Homer Rhode Loop Knot
Heavy-leader free-swing loop for lure action.
Intermediate · Monofilament / Fluorocarbon
Connection card
Homer Rhode Loop Knot
For line → loop (fixed end loop), line → lure.
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
Heavy-leader free-swing loop for lure action.
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.
Before you start
- ·NetKnots notes it can be tied in very heavy leader or line and leaves a loop of any size at a hook, fly or lure.
- ·The Fisherman describes it for monofilament and fluorocarbon leaders from 20- to 80-pound test.
- ·Start the first overhand about 10 cm (4 in) from the end. The gap between the two knots sets the finished loop size.
- ·In heavy leader, grip the lure with pliers and wear gloves; NetKnots says they are needed to set the knot firmly.
Step 1 of 4. Tie a loose overhand knot about 10 cm (4 in) from the end. Pass the tag through the eye and back through the overhand, entering on the side the tag leaves it, then snug the overhand close to the eye.
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
swipe to step
01
Tie a loose overhand knot about 10 cm (4 in) from the end. Pass the tag through the eye and back through the overhand, entering on the side the tag leaves it, then snug the overhand close to the eye.
A snug overhand in the standing line sitting at or just above the eye, with the tag running through the eye and back through that overhand beside the line.
Taking the tag back through the overhand from the wrong side. The tag crosses over itself inside the knot and the overhand will not slide close to the eye.
Fix: Pull the tag back out of the overhand and pass it through again from the side where the tag leaves the knot.
Why: The tag has to run through the first knot so the knot can slide along it later. Starting that knot close to the eye keeps the loop size under your control.
- Loop size set after the wraps — You cannot fix the swing after the barrel is on. Size the loop first.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — Homer Rhode Loop Knot
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Homer Rhode Loop Knot itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 01 / 4
Tie a loose overhand knot about 10 cm (4 in) from the end. Pass the tag through the eye and back through the overhand, entering on the side the tag leaves it, then snug the overhand close to the eye.
You should now see: A snug overhand in the standing line sitting at or just above the eye, with the tag running through the eye and back through that overhand beside the line.
If it goes wrong: Taking the tag back through the overhand from the wrong side. The tag crosses over itself inside the knot and the overhand will not slide close to the eye.
Fix: Pull the tag back out of the overhand and pass it through again from the side where the tag leaves the knot.
Why: The tag has to run through the first knot so the knot can slide along it later. Starting that knot close to the eye keeps the loop size under your control.
If wrong: Loop size set after the wraps — You cannot fix the swing after the barrel is on.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Homer Rhode Loop Knot itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 02 / 4
Take the tag around the standing line twice, making two side-by-side turns, and pass it through them to tie a second knot above the first. Snug it so it can still slide on the standing line.
You should now see: A second knot with two neat parallel turns around the standing line, a short way above the first knot, that moves along the line when pushed.
If it goes wrong: The two turns crossing each other, or the tag wrapped around itself as well as the standing line. The second knot looks lumpy and binds instead of sliding.
Fix: Loosen the second knot, lay the two turns side by side around the standing line only, and snug it again.
Why: The second knot is the stopper. When the standing line is pulled, the first knot slides up the tag until it jams against this knot, and the loop grows by the gap between them.
If wrong: Too few wraps on heavy leader — Loop walks and cinches.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Homer Rhode Loop Knot itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 03 / 4
Slide the second knot along the standing line until the gap between the two knots matches the loop size you want.
You should now see: The first knot still at or near the eye, and a gap to the second knot about as long as the finished loop you want.
If it goes wrong: Letting the first knot drift away from the eye while you size the gap, so the loop ends up bigger than planned. The first knot sits visibly clear of the eye.
Fix: Push the first knot back down to the eye, then set the gap again before pulling anything tight.
Why: Once the knots are pulled together the loop cannot be resized. Keeping the first knot at the eye makes the gap the one thing that sets the loop size.
If wrong: Loop collapsed while seating — A failed Homer Rhode — not a tight loop.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Homer Rhode Loop Knot itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 04 / 4
Hold the lure and pull the standing line so the two knots slide together and jam. In heavy leader, grip the lure with pliers and wear gloves for the pull. Trim the tag close.
You should now see: The two knots butted hard against each other with no gap, an open loop at the eye, and a short trimmed tag.
If it goes wrong: Stopping before the knots meet, leaving a gap between them. The knot is not set, and the loop can creep larger under load.
Fix: Grip the lure with pliers and pull the standing line again until the knots touch. If they will not meet, cut the knot off and tie it again.
Why: Stiff heavy leader resists closing. NetKnots advises pliers and gloves in heavy line to get enough pressure to set both knots against each other.
Watch the tie
Homer Rhode Loop Knot- Heavy Leader- Saltwater ExperienceSaltwater Experience - Tom Rowland Podcast · Opens on YouTubeExternal 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
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
- ·Completed join or loop structure
- ·Fully seated
- ·Tags short and correct path
- ·Even, no crossings
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Completed join or loop structure
- 02Fully seated
- 03Tags short and correct path
- 04Even, no crossings
- 05None
- 06homer-rhode
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.
Homer Rhode Loop Knot — finished-state checks, on the shared reference layout
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
A loop that stays the size you made, with a return that cannot cinch.
- !Loop cinched around the hardware — action is dead
- !Return path reversed, so it becomes a slip loop
- !Fluoro in a lock that only behaves on mono
- !A gap left between the two knots, so the loop can creep larger under load
- !Heavy leader set by hand without pliers, so the knots are not pulled firmly together
- !Second knot tied with crossed turns, so it binds before the knots meet
Too few wraps on heavy leader
Loop walks and cinches
Homer Rhode holds loop size with wraps, not hope · step 02
Loop collapsed while seating
A failed Homer Rhode — not a tight loop
Seat without shrinking the loop; a cinch is a noose · step 03
Loop size set after the wraps
You cannot fix the swing after the barrel is on
Size the loop first · step 01
Loop cinches closed
Check
- ?Loop holds under pull
Then
- →Retie
- →Compare to Non-Slip Mono Loop
Finished check failed — Loop closes to the eye
Check
- ?Fixed loop preserved for lure action
- ?Wraps ordered on the standing line
- ?Loop does not close under load
Then
- →Retie. A closed Homer Rhode removes free lure swing.
Too few wraps on heavy leader
Check
- ?Loop walks and cinches
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Loop collapsed while seating
Check
- ?A failed Homer Rhode — not a tight loop
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Loop size set after the wraps
Check
- ?You cannot fix the swing after the barrel is on
- ?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.
Get it right with everything in your favour0/5 clean
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.
Nothing marked. Log it clean, or mark what happened first.
Not ideal for
- ×Fine tippet dry-fly work
- ×Maximum slim fixed eye
Strength, and where the number comes from
Not established
Its only circulating numbers are Knot Wars figures against rated strength (70.4–88.3%), which cannot be read as retention because the same dataset puts other knots above 130%.
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.
- NetKnots — Homer Rhode Loop Knot
- Hook the Horizon — Homer Rhode
Recovered from the same record’s historical Hook the Horizon resource URL.
Field practice (heavy leader loops)no link on file
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Homer Rhode Loop
Hook the Horizon
- Homer Rhode Loop Knot- Heavy Leader- Saltwater Experience
Saltwater Experience - Tom Rowland Podcast
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.