12 turn Bimini optimal?

[MarkR]

Hi Guys,

Bought the latest issue of Sport Fishing Magazine. There's an article in it which suggests a 12 turn Bimini in spectra tested closer to 100% than a 40 to 60 turn Bimini. A little counter-intuitive. Here's a link to the Allcoast Tackle Board where this article is dicussed.

http://www.allcoastsportfishing.com/...d=160618&page=

Will try to scan the tables of the test results and put it up here later tonight

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Hi Guys,

Bought the latest issue of Sport Fishing Magazine. There's an article in it which suggests a 12 turn Bimini in spectra tested closer to 100% than a 40 to 60 turn Bimini. A little counter-intuitive. Here's a link to the Allcoast Tackle Board where this article is dicussed.

http://www.allcoastsportfishing.com/...d=160618&page=

Will try to scan the tables of the test results and put it up here later tonight

We are waiting too busy with night time Kungfu rituals to scan is it???

[MarkR]

Dun suan me lar Mak...what's all this "hail hail" stuff (still trying to figur eout how to get that done)...whahahahahahahahah....ok lah, promise by sat or sunday....anyway what are u guys doing up at 130 am in the morning huh???

[rascal]

Hi MarkR

Eagerly awaiting cos I've come across an article via Caranx that's convinced me to do 70 turn Bimini twists. Anyway here's the link http://www.westernangler.com.au/defa...=article&ID=87.

Cheerio!

[MarkR]

Guys,

I don't think i'll be able to scan the whole article. Just the tables. Wouldn't be nice to copy the whole thing and put it up here on FO. Anyway, have been using 70-80 turn Biminis without much problem over the last 2 to 3 years.

I've also read that article written by Hal Harvey in WA before. I doubt the FG/mid-knot is that weak. Their finding that, " in all instances, it was the Bimini Twist or the Midknot itself that broke, not the main line or the leader" is also contrary to what a lot of anglers have experienced with Biminis I think.

Cheers

[rascal]

Well, I was doing 30 turns on my Bimini and now have much less bust off with the 70-turn Bimini. I use the midknot to tie a wind on leaders and have not experienced the weakness shown in their tests. That's probably because I have not attempted popping for GTs.

Cheerio!

[MarkR]

Tests with 50lb power pro

[MarkR]

Tests with 20lb fireline

[MarkR]

Text description

[MarkR]

Just to add, the author advocates the 12-turn Bimini + Yucatan as the best Braid-Mono connection

[Makaira]

Hi All,

After having read the excerpts of the article (thanks MarkR) it isn't really that counter-intuitive actually. Personally, I used to tie 60-70 turn bimini for my spectra doubles simply because it looks nice & cool After the initial stages, I stopped doing it because I think it does serious damage to the mainline if not done properly. The amount if twists it imparts on to the main line clearly weakens it somehow. This weakness becomes evident when you tighten the line to straighten it out, or when putting on a loop-to-loop connection for wind-ons. I always test my bimini by pulling it very, very hard to ensure that it holds and when I do that, sometimes it simply "pops" right where the single mainline meets the start of the bimini.

IMHO, the hype that spectra is very slippery, does not hold & will slip with you do not put more turns, etc, is over an reaction. I think the main thing is to finish the knot properly & well with enough half hitches & that will ensure that it does not slip. I now do perhaps a 25-40 turn bimini at most (depending on the line poundage -- less on thinner lines & more on the heavier stuff) & finish with at least ten or more half-hitches to secure the tag end. I also make sure that there is a lot of slack mainline off the reel to allow room for the twists to "travel" & cause less damage to the mainline as the bimini forms. So far so good & it has not failed me yet. Why less on the thinner lines? Because I feel that the bimini tying process does A LOT if damage to any line & therefore I do less turns on thinner diameter lines. That's just my prersonal preference & others may have other ideas.

Anyway, a 12 turn bimini? Why bother then? Might as well just so a 8-12 turn spider hitch. Much easier to tie & many have used it with success If I am not mistaken, Hawk on Allcoast doesn't bother with the bimini & uses the spider for all his double lines on spectra & he is very happy with it.

Best regards,
Makaira

[rascal]

Woah, interesting stuff (Thanks MarkR). My 30-turn bimini used to "pop right where the single mainline meets the start of the bimini" like Makaira described. I've not experienced this since using 70 turns on my bimini. But on reading this thread, my guess is its not the number of twists but the how the knot is done. I'm now doing it with a lot more care, lots of slsck line n half hitches etc. I'll try doing some 30-turn bimini twists 'with care' and see if it'll still pop.

Thanks y'all!

[DaFrogman]

Mak,

I just bought the mag and read the article... some interesting yet common sense stuff on thermoclines in there too...

My SOP is a 30 turn bimini and I am very happy with it. An area that may not have been covered are sudden shock tests.... Like the GT ones in the WA forum and also different bimini styles. The article was written by Doug Oleander and I reckon he should know how to tie a bimini, but I was struck by your mention of half hitches.

I know that some advocate the use of half hitches on the finishing part of the knot, but I just usually use the Geoff Wilson version with a kinda nail knot to finish my biminis....

When I was messing around last year with the remains of a Jerry Brown 80lb spool, 100lb Sufix Leader and trying to find different ways of varying the midknot, I noticed something interesting. I found that wherever braid crossed itself and hooked back on itself like where you start wrapping back on a bimini, 8 times out of 10, that was where the knot would break.

I came to the same conclusion as you that my knots may not have been tied properly and as such, there was a bit of slack in the knot which allowed the braid to "saw" into itself at key crossover points. So I began to really pay attention on tensioning the bimini as it wrapped back on itself, especially at the beginning of the wrapping back process. I then had only 3 experimental breakoffs out of about 30 I tied that night... I gave up at that point 'cos I was crosseyed and discovered that I had a nice unnoticed braid cut on the side of a joint of my pinky finger.

As for the midknot, I encountered the same breakage problem at the first crossover point on the wrap back and then figured out why it was important to make the first few wraps and last few wraps on the first sequence tighter then the middle wraps... after that, no more problem... but hey, it might just have been luck and getting too tired to pull hard enough.....

Oh and I found one more thing....lubrication of the Bimini especially in the 1st crossover wrap back area is very important... If you don't slick it up enough, you may notice a discolouration in the main line braid at that area, which I postulate is caused by too much friction or heat or both....

Anyway, it was an interesting article especially on the rated and actual breaking strengths...interesting that Jerry Brown was not in the test and neither were any premium Jap PE lines.

Some good info you guys posted, thanks....

Saimee

[MarkR]

Hi fellas,

The discussion continues on western angler.

http://www.westernangler.com.au/foru..._109350/tm.htm

Hal Harvey makes some "interesting" comments

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Hi fellas,

The discussion continues on western angler.

http://www.westernangler.com.au/foru..._109350/tm.htm

Hal Harvey makes some "interesting" comments

I foresee a pending spirited defence of his own conclusion that a 70 turn bimini is the best for braided line.

http://www.westernangler.com.au/defa...=article&ID=87