How to Tie the Angler's Loop on a Bight
Usage
The Angler's Loop on a Bight is what you tie when you need a loop in the middle of a line and neither end is free to work with — a leader that's already rigged, a lanyard already knotted off at both ends, a length of cord you don't want to cut. It's a different way into the same finished knot as the standard Angler's Loop: instead of starting from an accessible rope end, you start from a bight — a folded section in the middle of the line — and finish it the same way from there.
Once it's set, it holds and behaves exactly like the standard Angler's Loop: a compact, in-line loop that lies flat against the standing line and passes cleanly through rod guides. The only thing that changes is how you get there.
Why Learn the Angler's Loop on a Bight?
Learn it because it solves a problem the standard Angler's Loop can't: adding a loop to a line you can't get an end from. Cutting the line and re-tying costs you material and time; the bight method lets you drop a mid-line loop wherever you need one — a dropper point on a leader, a hanging point partway down a lanyard — without touching either end.
The finishing lead-and-tuck is identical to the standard Angler's Loop, which you can watch tied step-by-step in the Knot IQ app. If you want to drill the round-turn start before trying it on your actual leader, the practice cord in our Knot Tying Kit is a good low-stakes place to work it out.
Common Uses
Fishing
- Adding a mid-line dropper or leader loop without cutting the line.
- Tippet droppers and mid-leader loops in fly fishing.
- A mid-line eyeknot on cordage — this exact bight-tied form has turned up on discarded commercial-fishing line, not just in tutorials.
Camping and Utility
- Mid-line attachment loops on cordage and lanyards — fine for a light-duty hanging point, not a load-bearing rigging loop.
- A hanging point mid-rope without untying either end.
Other Names
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Notable Features
- Tied in the Bight: No rope ends required — the whole knot is built from a fold in the middle of the line.
- Same Finished Knot: Functions exactly like a standard Angler's Loop once it's set.
- Compact Profile: A low-profile loop that lies in line with the rope, so it doesn't snag or add bulk.
Similar Knots
Perfection Loop vs. Angler's Loop on a Bight
The Perfection Loop is the same finished knot, tied from an accessible rope end instead of a bight.
- Advantage: Simpler when you have a free end — no round-turn setup needed.
- Disadvantage: Needs that free end; it won't work in the middle of a line.
Alpine Butterfly Loop vs. Angler's Loop on a Bight
The Alpine Butterfly Loop is the general-purpose mid-line loop for rope.
- Advantage: Unties after being loaded and handles three-way loading — better suited to rope.
- Disadvantage: Bulkier, and less suited to light monofilament and fluorocarbon leaders.
Double Dragon Loop vs. Angler's Loop on a Bight
The Double Dragon Loop is the closest mid-line competitor for this exact use case.
- Advantage: Doesn't jam the way this knot does, so it's easier to untie after a load.
- Disadvantage: Its standing part can shift under repeated cyclic loading — a chafing risk this knot's jammed-tight form avoids.
Security Level
This is a secure knot once it's dressed and drawn up correctly, and it holds well wet or in bungee and shock cord. It doesn't work loose when slack. The trade-off is the same one the standard Angler's Loop makes: it jams tight under real load, so treat it as permanent rather than something you'll untie and retie.
Downsides
- Jams After Load: Like the standard Angler's Loop, it locks up hard under real tension and usually has to be cut off rather than untied.
- Slightly More Involved: The bight/round-turn start adds a step the end-tied version doesn't need.
- Best on Thin Line: Suited to monofilament, fluorocarbon, twine and light cord — not a general-purpose rope loop, and it's not recommended on slick braided line.
- Wrong Tool With a Free End: If you can reach a rope end, tie the standard Perfection Loop instead — the bight method is specifically for when you can't.
History
Clifford Ashley catalogued this bight-tying method in his 1944 knot reference (viewable at the Internet Archive) as a named variant of the standard Angler's Loop, writing that it "may be tied in the bight" and started "with a round turn." He treated the entry almost as a footnote — "only the method of tying is original" — but still gave it his strongest single-line endorsement in the book: "no better loop for small stuff than this."
In 2009, a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers reported finding this exact bight-tied form used as a mid-line eyeknot in a piece of discarded commercial-fishing cordage — real-world confirmation that the mid-line application is a genuine field practice, not just a textbook curiosity.
How to Tie the Angler's Loop on a Bight
Step 1
Take a bight — a folded section in the middle of your line — at the point where you want the loop, with no need to reach either end.
Step 2
Start with a round turn in the bight, rather than the finger-turns opening you'd use from a rope end.
Step 3
Lead the large turn over the second turn and thread it through the first bight — the same lead-and-tuck that forms the standard Angler's Loop.
Step 4
Pull it taut to seat the finished loop, and check that the working part exits at roughly 90 degrees to the standing line.
There's also a quick-release version, credited to Geoffrey Budworth, for light-duty use — worth knowing it exists, though it can't be freed once the loop is already around a fixed object.
FAQ
Can you tie this knot around a post, ring or rail?
No — not with any method that's been published. The sequence needs the line loose in your hands to take the round turn and make the tuck, so it can't be worked onto something already fixed. If the object can't be threaded, use the Farmer's Loop instead — it's built to form around a post.
The back of my knot has a crossover — did I tie it wrong?
Not necessarily. Some tyers get a version with the strands running parallel and no crossover, and report it holds up fine either way. Judge the finished knot by two checks instead: the working part should exit at roughly 90 degrees from the standing line, and the loop should read like a bowline from one side and a figure-eight from the other.
Does the quick-release version slip under heavy load?
Unknown — treat it as light-duty only, and use the standard method above whenever the load actually matters.
