Bimini Twist why?

[Billo]

A lot of people think screw twisting it too death ....but you will find it is a hell of a lot easier to finish when you have done 40+ twists .

One little hint for those having difficulty with twisting ...an easy way to do it .

make your double the length you want , and instead of holding the line from the end and twisting , hold only the last 2 feet of the double and spin that (35 does the job but spin more if you wish ) ..then when you have done that , place the end of the loop over you big toe , slide you hands back till you get almost to the end ( about 1 foot left of line ).
Use your finger inside the loop from the toe to slide all the twists up to the end .Whilst your sliding your finger up , almost at the end ,you can slowly ease tension on the length of tag remaining and it will spin itself straight back over and ...then just slip in your pull loop and bind 8 + times more over that .pull the tag through and zap it through

it took me ages at first, but you look at the results of practice , and 40 spins tightens into and unbelievably small knott

[Duncs]

In regards to the plait in braid - works fine, I've been using it for a while since I had a sprained wrist. I was a real hassle trying to do biminis for the twisted fly leaders I sell in the shop. Have since started using plaits for all my doubles - braid and mono. about 1.5-2cm long seems to do fine in light braid. Just make them a nice tight weave.

BTW I did a few tests trying to find out the strongest and smallest connnection for braid to mono

Single strand 8lb platypus super braid to 15lb mono-

Using 9 turn Uni (braid Side) against 4 turn Uni (Mono)
Consistantly broke at 4kg
Using 9 turn Uni (braid side) against 4 turn blood knot in the mono
Broke 4.5kg sometimes up to 5kg. also a neater knot as the tag can be trimmed really short.

Plaited Double in 8lb Super Braid to 15lb mono-
Using Sig Knot (I'll find a link on how to tie and post it) but a Uni to blood connection should work just as well.
Broke always at the double under 6-7kg of pressure.

Considering how fine a diameter the 8lb super braid has, Im very impressed with the results. It wasn't a very scientific test, just me tying knots and pulling them against a regular spring scale until it popped.

Im interested to hear of anyone elses tests. Just remember if you are trying to compare braids and fused lines, pay more attention to the diameter of the lines tested rather than the 'nominated' breaking strain, especially when playing with fireline.

Cheers

Duncan

[1337]

So very true lordy. How does braid compare? Does the stuff break around its stated manufactured breaking strain? (dont have any 4lb braid to test on)

[whitey73]

Been using 50 pd super braid with the halfhitches onto 50pd mono with an Albright and i can pull trees down with the bloody stuff. Gets them Barra and Jacks out of the Timber well to. Tried the Pull through a few times but hard to do when all hell is breaking loose around ya in the middle of the night.

[Fitzy]

Originally finished a bimini with a half hitch each side & one around the lot for good measure. Went to the Rosuto finish for a while but am not convinced it gives any advantage. Have also had a Rosuto unravel a couple of times, so I'm back to the half hitches.

Harro always recons a 70 turn bimini is best, minumum of 40.
30 turns = 70%. 70 turns = 88% (source www.harro.com.au )

If I'm going GsP to light mono leader (under 15lb) I more often use an inverted albright these days. Only use the bimini if I'm using a Knotted Dog leader (connected with Cats Paw) or heavy mono (connected with X Knot).

In finesse situations a doubled section of line can have a detrimental effect. Can also catch more wind/current making it harder to cast/fish. I try to avoid over engineer if possible.

Fitzy..

[CamH]

As Team_Mongo said there is an in depth article on the bimini knot in the latest edition of Bluewater magazine. The method desribed looks unbelievably complicated but as with anything practice is the way to go. The description on tying the knot is one I've never seen before but it is described in great detail for anyone who wants to really get into it.

[Swamp]

Try the half hitch, but wrap the end of the line under itself 2 or 3 times instead of just once ( a bit like a small uni knot ).
This seems to hold better than a simple half hitch.

[Hutcho]

The bimini is the only way to go for me when using braid onto mono. But how long does everyone make their "loops" when doubling the braid back before tying the mono on? Is there a certain length that gives maximum strength? Currently, I reckon mine would be about 20cms long. Too short?

[agnes_jack]

Hutcho
If your only purpose for the bimini is to enhance the strength of the mono to braid knot, short is fine. A lot of blokes will tie a longer one to give extra abrasion resistance at the buisness end. It also can be used to give extra strength for lifting a fish into the boat etc. In some situations I tie the bimini long enough to give a couple of wraps around the reel for handling the fish once close to the boat. Gives a bit of extra security when going for the gaff shot etc.

Regards, Tony

[basserman]

tony whats your thought on a plated double???

[agnes_jack]

Basserman
I've never tried to do a plait myself, have never had any reason to change from the bimini, but I know that a few of the serious gamefishers swear by it. I'll learn how to do it and try it out.

regards, Tony

[basserman]

i do it but only because i find it easyer but then again i haven't found anyone that could teach me the twist face to face yet!
tryed out of the book but start to get lost half way through

[agnes_jack]

Yeah mate
can be very confusing trying to follow those little line drawings sometimes! The bimini is very easy once you get someone to show you once or twice.

regards, Tony

[basserman]

i'v tryed the tackle shops around here but they are lacking somewhat in the sportsfishing area

might just need to come up to the water for you to show me

[Hutcho]

I used to think the bimini was a pretty awkward looking knot to tie, until my mate at the local tackle shop showed me his style. Now i use big toes, wrists, teeth you name it, but the knot works perfectly everytime. I use the bimini for the shock absorber power of having two lines of braid compared to one and the strength. Plus, I do find it the best way to tie mono onto braid using the albright knot. I'm sure the style I've got going for my albright would make some people laugh, but testament to my knots, when i get a snag, I can always count on losing whatever it at the end of the line and not for the mono or knots to give way.
I'll give the loop a bit more room next time for that extra security of not getting busted off against pylons, rocks or gnarky teeth.

What is this platting business of knots to do with? Is it a braid to mono knot?

hutcho