Tie

World Fair Knot

Doubled-loop compact lock on mono/fluoro. Contest knot — not verified on braid.

Beginner · Monofilament / Fluorocarbon

Tie it · 4 steps Check the finishAll diagrams Applications

Connection card

World Fair Knot

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

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

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 Rolled crossing instead of a folded lock. The lock opens under load

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-loop compact lock on mono/fluoro. Contest knot — not verified on braid.

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 lineQuick to tie

Not ideal for

Braid (not verified)
Oversized stiff leader

Common mistakes

Pushing too short a loop through the eye for it to fold back over the doubled line
Twisting the loop as it is folded back, so its two sides cross
Taking the tag under where it should go over, or leaving out the final pass through the new loop
Pulling fast on dry line to close the knot

Alternatives

Orvis KnotBeginner
Ties tippet to a hook or fly with a small knot built on a figure eight
Pitzen KnotIntermediate
Tying a hook, lure or fly to line or tippet
Trilene KnotIntermediate
Tying monofilament or fluorocarbon line to a hook, swivel, snap or lure, with two passes through the eye

Before you start

·NetKnots gives it for monofilament or fluorocarbon line and does not cover braid.
·Pull enough doubled line through the eye for the loop to fold back over the doubled line with some to spare.
·Wet the knot, then close it with gentle but firm pressure on the standing line, as NetKnots describes.
·For a drop-shot rig, NetKnots notes the tag is left long to hold the weight, so it is not trimmed.

Line + hardware: Mono or fluoro, Hook, lure, or swivel

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

1Doubled loop through the eye

2Tag end

3Standing line

swipe to step

01.1

Double the end of the line into a loop and push the loop through the eye

Hold:: Left hand holds the hook, eye toward you
Move:: Right hand doubles the line and pushes the fold through the eye

You should now see: A doubled loop standing out past the eye, long enough to fold back over the doubled line.

Written step 01

Double the end of the line into a loop and push the loop through the hook or lure eye.

You should now see

A doubled loop standing out past the eye, long enough to fold back over the doubled line behind the eye.

If it goes wrong

Pushing through only a short loop. It looks fine at the eye but has no length to fold back over the doubled line.

Fix: Pull more line through the eye now so the loop can fold back with some to spare.

Why: The rest of the knot is built from this loop and the tag, so both need working length before you start.

arrow keys work

Tying procedure — World Fair Knot

Step 01 / 4
Double the end of the line into a loop and push the loop through the hook or lure eye.
You should now see: A doubled loop standing out past the eye, long enough to fold back over the doubled line behind the eye.
If it goes wrong: Pushing through only a short loop. It looks fine at the eye but has no length to fold back over the doubled line.
Fix: Pull more line through the eye now so the loop can fold back with some to spare.
Why: The rest of the knot is built from this loop and the tag, so both need working length before you start.
1Doubled loop through the eye
2Tag end
3Standing line
Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Double the end of the line into a loop and push the loop through the eye
Hold: Left hand holds the hook, eye toward you
Move: Right hand doubles the line and pushes the fold through the eye
You should now see: A doubled loop standing out past the eye, long enough to fold back over the doubled line.
Step 02 / 4
Fold the loop that sticks out of the eye back over the doubled line, laying it flat on top.
You should now see: The folded loop lies back along the doubled line behind the eye, with its two sides flat and not twisted.
If it goes wrong: Twisting the loop as you fold it, so its two sides cross. The weave in step 3 then goes over and under the wrong strands.
Fix: Flip the loop back out, untwist it and fold it back again so both sides lie flat.
Why: The fold makes the two sides of the loop that the tag weaves across next. If they are crossed, the knot closes into a tangle instead of a lock.
1Folded loop, lying over the doubled line
Step 2 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Fold the loop back over the doubled line and lay it flat on top
Hold: Left hand pinches the doubled line just behind the eye
Move: Right hand turns the loop back and lays it flat over the doubled line
You should now see: The loop lies back over the doubled line, one side each side of it, with its two sides flat and not twisted.
Step 03 / 4
Take the tag over one side of the folded loop, under the doubled line, and over the other side of the loop. Then pass the tag through the small new loop this has just made.
You should now see: The tag crosses the folded loop in an over, under, over pattern and comes out through the new small loop, with no strand caught in the wrong place.
If it goes wrong: Going under where the tag should go over, or leaving out the final pass through the new loop. When you pull the standing line the knot slides or falls apart.
Fix: Back the tag out one crossing at a time and weave it again, checking over, under, over before making the last pass.
Why: The weave binds the folded loop to the doubled line, and the last pass through the new loop traps the tag so it cannot pull back out.
1Small loop the tag has just formed, closed where it goes under the doubled line
2Over, under, over
Step 3 of 4 · move 1 of 2
Take the tag over one side of the loop, under the doubled line, over the other side
Hold: Left hand holds the folded loop flat on the doubled line
Move: Right hand curls the tag back and weaves it across: over, under, over
1The tag's own small loop: the tag goes down through it
Step 3 of 4 · move 2 of 2
Bring the tag back over the knot and pass it through the small loop it just formed
Hold: Left hand keeps the weave in place on the doubled line
Move: Right hand brings the tag back across and down through the tag's small loop
You should now see: The tag crosses the loop over, under, over, then comes out through the small loop the tag itself formed.
Step 04 / 4
Wet the knot and pull the standing line with gentle but firm pressure until the knot draws down onto the eye. Test it with a hard pull, then trim the tag.
You should now see: A compact knot on the eye with its crossings lying side by side, and no movement under the test pull.
If it goes wrong: Pulling fast on dry line, so one crossing rolls over another and the knot sets lumpy. Fluorocarbon also shows a curled, rough patch near the eye.
Fix: If a crossing has rolled or the line looks curled or rough near the eye, cut it off and tie it again instead of pulling harder.
Why: Moisture lets the crossings slide into place without heating the line. For a drop-shot rig, NetKnots notes the tag is left long to hold the weight, so skip the trim there.
Step 4 of 4 · move 1 of 2
Wet the knot and pull the standing line firmly until it draws onto the eye
Hold: Left hand holds the hook by the bend
Move: Right hand draws the standing line with gentle but firm pressure
Step 4 of 4 · move 2 of 2
Test it with a hard pull, then trim the tag
Hold: Left hand holds the hook
Move: Right hand pulls hard on the standing line, then trims the tag
You should now see: A compact knot on the eye with its crossings side by side, and no movement under the test pull.

