Thread: San Diego Jam Knot

Anyone familiar with the San Diego Jam knot? I love how simple and strong it is, particularly the double version. However, I'm not sure I'm tying it correctly. After pulling the tag end to tighten the knot and sliding it down to the hook, I trim the tag end as instructed and it looks just like the illustration. BUT....If I pull on the tag end after sliding the knot down, it caused the knot to slide up the standing end. Is this normal? The knot doesn't loosen and I don't expect a fish to pull the tag end, but I just want to make sure. Thanks

maybe this can help ya divedeep,

The dude doing the illustration is Mark Pack, he's a "professional" bass angler, but the guy knows his stuff, I learned tying this particular knot via this video.

Thanks. That's one of two I watched. Like I said, it looks right when I tie it; just not sure if the knot is supposed to slide up when you pull on the tag end if it has been properly tied

I usually tie a "catch" knot as close to the actual knot to prevent sliding, then trim the rest of the tag end

I tried it this way and the knot wouldn't slide. Seemed like a good knot, but not much better than the old standby palomar.

Thanks. Yea, use the palomar a lot. But always on the lookout for something new to learn.

my favorite knots are the trilene, uni, and palomar. The trilene knot is prob the one I tie the most, it never seems to break if tied correctly

Have probably used improved clinch more than any other. It is my go to when I gotta have a knot NOW. Have tied it so mant times, I cand do it in a quick hurry

It's a rainy day in Arkansas so I did a little testing on knots after finding an article online that tested the palomar knot with various lines...including momoi diamond....and the results weren't always great.

I tied a palomar knot in 10# diamond illusion....it broke on my digital scale at just over 8#. Tied a san diego jam knot and it went from just over 8 to just over 11#.

Tried the ande premium, which according to the article was the best with the palomar, and my 8# ande broke at just over 10#...the line, not the knot. Palomar did just great.

Tied on some 17# Johnson silver thread, which I had just about given up on because my palomar knot kept breaking at around 11#....but the san diego jam knot went over 19#.

The article said that the palomar varied widely in strength with different lines....my tests were neither scientific (I just used a digital rapala scale) nor exhaustive (I only tried a few lines), but it looks like that the lines I had that don't do well with the palomar knot are doing better with the san diego jam knot.

I'm glad this thread pointed it out....may not matter to anybody else but it caught my attention enough to start tying it, especially where long leaders and big baits make the palomar hard to tie well.

If you read a little of the history of the Jam knot, it was developed by long range SoCal tuna hunters who needed a quickly tied, strong knot for their iron tuna jigs. I read on one of their boards that, "friends dont let friends use palomars." who knows? I like the knot and with a little practice I think I can tie it just as fast as the palomar. One thing I also read in an article is the damage done to a knot that is pulled tight too rapidly, too harshly, or without moistening it first, can significantly weaken it. Also said you should tie the knot as close to your tackle as you can to minimize friction generated when tightening it.

Thanks for the info. Think I'll do the test also. Like you said, not scientific - but trends are useful.