I learned how to tie the 5 turn improved clinch knot when I was a kid and can tie it very quickly. I'll use this knot when the eye of the hook is too small for a double piece of mono (palomar). It's rated at 86% http://www.animatedknots.com/improvedcli...imatedknots.com
One thing with mono is that you must wet the line before pulling it tight. The friction that the knot creates as it tightens when it's dry heats up and weakens the line.
When fishing salt water I learned how to tie the Uni knot. It's very versatile and can be used for many different things. You can pull it tight to the eye of the hook, you can leave the loop near the hook open so the hook swings freely, you can use it to join 2 lines together, etc. http://www.animatedknots.com/duncan/inde...imatedknots.com
I've also found that when using lighter line (up to and including 8# test), if the fish are continually sucking in the bait deep enough so that their teeth are wearing on the line I have to re-tie every 3-4 fish so the line stays near it's rated breaking strength. If I don't re-tie, I find the line breaks near the hook upon hookset or if I'm lifting the fish out of the water with the hook/line (no net).
This happened last week when bass fishing with a plastic jerk bait. The bass were hitting the lure near it's "head" and must have abraded the line more than normal.
