Cat's Paw
Cats paw · Wind-on connection
Joins the loop of a wind-on leader to a Bimini twist double line, loop to loop, for a join small enough to pass through the rod guides and onto the reel.
Line-to-line · Intermediate · Braid / Monofilament / Fluorocarbon · 4 steps
ApplicationsHow to tie itFinished structure
Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.
Move 1 of 1Lay the wind-on leader loop through the doubled main-line loopYou should now see: Two separate loops are interlocked once; neither line has been tied into a new knot. Step 01
Tie a short Bimini twist in the main line to make a doubled loop, and have the wind-on leader ready with its own loop at the end.
You should now seeTwo strands of main line running from the Bimini wraps to a closed loop, and a leader loop, with neither loop twisted.
If it goes wrongStarting from a single strand, or from a Bimini whose wraps have slipped. Count the strands running into the loop: one strand means there is no double to connect to.
Fix: Tie a Bimini twist, or retie one that has slipped, before you join the leader.
Why: The cat's paw only joins two loops. How much load the join can take is set by the double line and the leader loop behind it.
- 1Five passes
Move 1 of 1Keep passing the leader loop through the doubled loop until you have five passesYou should now see: Count five distinct passes in the collar before you start to cinch it. Step 02
Push the Bimini loop through the leader loop, then pass the free end of the wind-on leader through the Bimini loop and draw it all the way through. Repeat until you have made five passes.
You should now seeFive turns lying side by side where the two loops meet, with the whole leader drawn clear through after the last pass.
If it goes wrongLosing count, or stopping after one pass, which leaves a plain girth hitch with a single turn where the loops meet. Count the turns before you cinch.
Fix: Back the leader out through the Bimini loop until the turns lie flat, then make the passes again, counting each one out loud.
Why: Each pass adds a turn where the loops bear on each other, spreading the load over more line. Published counts run from three passes to five; a single pass is a plain girth hitch.
Move 1 of 1Pull the doubled line and leader apart slowly so the five passes nest into a short collarYou should now see: A compact five-turn collar with no turn riding over its neighbour. Step 03
Pull the double line and the leader apart slowly and steadily, easing the turns down until they close into a short, even collar.
You should now seeA compact, small-diameter joint where the turns lie tight and parallel, with no turn crossing another.
If it goes wrongSnatching the lines apart. The turns jump over each other and the joint closes lumpy, with one turn sitting on top of the rest.
Fix: Slack off, open the loops until the turns can move, lay them side by side and cinch again slowly. If they still will not lie tight together, whip the two lines together.
Why: Slow, steady tension lets each turn slide into place beside the last one, so all the turns share the load instead of one carrying most of it.
- 4
step 04 · schematic Pull main line and leader apart. The multiple passes lock the loops together into a compact join.
Step 04
Turn the joint over and look at both sides, checking that the turns match on each side and neither loop has slipped over the other before you draw it through the rod guides.
Pull main line and leader apart. The multiple passes lock the loops together into a compact join.
You should now seeA symmetrical collar with the same turns showing on both sides, which slides through the tip guide without catching when you draw it through by hand.
If it goes wrongOne loop riding over the other, so the collar sits lopsided with one side fatter than the other and catches on the tip guide.
Fix: Loosen the joint, work the loops square so the turns match on both sides, then cinch it again slowly. Nothing needs cutting.
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
A loop that either stands as a dropper or handshake onto another loop.
- !Dropper loop collapsed into an overhand
- !Handshake twisted so one loop saws the other
- !Loop sized after it was already loaded
- !The turns cross or stack on each other, so one turn carries most of the load instead of all of them sharing it
- !There is no double line behind the join, or the Bimini twist wraps have slipped
- !Too few passes were made, so the load sits on fewer turns where the loops bear on each other
- !One loop rides over the other, leaving a lopsided collar that catches on the rod tip guide
Too few passes for the selected wind-on system
Load is concentrated into fewer bearing points than the selected system intends
Documented wind-on systems use repeated passes; this reviewed plate depicts five, while other makers specify fewer. · step 02
Turns riding over each other instead of nesting
The advantage of spreading the load is lost
Nested turns share the load; stacked ones do not. · step 03
Built on a single strand rather than a double
The connection is limited by one strand of main line
The paw transfers load between loops; it does not create strength. · step 01
Collar lopsided, one loop riding over the other
Uneven bearing and a connection that snags at the tip guide
A symmetrical collar is what lets it pass a guide and load evenly. · step 04
The connection has fewer repeated passes than the selected wind-on system calls for
Check
- ?Confirm the specified pass count; this teaching plate and the reviewed Salt Water Sportsman method use five
Then
- →Rebuild to the selected leader system's documented pass count and cinch the collar evenly
The turns sit on top of each other rather than side by side
Check
- ?Look along the collar for a turn riding over its neighbour
Then
- →Slack it off and re-cinch slowly
- →Retie if the turns will not nest
The main line enters the connection as a single strand
Check
- ?Trace the main line back — two strands should run into the collar
Then
- →Build a Bimini first; the paw is only as good as the double under it
Too few passes for the selected wind-on system
Check
- ?Load is concentrated into fewer bearing points than the selected system intends
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Turns riding over each other instead of nesting
Check
- ?The advantage of spreading the load is lost
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Built on a single strand rather than a double
Check
- ?The connection is limited by one strand of main line
- ?Inspect step 01
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.
Why this knot
What it earns its place with, what it costs, and what to reach for instead.
- Single-strand main line with no double built first
- Light tackle where the doubled loop is bulkier than the job needs
- Anywhere a loop-to-loop's bulk cannot pass the guides
- Losing count of the passes, or stopping after a single pass, which is only a girth hitch
- Snatching the lines apart, so the turns jump over each other and the joint closes lumpy
- Starting from a single strand, or from a Bimini twist whose wraps have slipped
- Leaving one loop riding over the other, so the collar sits lopsided and catches on the tip guide
- Bimini TwistAdvanced
Making a double line with a loop at the end, for loop-to-loop leader connections or as the doubled line in knots such as the Yucatan
- Loop-to-Loop ConnectionBeginner
Joining two finished loops, such as a fly-line loop and a leader loop, so the leader can be changed without cutting either line
- Yucatan KnotIntermediate
Joining a heavier mono leader to a lighter braid or mono main line that has first been doubled with a Bimini twist or spider hitch
- Haywire TwistIntermediate
Joins single-strand wire to a hook, lure or swivel, or makes a loop in the end of a wire leader