Tie

Eye Crosser Knot

Doubled eye contact with a lock around the parallel strands. Hardware must accept two passes.

Intermediate · Monofilament / Fluorocarbon / Braid

Tie it · 4 steps Check the finishAll diagrams Applications

Connection card

Eye Crosser Knot

For line → hook, line → lure, line → swivel.

What it joins Line → hook · Line → lure · Line → swivel. In monofilament, fluorocarbon, braid.

Turns 2 to 3. Count them before you seat it; afterwards you are guessing.

Shape Terminal wrap or lock at the eye or along the shank

Tag end Tag exits clean and short

Seated Fully seated to eye or shank

Start again if Crossed strands in the eye. Scores the line at the first hard turn

This card does not say how strong the knot is. A retention figure comes from a bench, in one material, at one diameter, tied by somebody who ties it all day — and the line in your hand is none of those. What it does tell you is whether the thing you have just tied is the thing the record describes.

What this plate is telling you

Doubled eye contact with a lock around the parallel strands. Hardware must accept two passes.

Save this as a picture and it works with a dead signal and a nearly dead battery, which is when a joint is most often tied badly. The rest of this page — the steps, the seating sequence, the failure modes and the bench — is for the evening before.

Why this knot

What it earns its place with, what it costs, and what to reach for instead.

Best for

Hook to lineHigh strength

Not ideal for

Tiny fly eyes
Crowded hardware where a single-pass Uni or Palomar already fits

Common mistakes

Leaving too short a tag, so it slips out during tightening
Laying the second turn over the first in the eye instead of beside it
Wrapping only the standing line instead of both parallel lines
Pulling hard on dry line, or trimming before the test pull

Alternatives

Trilene KnotIntermediate
Tying monofilament or fluorocarbon line to a hook, swivel, snap or lure, with two passes through the eye
Palomar KnotBeginner
Ties line to a hook or lure with the line doubled through the eye

Before you start

·Take Me Fishing lists it for braid, monofilament and fluorocarbon, to attach line or leader to a hook or swivel.
·The line goes through the eye twice, so use a hook or swivel whose eye takes two turns lying side by side.
·Leave a long tag. It makes a second pass through the eye, lies back along the standing line and then wraps both lines.

Line + hardware: Line, Hook, lure, or swivel with room for two eye passes

How to tie it — Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1

1Tag end

2Standing line

swipe to step

01.1

Pass the line through the hook eye, leaving a long tag

Hold:: Left hand holds the hook, eye toward you
Move:: Right hand feeds the tag through the eye and draws out plenty of line

You should now see: The line through the eye once, with a long free tag hanging on the far side.

Written step 01

Pass the line through the eye of the hook, leaving a tag long enough to go through the eye again and wrap back around the lines.

You should now see

The line through the eye once, with a long free tag hanging on the far side of the eye.

If it goes wrong

Leaving too short a tag. After the second pass and the wraps there is too little left to hold, and the tag slips out during tightening.

Fix: Pull more line through the eye before the second pass. If the tag has already slipped out, start again with more tag.

Why: The tag makes a second pass, lies back along the standing line and then wraps both lines, so it needs more length than a single-pass knot.

What fails if this is wrong

Eye too small for two passes — Will not seat, or cuts at the eye. Hardware must accept the doubled pass or this is the wrong terminal.

