Bimini twist

[peatop]

I've been using the FG knot to join braid to fluoro and mono since I've been back fishing but the bimini twist comes up in articles and videos time after time and thought i would look it up to see why it's used. There seems to be 2 reasons people like it the first is it's classed as a 100% knot, given that it's knot (pun) the knot used to join the braid to leader i dont see it as a useful knit in this sense. The second reason given sparked some intrest, the knot acts like a spring and relieves pressure from both the line and knots caused by braid and fluoro being stretch free.

So i thought i would try and raise a discussion on the subject, do you use it? Why? And what setups eg: light 8lb, med 15lb, heavy 30lb+
Do you use it for braid or on mono setups too?
Have you used it? Why did you change?

Any comments would be very grateful

[erik the viking]

Hey Pete;
I always thought the Bimini was for the larger lines greater then 80lb.
I have only see it on setups chasing GT's and big game setups.
Then again my fishing experience is somewhat restricted to anything under 500gm trout and toadies!

[shane]

Never used a bimini twist and wouldn't be inclined to. It's a bit overkill imho, particularly when an FG does the job well and can be retied on the water.

[happyas]

I use the bimini twist a lot of the time. In nylon line it is a fantastic shock absorber. I learned of it when competition casting many years ago as the shocker knot at the sinker.. I always use it when surf fishing at our eastern Victorian beaches where there are no rocks and I have never had a cast off/bust off when using it. It is primarily a double knot, for tying game doubles, but tied short it makes a great shocker knot. I sometimes us it when joining braid to braid or braid to nylon. When braid to braid, it gives me a good feeling to know that my joining knot is actually double thick where it matters. It is easy and quick to tie and a short one honestly takes me about 1 minute. The bimini is not the actual knot that joins the line. When joining braid to nylon I use a bimini in the nylon and a Albright knot in the loop formed by the bimini twist. If anyone is interested I can describe how to tie a short one quickly, with photos maybe. It ties well in light line if one is a bit careful. When tied in nylon and stretch is applied to the nylon you can see the knot stretch and spin as it "unwinds" and "rewinds" as the line is relaxed.

[peatop]

Thanks guys im assuming by the responce it's knot (pun) used widely here, after my initial post i tried different ways of searching the why's on google and have to wonder about the reasons behind the development of the knot in several articles it was mentioned that it is often used in comps where there is a line class to increase the strength of the line at the business end, now in saying this as i menioned previously the knot acts as a spring so knot only is the line doubled but it has a built-in shock absorber which Larry mentioned in his reply. Further reading produced a test carried out by salt strong between the FG and bimini/+joiner knot, according to their tests the FG won all but 1, however when the FG was used following the bimini the total setup was a winner, now this is only testing the bimini for knot strength not testing it for (what i think) is it's intended use.

My conclusions so far are somewhat mixed, doubling the the braid and having double the knots to travel through your guides when casting seems a bit much, however for trolling this would make very little difference, the thought of having a shock absorber on the business end when that fish does those sudden moves you might not be prepared for it could be the difference between landing and loosing, is it worth the effort to use the bimini twist? In my opinion yes! However only when trolling and in situations where the spring affect is what your after, like Larry explained Will i be using it? Hmm im tempted to try it on atleast 1 trolling setup, i will practice tying it thats for sure as you never know.

[happyas]

In braid it ties a very low profile knot indeed. Probably not as shock absorbing in braid as it is in nylon. BUT as I said it does give me a nice feeling to know that my actual joining knot is tied with double line. It goes through the runners without even a whisper when tied in braid. Picture shows a bimini twist with the tag end intact, tied in 20lb braid.

[cobby]

I use it to tie make doubles in the braid before the shock leader on kingfish gear and making doubles in 15-37kg game gear. With the braid its an insurance should a fish run through the kelp and reef and its extra stretch on the mono under heavy drag loads when close to the boat.