in fig1 and 3 a filament connector 10 , typically made of plastics is of elliptical shape . at one end an aperture 11 extends into an internal cavity 12 . the cavity 12 defines a pair of walls 13 which converge towards the aperture 11 . a lid 14 of the connector 10 is conveniently formed integral therewith and joined thereto along a thin hinge line 15 . the lid has a pair of protruding prongs 16 aligned , as the lid 14 is closed , to pass through co - acting slots 17 in the connector . as the lid 14 reaches the closed position , a wedge 18 on each prong 16 springs outwards to catch under the lower surface 19 of the connector , and thereby hold the lid 14 shut . before starting to close the lid 14 , a filament 20 , to which the connector 10 is to be attached , is formed with a bight 21 , which is pushed through the aperture 11 and into the cavity 12 . the natural springiness of the bight 21 moves the filament against or adjacent the walls 13 . a wedge member 22 preferably formed integral with the connector 10 , is connected thereto by a frangible link 23 . the wedge member 22 is folded down into the cavity , so as to lie within the bight 21 and thereupon breaks free of the link 23 . the wedge member 22 is formed with a rounded end 24 , remote from the aperture 11 and a pair of inclined wall 25 , each adjacent and substantially parallel to a different one of the cavity walls 13 . tension in the filament 20 pulls the bight 21 against the rounded end 24 and thence pulls the wedge member 22 toward the aperture 11 . the walls 13 , 25 grip the filament 20 and compress it so that it cannot slip and is , therefore connected to the filament connector 10 . at the opposite end from the aperture 11 the connector 10 is formed with a depression 26 in which the eye of a fishing hook , swivel , sinker or the like is a snug fit , the shank of the hook extending out through a groove 27 . a protrusion 28 on the lid 14 engages in the depression 26 and groove 27 to give stability . instead of the wedge member 22 being attached to the connector 10 it could be attached by a similar frangible link to the lid 14 . instead of the frangible link 23 , a flexible or sliding connection can be provided between the wedge member 22 and the connector 10 or the lid 14 , provided that the wedge member can move freely towards the aperture 11 until the filament 20 is compressed . an eye of a fishing swivel , sinker or the like can be held in the depression 26 , instead of the eye of the hook 29 seen in fig3 . fig4 shows the use of a connector 10 to join one end of a spur line 30 at an intermediate position along a long line 31 . in this design , the filament connector 10 has two apertures 11 , cavities 12 and wedge member 22 at opposite ends thereof . the spur line 30 has a bight 21 formed adjacent one end thereof , which is gripped within one of said cavities . a length of the long line 31 is also formed into a bight 21 which is pushed into the other of the cavities 13 . when the lines 30 , 31 are pulled , they are fastened to the connector 10 and thereby to each other . fig5 shows a similar design adapted to be connected to the ends of two filaments 20 , which thereby become connected to each other . in fig6 to 10 , a filament connector 10 includes a one - piece body 34 which is conveniently moulded of a suitable plastics . as can be seen from fig6 and 10 , the body 34 is formed with a passage 35 right through . the passage 35 has a substantially parallel roof 36 and floor 37 and flat convergent side walls 38 . a central rib 39 depends from the roof 36 . the passage 35 has broader and narrower open ends 40 , 41 respectively . a loose wedge member 42 is a sliding fit within the passage 35 , the wedge member 42 having convergent substantially flat side walls 43 of the same included angle as the side walls 38 of the passage 35 . the wedge member 42 has a rounded broader end 44 and a longitudinal central groove 45 into which the rib 39 is a sliding fit , whereby the wedge member 42 is constrained to slide centrally along the passage 35 . when the side walls 43 bear against the side walls 38 of the passage 35 , the narrow end 48 of the wedge member 42 protrudes beyond the narrow end 41 of the passage 35 , so that the wedge member 42 can be pushed back up the passage 35 . a cylindrical depression 46 is formed into the top of the body 10 and is connected into the passage 35 by an opening 47 . to attach a fishing line to the filament connector 10 , the wedge member 42 is pushed back towards to broader end 40 of the passage so that there is a space between each side wall 38 and the adjacent sidewall 43 . one end of the fishing line is threaded into the narrower end 41 of the passage 35 and into one of said spaces . the line is pushed until it appears out of the broader end 40 of the passage 35 . it is then bend round and the end inserted into the broader end 40 into the other of said spaces and pushed until it emerges from the narrower end 41 . thus , the line substantially encompasses the wedge member 42 . when the line , and its free end are together pulled , the wedge member 42 is drawn through the passage 35 until the line becomes trapped between the wedge member 42 and the convergent side wall 38 . the harder the main length of line is pulled , the tighter it , and the free end length , become gripped . it has been found that , for nylon monofilament fishing line and for the types of plastics used for the connector , an included angle between the side walls 38 , and therefore between the sidewalls 43 , of 8 to 9 degrees gives optimum grip and function . at an included angle of 6 degrees it becomes difficult to disengage the wedge member 42 and at included angles of 10 degrees or more , inadequate grip is achieved , particularly of lines having nominal breaking loads of 2 to 5 kg . to attach a conventional fishing hook to the filament connector 10 , the barbed point of the hook is passed first through the depression 46 , then through the opening 47 and out through the broader end 40 of the passage 35 . the shank of the hook is maneouvered to follow the point until eventually the circular eye of the hook nests in the depression 46 . the hook is then effectively held by the connector 10 . in order to assist passage of the barbed point , a small groove 49 may be formed in the floor 37 , to accommodate parts of the hook , as it passes through . game fishing quality line , to the standards of the international game fishing association typically breaks at around 29 . 5 kg for a 20 kg nominal line under a straight pull . when such line is knotted , the stress raising effect of the knot causes breakage at around 22 . 5 kg . however , if one of the filament connectors 10 is used instead of a knot to attach a hook , for example , breakage occurs at around 97 % of the actual breaking force ie . 97 % of around 29 . 5 kg . it has been found that the factor of around 97 % is achieved for lines from 1 kg to 30 lbs nominal breaking force . in some embodiments of the invention , the body 34 can be devised as a lure itself . for example , it can be of bright , reflective or fluorescent colouring or made in the shape of a fish or other bait etc or can be shaped so as to spin or wriggle in known manner .