I’ve known this knot as the ‘perfection loop’ all my life, and my parents before me also called it the perfection loop; in fact let me go out on a limb and say that all Aussies know it as a perfection loop.

However, there is another knot that is also called a perfection loop (this other version threads a formed loop inside and through another formed loop, so it isn’t very good for attaching big lures to leaders). I first learned of this other knot when traveling overseas and unfortunately, despite some research, I haven’t found any explanation as to why two very different knots have the same name. This other knot was commonly used when tying on a live bait hook, and was very popular before hooks with rings became prevalent. I’ll look at it next month.

The knot that I’ve known since my Aussie childhood is ideal for tying in heavy leader (and\or stiff leader) as it has fewer twists than many other loop knots. It additionally achieves this while providing a straight towing alignment which can be important for some lures and troll baits. Additionally, since it can be tied when your fingers are slippery (think ‘bait covered’), it also works well when rigging swim baits, such as the types used for trolling, if you aren’t using crimps. In fact, it was the preferred knot prior to crimps becoming popular in the mid to late 1980s. Accordingly, it is still a handy knot to know.

It is probably worth mentioning that any loss in breaking strain due to the use of this connection is normally offset by this knot typically being used in heavy leader. So for now let me call the Aussie version a ‘heavy leader loop knot’ and show you how to tie it.