two free ends of the monofilament.

Step 5: Pull the free ends all the way through the loop and gently tighten, forming a loose knot.

Step 6: Moisten the knot, and firmly tighten t by pulling equally on all four ends of the monofilament. When the knot is firmly tightened, trim the tag ends.