Bimini twist
Encyclopedia
The Bimini twist is a fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
knot
Knot
A knot is a method of fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or several segments of rope, string, webbing, twine, strap, or even chain interwoven such that the line can bind to itself or to some other object—the "load"...
used for offshore trolling and sportsfishing and the creation of double-line leaders. A Bimini twist creates a loop at the end of the line in which it is tied. The loop secured at the top with a long barrel of coiled line created by the tying process. A Bimini twist loop is stronger than the line itself. It is one of the rare knots that does not weaken the line in which it is tied. It is a simple method of doubling your fishing line in order to prevent chaffing or to create the necessary loop in order to attach a wind-on leader without using strength in the mainline. For use in fishing applications, the old stand by is 20-30 initial twists in nylon monofilament and 60 or more initial-twists in Spectra-type braided line.
An article in Sportfishing Magazine in February 2007 made the claim that fewer twists created greater strength. However, the holding mechanism in a Bimini Twist is the friction created by the twists. It was quickly and has since been often demonstrated that the 12-twist knot (proposed in the article) in Spectra-braid slipped before breaking. It is not known what testing errors led to the erroneous conclusion that fewer twists made a stronger knot.