How to Tie the Pitzen Knot (16-20 Knot)
Usage
The Pitzen Knot is for tying your tippet or leader to a fly, or your line to a hook or lure, in monofilament or fluorocarbon. It cinches down into a small, low-profile knot right against the hook eye — small enough that it won't spook fish or snag on casts — and it is very strong on the thin, light lines where most terminal knots give up strength. Its home turf is fly fishing on 3X–6X nylon tippet, and it has earned a devoted following among European competition fly anglers and ultralight tackle enthusiasts.
Why Learn the Pitzen Knot?
Two reasons. First, on thin 3X–6X nylon tippet it is exceptionally strong, repeatedly outperforming better-known terminal knots in hand-pulled comparison. Second, it tells you it's tied right before the fish does: a correctly seated Pitzen gives an audible, tactile "pop" or click as it locks, with the tag end exiting the front of the knot nearly parallel to the standing line — the side of the line under load. No pop means the knot failed; cut it off and retie.
Common Uses
Fly Fishing
- Tying tippet or leader to a fly in 3X–6X nylon — its primary, best-documented job.
- Euro-nymphing and competition fly fishing on ultralight 6X–7X tippet, where every bit of knot strength matters.
Spin and Conventional Fishing
- Attaching mono or fluorocarbon directly to the eye of large lures with big treble hooks — unlike the Palomar knot, it doesn't need a bulky loop passed over the trebles. (Same careful seating technique required as in fly fishing.)
Other Names
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Similar Knots
San Diego Jam Knot vs. Pitzen Knot
- Advantage: Nearly identical structure with one extra tuck through the bottom opening — that single extra pressure point is what lets it hold in braided line, where the Pitzen fails.
- Disadvantage: Slightly more to tie; if you fish only mono or fluorocarbon and have the Pitzen's seating technique down, the plain Pitzen does the job.
Improved Clinch Knot vs. Pitzen Knot
- Advantage: More familiar, faster to learn, and easier to teach.
- Disadvantage: Notably weaker on light tippet — the Pitzen is often described as essentially a reversed Improved Clinch Knot that holds far better on thin line.
Trilene Knot vs. Pitzen Knot
- Advantage: Still tieable on heavier line (above roughly 2X), where the Pitzen becomes very hard to seat.
- Disadvantage: Loses to the Pitzen on light 3X–6X nylon tippet in hand-pulled comparison.
Security Level
Secure when dressed and set correctly — and unusually honest about telling you when it isn't. Correct seating (lubrication, wrap count, tightening sequence) is the difference between a knot that holds and one that snaps as you tie it. Within its proper mono/fluoro niche, forum consensus calls it among the strongest single pass-through-the-eye knots, though some testers rate the Orvis knot a touch higher. In braided line, it is not secure at all — see Downsides.
Downsides
- Fails in Braided Line: Braid's slick surface doesn't give the wrap-lock the friction it needs, and the knot will pull free. Use the San Diego Jam Knot for braid instead.
- Heavy-Line Ceiling: Hard to impossible to seat correctly above roughly 2X tippet / 10–15 lb (4.5–6.8 kg) test. This is a seating limit, not a strength limit — the knot simply won't compress into its lock by hand on stiff, heavy line.
- Real Learning Curve: Easy once mastered, but practice is crucial before you get a consistent, correct seat. Running through it a few times with a set of knot tying cards builds the muscle memory fast.
- Cut and Retie Only: Like most tippet knots, it's a permanent connection — nobody unties a Pitzen; you cut it off.
History
The Pitzen Knot is a genuine case of parallel invention rather than a single lineage. It's independently credited to E. Pitzenbauer of Germany, to Ken Eugene of the San Jose Fly Casters Club (hence "Eugene Bend"), and to E. Richard Nightingale, who published it as the "16-20 Knot", named for the "16-20 Club" of anglers who'd landed a trophy salmon on a small hook or fly. It has no entry in The Ashley Book of Knots — a specialist angler's knot that never crossed into the general knot literature.
How to Tie the Pitzen Knot
The standard four-wrap method (four wraps for thin or slick tippet like 7X and fluorocarbon; drop to three wraps on standard or thicker mono). If the wrap-and-tuck is hard to picture from flat steps, the Knot IQ app lets you slow the animation down and watch exactly which loop the tag goes back through — the single most common error point in this knot.
Step 1
Thread the line through the eye of the hook and loop the tag end back under the standing part — the side of the line that runs back to your rod.
Step 2
Hook the doubled line around the tip of your index finger, then wind the tag back down around the two parallel lines, making four wraps working back toward the eye.
Step 3
Pass the tag end back through the small loop being held by your finger.
Step 4
Lubricate the knot and line, then tighten it down onto the standing line, sliding it to the hook eye with your fingertips — not by pulling the standing line. Once positioned, pull tight. Listen and feel for the "pop" as it seats, and check that the tag exits the front of the knot nearly parallel to the standing line. No pop, or a tag sticking out at an angle? Cut it off and retie.
FAQ
Is the Pitzen Knot the same as the 16-20 Knot?
Most sources treat them as the same structure arrived at by parallel invention, though a few disagree on a specific structural detail — an open question we haven't settled with a hands-on comparison yet.
Can I use the Pitzen Knot with braided line?
No — use the San Diego Jam Knot instead, which is nearly identical but adds one extra tuck for the friction braid needs.
Does the Pitzen Knot really keep 95% of your line's strength?
Treat that number with suspicion. The "95%" figure is repeated across nearly every commercial knot site, but none of them discloses a testing methodology, sample size, or line brand. What careful comparative testing does show is that the Pitzen holds up very well on light tippet — often the line breaks before the knot does — but a specific percentage isn't something to bank on.
Important Notes on Safety
Two things to remember. The Pitzen does not hold reliably in braided line — it will pull free, so switch knots for braid. And because a real, hard pull on the standing line is required to seat it, anchor the fly or hook on something solid (the finger loop of your forceps works) before that final pull — an incorrectly formed Pitzen typically snaps during the seating pull itself rather than later under a fish, which is exactly the self-check you want.
