Spade Hook Knot (Method 2)

The Spade Hook Knot (Method 2) attaches a line to a hook whose shank ends in a flattened spade instead of an eye. The line is laid along the shank and a series of turns is taken around both the shank and the line itself, so the finished knot grips by friction along the shank and is drawn up snug beneath the spade. Because the pull runs straight down the shank rather than around an eye, the hook hangs in line with the fishing line and the line is not bent sharply at the point where it takes the load. The same knot will also secure a short leader to a heavier main line. Anglers who make up their own hook lengths can match hook size to line strength and choose the length of the leader, neither of which a shop tied hook allows.

Spade end hooks were made before hooks were given eyes, and the knot that secures them is a whipping rather than a knot in the ordinary sense, which is why several sources group it with the whippings. German angling literature treats the spade hook knot as a family rather than a single knot, with the Domhof and a clinch form named as members of it. The English names Pallet Hook Knot and Paddle Hook Knot both describe the flattened blade at the end of the shank. Pallet and the French palette are the same word, a diminutive of pale, meaning a blade or spade, which is why French anglers call the hook itself an hameçon à palette. Paddle is unrelated in origin, coming from a Middle English word for a small spade, but it settles on the same image.

This method of tying the Spade Hook Knot follows the same structure as the Common Whipping. A small loop is formed against the shank and the turns are wound around the shank and the standing part together from the spade end back toward the hook. Ten or more turns are usual. The end is passed through the remaining loop and the whole is drawn up along the shank by pulling on the standing part.

This form is reported to hold up to about 90 percent of the straight breaking strain of the line, and unlike Method 1, it suits braided line as well as monofilament. Braided line takes more turns around the shank, and the finish may be secured with a drop of adhesive.

The line must leave the knot on the inside of the out-turned spade rather than the outside, or the edge of the spade will bear on the line and cut into it under load. Wet the turns before drawing them up so they tighten without burning. Slide the finished knot up until it sits close beneath the spade, then trim the tag end short.