San Diego Jam
Single pass through the eye, wraps up the doubled standing section, two loop passes, then roll the stack down onto the eye. Fits eyes a doubled line cannot.
Intermediate · Monofilament / Fluorocarbon / Braid
Connection card
San Diego Jam
For line → hook, line → lure, line → swivel.
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
Single pass through the eye, wraps up the doubled standing section, two loop passes, then roll the stack down onto the eye. Fits eyes a doubled line cannot.
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 lists it for mono, fluorocarbon and braided line. It began as a quick way to tie on heavy iron jigs for tuna.
- ·Pass plenty of tag through the eye. It has to make all the wraps, go through at the eye and come back up through the top loop.
- ·Animated Knots gives about 7 to 8 turns on light line, down to 3 on heavy line.
- ·After tying, NetKnots advises hooking the lure or jig to a fixed object and pulling hard to make sure the knot is fully set.
Step 1 of 5 · move 1 of 1. Push plenty of tag through the eye, fold it back along the line, and turn it over a finger
swipe to step
01.1
Push plenty of tag through the eye, fold it back along the line, and turn it over a finger
- Hold:
- Left finger and thumb pinch both strands well up from the eye, the tag over the finger
- Move:
- Right hand turns the tag back over the finger, pointing it down toward the eye
You should now see: A narrow doubled section running from the eye up to your pinch, a small open loop over your finger, and the rest of the tag pointing back toward the eye.
Pass plenty of tag through the eye and fold it back along the standing line. Pinch both about 10 cm (4 in) above the eye, with the tag turned back over your index finger.
A narrow doubled section running from the eye up to your pinch, a small open loop held over your finger, and the rest of the tag pointing back down toward the eye.
Too little tag through the eye. You run out before the wraps and both passes are done, and the end is too short to pull.
Fix: Start again with more tag through the eye. The extra is trimmed off at the end.
Why: The loop over your finger is the one the tag goes back through in step 4, so keep it open and in hand until then. A heavy lure can hang below, or pinch the hook against your palm.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — San Diego Jam
Step 01 / 5
Pass plenty of tag through the eye and fold it back along the standing line. Pinch both about 10 cm (4 in) above the eye, with the tag turned back over your index finger.
You should now see: A narrow doubled section running from the eye up to your pinch, a small open loop held over your finger, and the rest of the tag pointing back down toward the eye.
If it goes wrong: Too little tag through the eye. You run out before the wraps and both passes are done, and the end is too short to pull.
Fix: Start again with more tag through the eye. The extra is trimmed off at the end.
Why: The loop over your finger is the one the tag goes back through in step 4, so keep it open and in hand until then. A heavy lure can hang below, or pinch the hook against your palm.
1Loop over your finger2Doubled sectionStep 1 of 5 · move 1 of 1
Push plenty of tag through the eye, fold it back along the line, and turn it over a finger
Hold: Left finger and thumb pinch both strands well up from the eye, the tag over the finger. Move: Right hand turns the tag back over the finger, pointing it down toward the eye.
You should now see: A narrow doubled section running from the eye up to your pinch, a small open loop over your finger, and the rest of the tag pointing back toward the eye.
Step 02 / 5
Wrap the tag end around both strands of the doubled section, working down from your fingers toward the eye: about 7 turns on light line, fewer on heavy line.
You should now see: A neat spiral of turns running down the doubled line to just above the eye, each turn beside the last, with the loop at your finger still open.
If it goes wrong: Turns that cross over each other, or wraps around one strand only. You see a turn riding on top of another, or one strand of the double lying outside the wraps.
Fix: Unwind to the last clean turn and wrap on from there, making sure each turn goes around both strands.
Why: Animated Knots gives about 7 to 8 turns on light line down to 3 on heavy line. The turns form the barrel that grips the line, and crossed turns cut into each other as the knot closes.
1Turns working toward the eyeStep 2 of 5 · move 1 of 1
Wrap the tag round both strands, working down from the loop toward the eye
Hold: Left hand keeps the pinch and the loop open on the finger. Move: Right hand turns the tag round both strands, each turn closer to the eye.
You should now see: A neat spiral of turns running down both strands to just above the eye, each beside the last, with the loop still open.
Step 03 / 5
Push the tag end between the two strands of the doubled line just above the eye, below the last wrap.
You should now see: The tag coming out through the small opening between the eye and the lowest wrap, with the turns still in place above it.
If it goes wrong: Passing the tag through a gap between two wraps instead of the opening at the eye. The tag comes out partway up the barrel and the turns start to loosen.
Fix: Pull the tag back out and feed it through the opening right next to the eye.
Why: This pass takes the tag across the base of the knot, next to the eye, before it runs back up the outside of the wraps.
1Between the strandsStep 3 of 5 · move 1 of 1
Push the tag between the two strands just above the eye, below the last turn
Hold: Left hand holds the turns in place. Move: Right hand feeds the tag through the opening between the strands next to the eye.
You should now see: The tag coming out through the small opening between the eye and the lowest turn, with the turns still in place above it.
Step 04 / 5
Bring the tag back up alongside the wraps and pass it through the loop you have been holding over your finger, then take your finger out.
You should now see: The tag lying up the outside of the wraps and out through the top loop, running parallel to the standing line.
