Double overhand loop
Knot · Last reviewed 2026-08-10
The simplest reliable way to put a loop in the end of a line, and the basis of every loop-to-loop connection.
A double overhand loop is exactly what it sounds like: the line is doubled back on itself and an overhand knot is tied twice in the doubled line. It takes about five seconds and it is strong enough for almost any coarse or game application.
Its value is not really in the knot itself but in what it enables. A loop on the end of a hooklength and a loop on the end of a main line can be joined and separated in seconds, at the bankside, in the dark, with cold hands — which is why hooklengths are made up at home with loops on them and swapped in a moment rather than tied at the water.
It is worth knowing that the second overhand turn matters. A single overhand loop is noticeably weaker and will pull down into a jam that cannot be undone.
- Used for
- Forming a loop
- Holds in
- Monofilament, Fluorocarbon, Backing
- Do not use in
- Braid
How to tie it
These written steps are the instruction. The diagram supports them.
- Double the end of the line back on itself to form a bight of the size of loop you want.
- Tie an overhand knot in the doubled line, but do not tighten it.
- Pass the bight through the same turn a second time, so you have two turns rather than one.
- Wet the knot thoroughly before drawing it up.
- Draw it up by pulling the loop and the two standing strands apart steadily, so the turns bed down together.
- Trim the tag end.
- 1. Double the end of the line back on itself to make a bight.
- 2. Tie an overhand knot in the doubled line, passing the bight through once.
- 3. Pass the bight through the same overhand a second time.
- 4. Wet it, draw all four strands evenly, and trim the tag.
Tying a double overhand loop
Knot · Verified — every stage checked against a canonical reference — reference: How to Tie Fishing Knots — uni, blood, improved blood, surgeon's and loop knots · signed off by AI editorial review (Sprint 54) — every stage checked against the reference's numbered steps, rendered and inspected on 2026-08-18
Describe this diagram in words
Four panels. Panel one: the line doubled back on itself to make a bight, the returning leg running back beside the standing line. Panel two: an overhand knot formed in the doubled line, with the bight passing through the ring once, in front of the near strand. Panel three: the same ring with the bight passing through a second time, entering in front of the near strand and leaving behind the far one, with an arrow showing that the second pass follows the first. Panel four: the knot drawn tight with the finished loop beyond it and the tag trimmed short.
How this drawing was produced
Redrawn in Sprint 54. The previous figure clipped the word DRESSED off the bottom of the canvas, hid its third stage marker, and declared no crossings at all despite two loops visibly passing through each other — so the second pass, which is the entire knot, was not expressed anywhere.
Finishing it properly
- Wet before tightening, as with every knot in fine line.
- Pull the loop and both standing strands apart together rather than pulling on one part, so the turns seat evenly.
- Keep the loop small — a large loop is a large tangle waiting to happen.
How it fails
It fails if only one overhand turn was made — a single overhand loop is significantly weaker and jams solid. It also fails if the two strands of the doubled line cross over each other inside the knot as it is drawn up, which puts the load on one strand. In braid it is unreliable and should not be used; braid loops need a different construction.
The simplest reliable loop, and why the second turn is the whole knot
The double overhand loop is selected when a loop is needed in monofilament quickly and reliably, and its selection case rests almost entirely on how hard it is to get wrong.
WHY SIMPLICITY IS A SELECTION CRITERION. Most loops are tied in circumstances that work against precision: cold hands, poor light, a boat that is moving, or the middle of a session when concentration is elsewhere. A knot with six steps that must each be right is a knot that will occasionally be tied badly, and a badly tied knot is worse than a slightly weaker one tied correctly every time. The double overhand is two turns and a pull, and it is very difficult to tie wrongly without noticing.
WHAT IT IS FOR. Forming the loops at either end of a hooklength for a loop-to-loop connection; making a loop for a paternoster dropper; and any situation where a fixed loop of a chosen size is wanted in monofilament or fluorocarbon.