arrow keys work

Tying procedure — Eye Crosser Knot

Step 01 / 4
Pass the line through the eye of the hook, leaving a tag long enough to go through the eye again and wrap back around the lines.
You should now see: The line through the eye once, with a long free tag hanging on the far side of the eye.
If it goes wrong: Leaving too short a tag. After the second pass and the wraps there is too little left to hold, and the tag slips out during tightening.
Fix: Pull more line through the eye before the second pass. If the tag has already slipped out, start again with more tag.
Why: The tag makes a second pass, lies back along the standing line and then wraps both lines, so it needs more length than a single-pass knot.
1Tag end
2Standing line
Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Pass the line through the hook eye, leaving a long tag
Hold: Left hand holds the hook, eye toward you
Move: Right hand feeds the tag through the eye and draws out plenty of line
You should now see: The line through the eye once, with a long free tag hanging on the far side.
Step 02 / 4
Pass the tag through the eye a second time in the same direction, then lay the tag back alongside the standing line.
You should now see: Two turns of line through the eye lying next to each other, and the tag running back parallel to the standing line.
If it goes wrong: The second turn riding over the first in the eye, or the tag twisting around the standing line. The turns stack on top of each other instead of sitting side by side.
Fix: Pull the tag back out of the second pass, feed it through again beside the first turn, and lay the tag flat along the standing line.
Why: Two turns side by side share the load on the eye. A turn lying over the other is pinched against the metal when the knot is pulled.
1Two turns through the eye
Step 2 of 4 · move 1 of 2
Pass the tag through the eye a second time, the same way, beside the first turn
Hold: Left hand holds the hook and keeps the first turn open
Move: Right hand feeds the tag through the eye again in the same direction
1Tag laid back
2Standing line
Step 2 of 4 · move 2 of 2
Lay the tag back alongside the standing line
Hold: Left finger and thumb pinch the two turns at the eye
Move: Right hand lays the tag flat beside the standing line, pointing away from the eye
You should now see: Two turns lying side by side on the eye, and the tag running back parallel to the standing line.
Step 03 / 4
Wrap the tag end two or three times around the two parallel lines, the standing line and the tag lying beside it, keeping each wrap next to the last.
You should now see: Two or three neat wraps around both parallel lines a short way from the eye, with the tag end coming free from the last wrap.
If it goes wrong: Wrapping only the standing line instead of both lines, or letting the wraps cross. The wraps slide loose along the line as soon as the tag is pulled.
Fix: Unwind the wraps and lay them again around both lines together, each one beside the last.
Why: The wraps bind the doubled-back tag to the standing line. When the knot is pulled tight they bed down and hold the tag in place.
1Three wraps round both lines
2Tag end
Step 3 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Wrap the tag three times round both parallel lines, back toward the eye
Hold: Left hand pinches the tag and standing line together near the eye
Move: Right hand turns the tag round both lines, each wrap beside the last
You should now see: Three neat wraps round both parallel lines a short way from the eye, with the tag end free from the last wrap.
Step 04 / 4
Pull the tag to snug the wraps, wet the knot, and pull the standing line to slide it down to the eye. Pull the tag and standing line firmly to set it, test it, then trim the tag close.
You should now see: A compact knot sitting on the eye with the wraps bedded evenly, no movement under a firm test pull, and a short tag.
If it goes wrong: Pulling hard on dry line, or trimming before the test pull. A knot that has not bedded down moves along the line when it is loaded.
Fix: If the knot moves or the wraps look loose after the test pull, cut it off and tie it again.
Why: Wetting lets the wraps slide into place without heating the line. The final pull on both the tag and the standing line locks the wraps down behind the turns at the eye.
Step 4 of 4 · move 1 of 2
Pull the tag to snug the wraps, then wet the knot
Hold: Left hand holds the hook and the standing line
Move: Right hand pulls the tag until the wraps close up on both lines
Step 4 of 4 · move 2 of 2
Pull the standing line to slide the knot to the eye, set it, test it, trim the tag
Hold: Left hand holds the hook
Move: Right hand pulls the standing line, then the tag and standing line together, firmly
You should now see: A compact knot sitting on the eye, the wraps bedded evenly, no movement on a firm pull, and a short tag.

What this is based onReference review, not yet tied · 1 known limit

Record: Reviewed 2026-08-14. 2 sources are cited for this record.
Drawing: Checked against published references and found to be this knot. Not yet tied from the drawing. Recorded 2026-09-21.
Strength: Not established. No credible, comparable strength data exists for this knot, so no figure is shown.

What the drawing does not show

Step 4, move 2 of 2: The hook eye is drawn nearly edge-on, so the line's passes through it cannot be seen and the knot looks as if it sits beside the eye.

Watch the tie

How to Tie the Eye Crosser Knot | Fishing KnotsTake Me Fishing · Opens on YouTube

External video from a creator we follow — not produced by us. Nothing on this page loads from YouTube until you follow the link.

Seating sequence — where failures are born

The step list compresses the finish. Run these phases in order, one at a time.

