I have begun to wonder if the OP line was old or bad. Was there a telltale on the line?
Bill
Sometimes it’s the line, often the hook eye. Rarely a burr inside, but if the hook dinged a rock you can get a rub/abrasion on the outer eye portion and it *may* chew into the knot over time. I did this with a file one time and grazed the eye…that fly was shot to heck right there. Another nasty is the eye closure, if it’s incomplete or has an edge to it, watch out. If the knot slips/slides to that area, you just lost a lot of strength.
Look ‘em in the eye before you tie is my mantra, occasionally I’ll spot a sloppy hook before it hits the vise jaws.
As far as half hitches and simple overhand finishes on Clinch? No, no good reason. However, the double overhand loop idea does great with a finish knot. I hate the way the tag end points toward the angler/mainline and put in a double just to get a side exit point to the tag end. No more weed grabber problems! Doesn’t have anything to do with the strength nor does it compromise it, just a way to manage the tag exit angle and it works great.
Clinch has a perfect exit tag the way it is. Palomar sucks just like the Double Overhand, so they get the extra to avoid moss. Try it, a simple overhand finish bends the tag proper on some knots and cannot cut the line as it receives no real tension. Nothing more than a tag bender yet very useful idea.