THE SECOND TURN IS NOT A REFINEMENT — IT IS THE KNOT. A single overhand loop is significantly weaker and, worse, jams solid so it cannot be undone. The doubled turn is what lets the knot bed down and distribute the load, and omitting it is the most common way this knot disappoints. If the loop that just failed was tied in a hurry, this is what to check.
BRAID IS OUT, and the record says so plainly. In braid the knot is unreliable, and braid loops need a different construction — the material's slipperiness defeats the simple bedding-down this knot depends on.
THE OTHER FAILURE IS INTERNAL AND INVISIBLE. If the two strands of the doubled line cross over each other inside the knot as it is drawn up, the load falls on one strand instead of two. Drawing it up slowly, wet, watching the turns bed together, is what prevents it — and it is the reason this knot rewards being tied deliberately rather than quickly, despite being simple.
WHERE TO CHOOSE SOMETHING ELSE: where the loop must be perfectly in line with the standing part for presentation reasons, and where a lure's action requires a loop that lets it swing freely at the eye — that is a different job with a different knot.
Practitioner consensus
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Established knot practice and the selection of knots for particular line types and applications.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary knot practice in the British angling press.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Established terminal tackle and knot practice in sea angling.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Line class conventions and terminal arrangements in recognised sport fisheries, including leader and connection practice.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified
Where to go next
Where it is used
- Coarse fishingBritish coarse fishing is organised around the made-up hooklength, and the hooklength is joined by a loop. It is arguably the first knot a coarse angler should learn rather than the third.
- Feathering and multi-lure tracesA multi-hook trace is a body line with loops standing out from it at intervals, and the loop is what makes each dropper. Tie six of them and the trace is the whole rig.
- Feeder fishingThe hooklength is a separate length joined to the mainline or to a swivel by a loop, so that a break loses the hooklength and not the feeder — which is a fish-welfare arrangement as much as a tackle-saving one.
- Float fishingHooklengths are made up in advance and changed by loop rather than by retying, which is what makes a session of broken fine line survivable. The loop is the connection that permits it.
- Fly fishingThe loop the fly-line and backing connections are made from, tied in monofilament and in backing — both of which the record lists and neither of which is braid.
- LedgeringThe same arrangement as the feeder, and the same reason: the loop is where the tackle is designed to part.
- Pole fishingThe loop those connections are made from. Tied in fine monofilament, where the record's own exclusion of braid is not a constraint.
What these connections rest on (7)
Practitioner consensus — 7 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Coarse fishing
Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive British freshwater angling practice: terminal arrangements, leaders, droppers and the knots each is made with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Classical coarse angling practice, including hooklength attachment, loops and the shotting arrangements they carry.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Feathering and multi-lure traces
Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.
- Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Long-running published description of British sea angling practice, including trace construction, dropper loops and the knots used in them.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated public description of which knots are conventionally tied for which sea connections, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Feeder fishing
Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive British freshwater angling practice: terminal arrangements, leaders, droppers and the knots each is made with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Classical coarse angling practice, including hooklength attachment, loops and the shotting arrangements they carry.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Float fishing
Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive British freshwater angling practice: terminal arrangements, leaders, droppers and the knots each is made with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Classical coarse angling practice, including hooklength attachment, loops and the shotting arrangements they carry.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Fly fishing
Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.
- Still Water Fly-Fishing — Andre Deutsch, 1952 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Stillwater fly practice including leader construction, droppers and the joins between line, leader and tippet.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Trout & Salmon — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Long-running published description of British game angling practice, including leader and tippet construction.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Ledgering
Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive British freshwater angling practice: terminal arrangements, leaders, droppers and the knots each is made with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Classical coarse angling practice, including hooklength attachment, loops and the shotting arrangements they carry.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Pole fishing
Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive British freshwater angling practice: terminal arrangements, leaders, droppers and the knots each is made with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Classical coarse angling practice, including hooklength attachment, loops and the shotting arrangements they carry.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
What it joins
- Waggler float rigA loop at the hooklength end lets a rig be changed without retying to the float, which is the whole point of a made-up rig.
