The slim beauty knot is a great line-to-line knot with a low-profile, quick-to-tie, and plenty strong for most applications.
However, it’s not as strong as, say, the FG Knot. This is a solid knot if you want to sacrifice a bit of strength for quickness in tying.
It’s great for tying a shock leader to your braid main line.
Let’s learn the slim beauty knot!
Slim Beauty Knot Tying Instructions

- The first step is taking your leader line and doing two overhand knots.
- Pull on the two ends until the knot creates a figure-eight loop.
- Take your mainline, double over itself, and fish it through the two loops in the leader line. Leave enough lines to do multiple wraps. Say at least 6 inches.
- Moisten the leader line and lightly cinch down the double overhand knot.
- Wrap the mainline around the leader line five times, then back over itself another four times.
- There should be a gap in the line between the leader and the mainline near the original cinch knot. Put the mainline through this hole, which resembles a hitch.
- For the last step, moisten the line and, in a steady quick motion, pull the leader line and the mainline to lock the knots in place.
- Congrats, you’ve just created a strong connection between your main line and leaders.


Tips
- If doubling over your mainline is too difficult, you can do it with a single strand. Just do more wraps up and down the leader.
Uses
- This is a great knot for tying a braided line or mono to a fluorocarbon shock leader. The slim profile makes for a beauty of a knot.
Knot Strength
It’s been reported that the slim beauty knot strength approaches 100%. This all depends on the materials being used and the quality of the knot.
Advantages
- The slim beauty knot is great for connecting a large-diameter leader to a smaller mainline.
- It’s a fast knot to tie and is pretty easy after you practice it a few times.
- The low profile makes it easy to travel through your rod guides.
- You don’t need any third-party tools to make this knot.
- When you learn this knot, you’ll be amazed at how low profile it becomes. A straight shot from the main line to the leader.
Disadvantages
- It’s not as strong as an FG knot for a line to line connections.
Frequently Asked Questions
The easy way to tie the slim beauty knot is to create a double overhand knot in your leaders. Then fish your mainline through the two loops in the leader you just made and cinch down your leader knot. Wrap the mainline four times down and up the leader. Lock it off and cinch down the line.
The FG Knot is the strongest, but the slim beauty is faster to tie.
There are many great knots for creating a loop knot. One of the fastest is the Perfection Loop, and one of the strongest is the Surgeon’s Loop.