How to Tie a Cat's Paw Knot

How to Tie a Cat's Paw 


 Also referred to as an Offshore Swivel Knot, the Cat's Paw is an effective and easy knot to use when attaching a monofilament double line to the ring of a heavy-duty swivel. Start by taking your double line and placing it through the eye of the swivel. Then make a half turn of the loop.

 Fold the loop back over the double line and hold both sides of the loop open, leaving enough room to flip the swivel back through the loop.

 Start passing the swivel through the opening you've created. You'll want to pass the swivel through the loop more times if you're using light line and fewer times with heavy line. When using 50-pound monofilament, five loops will suffice. If you make too many loops the knot will be difficult to cinch and wont sit correctly.

 Once you've made a sufficient amount of passes through the loop with the swivel, lubricate the mono with some saliva and begin to draw the Cat's Paw tight.

 Slowly tighten the knot using two hands. Pull the swivel with one hand and the double line with the other.

The finished knot is very strong because the stress is distributed along multiple wraps instead of a single pulling point.

Story and photos by Steve Dougherty.