THE ALBRIGHT KNOT & HAYWIRE TWIST

Today, we are going to learn two knots that will have you ready and confident to go after any fish in the Ocean with teeth.

The best type of wire for big toothy fish is solid wire. There are some braided and coated wires that will work for some light action and I can show you those knots too, but the purpose of this series is to supply you with the most important knots for saltwater fishing.  For that reason, I have included 2 of the very best.  

To tie your mono fishing line to solid wire, the Albright Knot is a trusted, reliable knot that is tied on Charterboats every day of the year.  Learn this one and you will be tying the same knot that 90% of the best fishermen in the World use to attach wire to mono.  

Once you have the wire tied to your leader, you now want to attach a hook or lure to it.  The Haywire Twist is the standard solid wire knot.  It is not really a knot as it is a twist that works so well that most fishermen only know this one way to tie wire onto anything.  It takes a little practice to get it right, but soon you will be tying perfect Haywire Twists.  2 things that I think are really important with this one:  First, start with 3-4 loose turns followed by at least 3-4 tight wraps where the wire is touching the previous turn. Second and probably the most important is that the tag end should always be broken off rather than cut. This goes for the tag end on BOTH ends of the wire leader.  At the Albright, the wire can be broken off smoothly as well as by the Haywire Twist.  If it is cut with pliers it will leave a razor sharp 1/8 inch tag that will absolutely open up your hand like a razor if you are holding the wire and a big fish pulls it through your hand.  This happens A LOT to people who are not so good at tying these.  It only needs to happen one time for you to never tie it like that again.  Take a pair of pliers, or maybe you can do it with your fingers, but work the wire back and forth until it breaks as shown in the video.  When done correctly it breaks right at the base of the turn and leaves a smooth end that will not cut you.

Some people may prefer to tie the Haywire on the lure first and then tie that rig onto your fishing line. It doesn't matter but all good fishermen should be confident in doing this both ways. The only way to be good at it on the boat is to practice at home!  Practice both ways.

Now, let's get some wire, mono, pliers and practice!