Best Knot for Surf Fishing: Alberto Knot

I spent an hour and a half on the phone with “Crazy” Alberto Knie the other day. Knie is one of the East Coast’s most respected surf-casters, a guy who gave up his corporate career as a creative director for a New York ad agency so that he could spend the rest of his life fishing.

Knie is a wild interview. When discussing his predilection for fishing at night, he says, “I only fish the nonhuman hours.” You saw the nickname earlier, right?

Sometimes the best knot is the one you know best. And sometimes the best knot is the one Knie is known for. The Alberto knot works well for connecting braid to mono leaders. It’s small enough to pass through your guides but strong enough to land 50-pound fish through the surf.

I’m still on the phone. Knie has a lot of fish stories, but take him with a grain of salt. “In storytelling,” Knie says, “there’s always three versions: their story, my story and the truth.”