The cat’s paw is ideal for connecting a swivel (or a snap swivel) to a double (aka doubled mainline).

The cat’s paw knot (aka offshore swivel knot) is a longstanding, and still commonly used, connection within the heavy tackle game fishing scene where long and\or heavy leaders are used. I’ve used it in an assortment of monofilament, co-polymer and fluorocarbon lines as well as, braided, fused and other super-lines.

A cute ‘nicety’ of the cat’s paw is that it is a tag free knot; this means that it can’t come undone, …never ever! Unless it breaks, of course! As far as knot-strength goes; testing of the cat’s paw knot when tied in ‘super-lines’ has showed average breaking strengths from 80% upwards. Some testing agencies have achieved close to 100% in nylon type lines.

As its alternative moniker suggests, the offshore swivel knot’s traditional use in game fishing circles is as a knot to connect doubled lines to either a snap-swivel or swivel.

Like many knots used to connect double lines to a swivel or snap-swivel connection, if one of the double’s strands breaks, the cat’s paw knot will still hold fast with the remaining single strand.

The knot does require a bit of attention to ensure that both strands of the double are kept to the same length (otherwise the knot will pull on one side when you are tightening it up and your knot may deform). This can be a little tricky with long doubles; the best solution being to put the rod and reel into a rod holder and to wind some of the double onto the reel and then use the reel’s drag to maintain tension on the double. Keep the strands at equal length while the first loop is formed (step two). Once the knot is loosely formed (step three), apply steady pressure so that the loops begin to tighten, continue to ensure that both legs are equal and all twists are removed.

The other handy hint is to snug the knot by firstly lubricating it (with saliva), then using your thumb and forefinger (including your fingernails) to push the knot’s coils towards the swivel’s ring. Once the knot is fully seated against the swivel ring, you still need to snug it tighter or it will remain too loose and may deform under full tension such as when fighting a fish. To tighten the cat’s paw connection even further, clip the snap swivel onto a fixed point such as a harness clamp on a lever drag game reel while you pull on the double with one hand to keep tension and simultaneously snug the lubricated knot up to the ‘ring’. A system that has a swivel instead of a snap swivel, will often use a clip that clips onto their swivel; thus their swivel is held while the knot is being bedded down. An alternative is a pin or nail (hammered) or a hook (screwed) into a solid fixture, the eye (aka ring) of the swivel can then be placed over the nail\pin\hook.

A final consideration is that the cat’s paw can only be tied in an intact double loop; if the loop has been cut (such as when retying a new swivel) then you will need to use a knot other than a cat’s paw. Hence you need to know how to tie not only the cat’s paw but also an alternative.

Steps

1

Thread the double through the eye of the swivel.

2

Fold the loop end of the double back over the double.

3

Rotate the swivel through the loop. Do this between 3-10 times depending on your line. The line’s diameter and stiffness play a big part in how well you can snug the knot; and this then influences the best number of turns.

4

Lubricate and then snug the knot.