Fishing is a very popular sport, but importantly it is a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry. Large scale industrial fishing requires specific infrastructure such as trawlers, fishing nets, safety gear and storage especially where deep-sea fishing is concerned.

Angling is an individual sport very popular as a weekend relaxation among experienced fishermen and novice beginners who pursue it for the thrill of landing a catch! Modern-day fishing equipment and techniques can even turn novices into expert fish catchers or anglers in no time at all. But there are a few things every angler requires to be successful - great location to fish, a good lure and fishing rod combination and most important of all, the ability to tie simple but vital fishing knots.

A search for the most important fishing line knots can throw up many variations. Or asking an expert catcher will give completely different options that are tried and tested. This is simply because there are many knots in fishing classified as under:

• Knots that attach the hook or lure to the fishing line
• Knots that attach the line and reel
• Knots that attach one line to another

The knots required to tie a fishing line to the hook vary greatly from those that join two sections of fishing line together. Again different situations or circumstances require different knots, and knots can vary between the types of fish being caught; hence more the knowledge of various knots and combinations the better, because that is one area that no real angler can be deficit in.

Top 4 categories of fishing knots

No one fishing knot can fulfill every fishing need but a wise angler will tell you that mastering the best in each of the four top categories will ensure less fishing line break-offs and retying.

The top four categories of knots are:

1. Light to heavy line splices
2. Line to line splices
3. Terminal loop knots
4. Terminal knots

By and large each of the types has their uses, strengths and weaknesses and it takes a great deal of understanding the basics to gain experience in tying fishing knots.
Among the most popular and proven fishing knots, including those that are essential, that are used by all anglers / fishers are:

1. Alberto
2. Albright
3. Arbor
4. Braid
5. Double Line San Diego Jam
6. Double Line Uni-Knot
7. Eugene Slip
8. Improved Clinch
9. J-Knot
10. Kingsling
11. Nail
12. Palomar
13. Rapala Loop
14. San Diego Jam
15. Snell
16. Trilene
17. Two Uni-Join
18. Uni-Slip
19. Wedge
20. Yucatan

Most important fishing knots

This question will no doubt throw up different sets of answers even from experienced and regular anglers. That is because, there are different types and kinds of fish that are caught and hence, different knots suit different fish and various locations where the fish are caught, and as mentioned earlier, different situations. But the most important factor in picking the right knots depend largely on the kind of fishing line and reel being used, rope gave way to nylon and now there are monofilament fishing lines. On a majority scale, there are some knots that are considered all important and these include:

• Blood Knot (Barrel Knot)
• Clinch
• Double Surgeon's Loop
• Palomar