What this is based onReference review, not yet tied

Record: Reviewed 2026-08-14. 3 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.
Known limits: None that stop a reader following it were confirmed in the plate audit of 2026-09-24; smaller findings were not all re-checked.
Strength: Not established. No credible, comparable strength data exists for this knot, so no figure is shown.

Watch the tie

Palomar vs World's Fair knot — Knot Wars 2008 (shows the World's Fair tie)NorthAmericanFishing · 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
06world-fair

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.

World Fair 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.

Palomar family

Doubled line through the eye, overhand lock seated to the hardware.

!Eye too small for the doubled pass — the stack never sits
!Doubled overhand not seated against the eye
!Tag pulled into the doubled coils so the lock becomes a hinge

Fails when

!The tag went under where it should go over, and the knot slides or falls apart when the standing line is pulled
!The final pass through the new loop was left out, so nothing traps the tag and it can pull back out
!The folded loop was twisted, so the knot closes into a tangle instead of a lock
!It was pulled fast and dry, so a crossing rolled over another and the knot set lumpy

Geometry

Rolled crossing instead of a folded lock
The lock opens under load
World Fair is a folded return through both openings, not a twist · step 04
Missed one return opening
Unfinished — crossings will not lock
Both openings must be taken · step 03
Used on braid
This compact fold is a nylon knot
Braid needs a braid-capable terminal · step 04

If you saw this

Crossings roll or the lock opens
Check
- ?Stacked crossings
- ?Compact lock at the eye
Then
- →Retie wet on mono/fluoro
- →Do not use on braid
Finished check failed — Incomplete figure
Check
- ?Completed figure geometry seated at the eye
- ?Tag controlled
- ?No open segments
Then
- →Retie. Incomplete World Fair geometry fails early under tippet loads.
Rolled crossing instead of a folded lock
Check
- ?The lock opens under load
- ?Inspect step 04
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Missed one return opening
Check
- ?Unfinished — crossings will not lock
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Used on braid
Check
- ?This compact fold is a nylon knot
- ?Inspect step 04
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.

Palomar 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

The '100% strength' claim traces to Vic Dunaway's book as repeated in reader comments, not to any test we could read.

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

NetKnots — World’s Fair Knot
Hook the Horizon — World Fair Knot
Recovered from the same record’s historical Hook the Horizon resource URL.
NetKnots fishing knot references
Recovered from this record’s historical modelSourceId registry.

Record reviewed 2026-08-14

Vetted references

World Fair Knot
Hook the Horizon
Palomar vs World's Fair knot — Knot Wars 2008 (shows the World's Fair tie)
NorthAmericanFishing

Related knots

Already tied it?

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