How to Tie the Knotless Knot

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

The knotless knot is a hitch that ties an eyed hook to your hooklink and leaves a length of line hanging below the hook to act as the hair. One knot attaches the hook and forms the hair rig at the same time.

The trouble is the advice. Guides quote 5 to 10 turns and disagree on step order, so many first attempts leave the line exiting the eye on the wrong side and the hook turning the wrong way. The hair rig this knot creates is generally credited to Len Middleton and Kevin Maddocks, and it spread through UK carp fishing from the late 1970s into the 1980s. The seven steps below fix direction and turns, then test the knot. Swivel, lead and bait are covered in building the full hair rig.

Step 1: Pick a Hooklink and Hook That Suit the Knot

Soft braid is the easiest line to tie this knot in.

Material	How it ties	Watch out for
Soft braid	Supple, lets the hook turn freely	Can tangle on the cast
Coated braid	Strip the coating from the hook end first	Wraps won’t bed down over coating
Mono or fluorocarbon	Stiffer, so it needs firm tension	Wet the wraps well before tightening

For the hook, choose an eyed, wide-gape pattern. Guides commonly start at size 6 to 8 for carp, and some extend the range to a 10. Check the point is sharp.

Keep a baiting needle, boilie stops and scissors to hand, plus silicone or shrink tubing if you want a line aligner in Step 7.

By now you should have a hook and enough hooklink to work with comfortably, roughly 30cm. For your first knotless knot, use soft braid.

Step 2: Tie a Small Loop for the Bait Stop

The hair starts as a loop, and it goes on before the hook does.

Tie an overhand loop in one end of the hooklink.
Keep the loop small, around 5mm across, so the boilie stop can’t pull through.
Trim the tag close to the knot.

For pellets, a bait band loop works in place of the plain loop. Tie it with a two-turn version of the grinner knot.

Thread a bait onto the loop now if you can, so you can judge hair length against the real bait in Step 4.

By now you should have a small loop with a short tag.

Step 3: Thread the Line Through the Eye Towards the Point

Most failed knotless knots go wrong before a single turn goes on, at the first pass through the eye.

Take the free end of the hooklink, the end without the loop.
Push it through the eye from the back, so it comes out on the same side as the hook point.
Pull a few centimetres through, so the loop end lies along the back of the shank and hangs below the hook.

With the line leaving the eye on the point side, the hook turns and sets the right way when a fish picks up the bait. Thread it backwards and the hook can flip the wrong way, however neat your wraps are.

By now you should have the hook on the line, the point side facing you and the hair hanging below the bend.

Step 4: Set the Hair Length Before You Wrap

Three well-known sources give three different answers on hair length. That matters less than it sounds, because the right length depends on your bait.

Slide the loop end along the back of the shank until the bait, or the empty loop, sits where you want it. Pinch the line against the shank with thumb and finger to lock it. The wraps in Step 5 fix this length for good.

Guidance	What it gives you
Bait just touching the bend	The shortest hair, bait tight to the hook
A gap of around 5mm between bait and bend	Bait sits just clear of the hook
Roughly one bait width	A longer hair, bait well away from the hook

Too long and hooking efficiency drops. Too short and the bait masks the point.

Start with a small gap so the bait sits just clear of the bend, then adjust after testing in Step 7. A bigger bait needs a longer hair to keep the same gap.

By now you should have the hair length set and held.

Step 5: Wrap 6 to 8 Neat Turns Down the Shank

Published turn counts for this knot run from 5 to 10, depending on who you read. NetKnots and The Knots Manual say 5 to 8, FishingAgain says 6 to 8, and CARPology works with 7 to 9. Hook size explains part of the spread, because bigger hooks take an extra turn.

Keep the hair pinched against the shank from Step 4.
Wrap the free end around the shank and the hair together, working from the eye down towards the bend.
Start the first wrap just below the point where the line passes the eye, not directly on top of it. Wrapping over that join weakens the knot.
Lay each turn tight against the last, and don’t let any cross.
Count as you go.

For knotless knot turns, 6 to 8 suits most carp hooks. Add a turn on bigger, longer-shanked hooks, up to 9. Use fewer on small hooks, so the wraps stop short of the bend rather than running into it.

Crossed or bunched wraps usually come from losing tension. Hold hook and line firmly, and if the wraps stack up, unwind and start again.

Six tidy turns beat eight messy ones.

Step 6: Pass the Line Back Through the Eye and Bed It Down

A knotless knot that looks perfect can still slip under load if this step is rushed.

After the last turn, take the free end back through the eye from the back, the same direction as in Step 3.
Check it exits on the point side again.
Moisten the wraps with a little water or saliva.
Hold the hair loop and the hook, then pull the main hooklink steadily to bed the turns down.
Check the wraps haven’t slid or crossed.

NetKnots and The Knots Manual suggest an optional drop of superglue on the wraps. Plenty of anglers tying in braid skip it.

By now the line should leave the eye on the point side, with snug wraps in a straight row. If so, the knot is tied.

Step 7: Test the Knot and Finish the Hooklink

Thirty seconds of checking saves a lost fish later. Two quick tests catch most faults before the rig goes in.

Pull test: hold the hook carefully, minding the point, and give the hooklink a firm, steady pull. The wraps shouldn’t move.
Turning test: draw the hooklink over your hand or the edge of a table. The hook should flip so the point turns down and catches. If it doesn’t, check the exit side from Step 3.

A line aligner is optional: a short piece of silicone tubing (CARPology uses about an inch, roughly 2.5cm, of 0.5mm tubing) or shrink tube over the eye, used to help the hook turn. Try one on soft braid, but skip it on your first few rigs.

Finally, tie the other end to a swivel or loop. The complete hair rig guide covers that end, and other carp rigs show where the knot goes next.

Frequently asked questions

How many turns for a knotless knot?

About 6 to 8 turns suit most hooks, with up to 9 on bigger ones. Published guides range from 5 to 10. Neat, tight turns that don't cross matter more than the exact number. See Step 5 above.

Which way does the line go through the eye on a knotless knot?

The line goes in from the back of the eye and comes out on the same side as the hook point. Both passes go the same way, before and after the wraps. See Steps 3 and 6 above.

Is the knotless knot the same as a hair rig?

No. The knotless knot attaches the hook and forms the hair in one go. The hair rig is the whole presentation, including hooklink length, the swivel and the bait. The hair rig guide covers the full build, and you'll find more fishing knots in the knots section.

Do you need to glue a knotless knot?

No. A knotless knot with neat turns, wetted and bedded down firmly, holds without glue. NetKnots and The Knots Manual suggest an optional drop of superglue for extra security. See Step 6 above.