01 Moisten
Wet the structure before any load reaches it.
Zero. Nothing tightens yet.
02 Load
Take up slack slowly until the wraps begin to gather.
Light and even — both ends moving together.
03 Dress
Watch the wraps stack in order; stop and back off if any cross.
Hold, do not pull. Correction happens here or not at all.
04 Set
One continuous pull to full seat — no sawing, no jerks.
Firm, single direction, standing line against the terminal end.
05 Trim
Cut the tag square, leaving a short stub proud of the knot.
None. Never trim under load.

Finished structure — what correct looks like

Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.

Structure: Terminal wrap or lock at the eye or along the shank
Standing line: Standing line on-axis with load
Tag end: Tag exits clean and short
Wraps: Even structure, no crossings
Seating: Fully seated to eye or shank

Verify before you load it

Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.

01Terminal wrap or lock at the eye or along the shank
02Fully seated to eye or shank
03Tag exits clean and short
04Even structure, no crossings
05None
06eye-crosser

Something failed → open Diagnose

Field notes — dark, cold, gloves

·Retie by feel first, light second — the seat is a tactile event, not a visual one.
·Gloves off for the dress phase. Fabric hides a crossing wrap.
·Wrong twice in a row means the material or the hardware is fighting you. Change one, not your technique.

Eye Crosser Knot — finished-state checks, on the shared reference layout — Hook the Horizon reference plate

Failure modes

When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.

Braid-terminal family

Braid at the eye with extra passes so the slick line cannot slip.

!Passes never crossed through the eye
!Tag not locked after the extra braid passes
!Used on a small eye that cannot take the bulk

Fails when

!Wraps around the standing line only, so they slide loose when the tag is pulled
!Tightened dry or not bedded down, so the knot moves along the line under load
!Second turn riding over the first, so it is pinched against the eye when loaded
!Tag left too short, so it slips out as the knot is tightened

Geometry

Crossed strands in the eye
Scores the line at the first hard turn
Two clean eye passes, then the lock around the parallel pair · step 02
Eye too small for two passes
Will not seat, or cuts at the eye
Hardware must accept the doubled pass or this is the wrong terminal · step 01
Lock tied on the wrong side
A slip, not an Eye Crosser
The lock around the parallel strands is the finish · step 03

If you saw this

Knot will not seat or scores at the eye
Check
- ?Two parallel strands in the eye
- ?Lock butted to the eye
Then
- →Retie on larger hardware
- →Use Palomar or Uni instead
Finished check failed — Missed eye cross
Check
- ?Eye-crossing path completed as designed
- ?Seated without open loops
- ?Tag exit correct
Then
- →Retie. Missing the eye-cross path removes the knot's holding geometry.
Crossed strands in the eye
Check
- ?Scores the line at the first hard turn
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Eye too small for two passes
Check
- ?Will not seat, or cuts at the eye
- ?Inspect step 01
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Lock tied on the wrong side
Check
- ?A slip, not an Eye Crosser
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.

Same family

Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.

Berkley Braid Knot

This failed — start Diagnose

The bench · rep 1

Get it right with everything in your favour0/5 clean

Nothing logged on this knot yet, so it starts on the bottom rung.

Good light, dry hands, a table. Until the sequence is automatic here there is nothing for the harder rungs to test — you would only be learning that difficult conditions are difficult, which you already knew.

How · Tie it, check it against the list, log it. Five clean and the ladder opens.

Conditions for this rep

Main lineJoined to

What went wrong, if anything

Nothing marked. Log it clean, or mark what happened first.

Strength, and where the number comes from

Not established

No published break test; Take Me Fishing documents the tying sequence and states no figure.

Percentages come from published tests on their own line, their own knot-tyer and their own pull rate. Yours is a different system. Treat a figure as a reason to test, not as a result you already have.

Sources for this record

Take Me Fishing — Eye Crosser Knot
Hook the Horizon — Eye Crosser Knot
Recovered from the same record’s historical Hook the Horizon resource URL.

Record reviewed 2026-08-14

Vetted references

Eye Crosser Knot
Hook the Horizon
How to Tie the Eye Crosser Knot | Fishing Knots
Take Me Fishing

Related knots

Already tied it?

Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.