- Fly leaders and tippetA loop at the butt end lets a leader be changed in seconds without cutting back into the fly line.
What these connections rest on (2)
Practitioner consensus — 2 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Waggler float rig
Standard hooklength attachment, independently described.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Loop knots and hooklength attachment.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary hooklength practice.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
The rig and the connection that makes it modular.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Knot selection for joining line to terminal tackle and line to line.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: The role of knots and connections in terminal tackle, and the line-class conventions that depend on them.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Fly leaders and tippet
The loop-to-loop system that makes leaders replaceable rather than semi-permanent.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Knot selection for joining line to terminal tackle and line to line.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: The role of knots and connections in terminal tackle, and the line-class conventions that depend on them.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Worth understanding first
What these connections rest on (1)
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Loop knots, and when a loose connection helps
A mechanism edge from a record to the reasoning beneath it. How knots and rigs behave is established practitioner knowledge converging across independent angling traditions, and is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive angling practice including knots, leaders, terminal tackle and the reasoning behind rig arrangements.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Still-Water Angling — MacGibbon & Kee, 1953 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Stillwater angling practice including terminal tackle, hook holds and the mechanics of playing fish.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Instead of this
- Loop-to-loop connectionThe loop knot exists to make the loop-to-loop connection possible; neither is much use without the other.
- Non-slip loop knotTwo loops that are not interchangeable, which is the point `loop-knots-and-when-a-loose-connection-helps` makes and which the graph could not previously show. A non-slip loop is tied AT the lure and its job is to leave it free to move. A double overhand loop is tied in the END of a line and its job is to interlock with another loop. Each is useless for the other's purpose.
What these connections rest on (2)
Practitioner consensus — 2 connections
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Loop-to-loop connection
The two are described together across the literature.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Loop knots and loop-to-loop connections.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Trout & Salmon — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Loop connections in game angling practice.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Non-slip loop knot
An explicit non-substitution, written because the shared word 'loop' is what causes the confusion. The catalogue held both jobs described in prose and only one of the two knots.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive angling practice: reel filling, leader and dropper construction, and the connections each arrangement rests on.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Classical coarse angling practice: hooklengths, loops, droppers and the terminal arrangements built from them.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Still Water Fly-Fishing — Andre Deutsch, 1952 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Stillwater fly practice: leader construction, teams of flies on droppers, and the joins between backing, fly line, leader and tippet.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Trout & Salmon — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: British game angling practice, including leader and tippet construction and the fly-line connections it rests on.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Environment and conservation
What these connections rest on (1)
Authoritative guidance — 1 connection
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
Discarded line and lost tackle
An environmental claim attached to the arrangement that causes it, held to the authoritative standard the predicate requires because tackle loss and lead use are matters of regulation and of published conservation evidence rather than of preference.
- Angling Trust guidance for anglers — Angling Trust (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Guidance to anglers treating lost and discarded line and terminal tackle as an avoidable environmental harm and an avoidable cause of access loss.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Good Fish Guide — Marine Conservation Society (Conservation authority)Relied on for: That lost fishing gear persists in the marine environment and continues to entangle, which is the mechanism the discarded-tackle record describes.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
History and culture
What these connections rest on (1)
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Nylon, and what synthetic line changed
Where a terminal arrangement came from and what it displaced, drawn from the angling literature and from widely restated practitioner accounts rather than from scholarship.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive angling practice including terminal arrangements, leaders and knots, and the development of each within the sport.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Still-Water Angling — MacGibbon & Kee, 1953 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Mid-twentieth-century angling practice written across the change to synthetic line, covering terminal arrangements and the materials they depend on.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Sources for this page
- How to Tie Fishing Knots — uni, blood, improved blood, surgeon's and loop knots — Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (Take Me Fishing) (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: The surgeon's-loop sequence: fold the tag over, tie a DOUBLE overhand in the doubled line, and draw up on both ends and the loop together.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: The construction of the double overhand loop and its use in making up hooklengths.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: That prepared, looped hooklengths joined at the waterside were established coarse angling practice well before the modern era.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy.