Knot question...Improved clinch or non-slip loop under a float?
I always fish worms, grubs or crickets with a 4, 6 or 8 Aberdeen under a Balsa float of some kind. All my life I've always tied an improved clinch knot and never thought twice about it...until this afternoon.
This afternoon I filled up my utility sink in my garage with about a foot of water so I could test various split shot weights with some new floats so I could get them sitting just right in the water. Yeah, probably a little OCD, but that's how I am. :) Anyway, that's when I noticed a clinch knot almost always held the hook at an angle not completely vertical in the water because of the tight knot on the eye. I decided, on a whim, to try a loop knot and noticed the hook now had much more free movement and seemed more "relaxed" in the water.
NOTE - Only reason I noticed this tonight was because I could actually SEE the hook. When actually fishing, Louisiana bayou water is usually so stained that once the hook is about 4in below the surface, you have no idea what's going on.
So, the fact that crappie and bream more often than not suck the bait, made me wonder if a non-slip loop knot might work better than a tight clinch knot, letting the hook move more freely and possibly getting more hook sets.
Anyone out there use a loop knot instead of a tight knot under a float?
Positive and negative opinions welcome.
Thanks.