If it goes wrong: Skipping this pass and going straight to tightening. The tag stays down at the eye instead of coming out of the top loop, and the knot can slip apart when pulled.
Fix: Before any tension goes on, bring the tag up and through the top loop. If the knot has already been pulled tight without it, cut it off and tie it again.
Why: Animated Knots describes this as passing back through the loop parallel to the line. The top loop closes around the tag as the knot tightens, and that is what locks it.
1Through the top loopStep 4 of 5 · move 1 of 1
Bring the tag back up along the turns and out through the loop at the top
Hold: Left hand holds the turns and the loop, then slips the finger out. Move: Right hand lays the tag up the outside of the turns and through the loop.
You should now see: The tag lying up the outside of the turns and out through the top loop, running beside the standing line.
Step 05 / 5
Wet the knot and pull the tag to snug the wraps, then pull the standing line so the knot slides down tight against the eye. Trim the tag close.
You should now see: A neat spiral of turns closed down against the eye with no gap, no turn lying over another, and a short tag.
If it goes wrong: Stopping before the knot reaches the eye, or pulling so fast the turns pile over each other. You see a gap between the knot and the eye, or a turn crossed on top.
Fix: If there is a gap and the tag is still long, wet it and pull the tag and then the standing line again. If turns have crossed, cut it off and tie it again.
Why: Animated Knots advises tightening carefully so the turns form a neat spiral and do not overlap. A knot that stops short of the eye leaves its turns loose on the doubled line.
Step 5 of 5 · move 1 of 1
Wet it, pull the tag, then the standing line, so the turns close on the eye
Hold: Left hand holds the lure. Move: Right hand pulls the tag to snug the turns, then pulls the standing line until the knot meets the eye.
You should now see: A neat spiral of turns closed down against the eye with no gap and no turn over another, and a short tag.
Watch the tie
How to tie a San Diego Jam KnotFishing with Nat · 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
Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.
- ·Wrap stack rolled down tight against the eye on a doubled standing section
- ·Stack fully rolled down, no gap at eye
- ·Tag exits the outer loop, away from the eye
- ·Even touching turns, no gaps or climbers
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Wrap stack rolled down tight against the eye on a doubled standing section
- 02Stack fully rolled down, no gap at eye
- 03Tag exits the outer loop, away from the eye
- 04Even touching turns, no gaps or climbers
- 05No crossed turns in the stack
- 06Tag through the eye loop, then out through the outer loop
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.
Load direction
The turns are wrapped around the standing line AND the tag lying back along it, so they grip a pair rather than a single strand. Under load the barrel rolls down and jams on the eye.
The tag does not leave the knot — it is one of the two strands the turns are squeezing. That is why this one holds on heavy fluorocarbon where a clinch creeps.
San Diego Jam — finished-state checks, on the shared reference layout
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
A compact hitch or jam at the eye — fewer wraps, a different lock than a clinch barrel.
- !Lock never jammed to the eye — it is a loose hitch in disguise
- !Used on a small eye that cannot take the bulk of the jam
- !Confused with a clinch: the tag path is not a barrel tuck
- !Tag not passed back through the top loop, so the knot slips apart when pulled
- !Tag fed through a gap partway up the wraps, so the turns loosen
- !Knot left short of the eye, with its turns loose on the doubled line
- !Turns crossed over each other as the knot closed, so they cut into each other
Missed the second loop pass
Pulls off as a plain jam under load
The outer loop pass is what locks the San Diego stack · step 04
Crossed or reversed jam wraps
Uneven load across turns, early failure
Retention depends on parallel turns rolling down evenly · step 02
Jam stack never butted to the eye
Walks and abrades against hardware
The stack must bear directly on the eye · step 05
Stack never rolled down under wet tension
Unlocked — slips under shock
Roll-down is the San Diego lock, not a dry yank · step 05
Knot slips off under a hard pull, leaving a curly tag
Check
- ?Confirm the tag exits the second loop, not just the first
Then
- →Retie with both loop passes, seat wet and slow
Knot body sits proud and rattles at the eye
Check
- ?Count wraps: 6–7 on light line, 5 on heavy
Then
- →Drop a wrap and seat harder on the standing line
Finished check failed — Too few wraps for braid
Check
- ?Long ordered wrap column for the material
- ?Clean seat after the final tuck
- ?No reverse wraps
Then
- →Retie. Short wrap count on braid is a common San Diego Jam failure.
Missed the second loop pass
Check
- ?Pulls off as a plain jam under load
- ?Inspect step 04
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Crossed or reversed jam wraps
Check
- ?Uneven load across turns, early failure
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Jam stack never butted to the eye
Check
- ?Walks and abrades against hardware
- ?Inspect step 05
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
- ×Very light tippet work
- ×Situations needing a free-swinging loop
Strength, and where the number comes from
Not established
Widely called high-retention on fluorocarbon, but the only numbers in circulation come from the Knot Wars dataset, which reads it at 101.7–127.4% of rated strength and so is not a retention figure at all.
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.
- Animated Knots — San Diego Jam
- FishingKnots.com Knot Strength Database
Recovered from this record’s historical modelSourceId registry.
Record reviewed 2026-08-10
Vetted references
- San Diego Jam Knot
Animated Knots by Grog
- How to tie a San Diego Jam Knot
Fishing with Nat
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.