Plait or biminis?

[Warwick Joyce]

Its seems most people use the bimini twist, has anyone tried a plaited loop? And is there any disadvantages for either? I currently use the plaited loop however I question its strength and hold in heavier braid also I haven't tested it against any fish above 15kg.
Cheers

[Andrew Poulos]

The only time I tried to use the plait method for a double was when livebaiting off the rocks so I could use a long double. But I couldnt get it to work well for me, so I just use a short bimini in all applications. When spinning, there is less of a chance of the legs of the double opening and snagging a guide, so I keep the bimini double as short as I can. And I found the bimini easier to tie.

[Neil Griffiths]

Plait is one of those knots that don't seem to transfer to braid very well.
It does not match the knot strength of a good bimini no matter how well it is tied. It's not a hopeless knot in braid just not as good as the bimini and more time consuming as well.

[Bashir]

I tie plaits in braid all the time and have landed marlin on them.  They come up so neat, it is sometimes difficult to tell if there is evena  knot there.  I think its a myth that the plait is not suitable for braid.

[mike burgess]

I know this is an old thread but does anyone have any further arguments for Bimini vs Plait? I've managed to learn both quite well & now not sure which to use...
I will be cats pawing double to wind on until I can sort out the friction knots.

[Luke Wyrsta]

I know this is an old thread but does anyone have any further arguments for Bimini vs Plait? I've managed to learn both quite well & now not sure which to use...
I will be cats pawing double to wind on until I can sort out the friction knots.

General consensus is 95% Bimini and 5% Plait when it comes to forming doubles in popping and jigging applications.

[mike burgess]

Thanks Luke.
I forgot to say I'm using 80lb braid to form the loop.
Also is a 70 turn bimini best? I read somewhere an article saying it should be 12 - 15 turns but that doesn't seem right.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Thanks Luke.
I forgot to say I'm using 80lb braid to form the loop.
Also is a 70 turn bimini best? I read somewhere an article saying it should be 12 - 15 turns but that doesn't seem right.

I don't think anyone will ever agree on the amount of turns to be honest.

I use 70 turns on 50lb right through to 170lb - it works for me.

Maybe trial both and see what you can tie better or feel more comfortable - not all Bimini tiers are created equal 

[Brandon Khoo]

I reckon it would be more like 99% bimimi, 1% plait 

I know this is an old thread but does anyone have any further arguments for Bimini vs Plait? I've managed to learn both quite well & now not sure which to use...
I will be cats pawing double to wind on until I can sort out the friction knots.

General consensus is 95% Bimini and 5% Plait when it comes to forming doubles in popping and jigging applications.

[Warwick Joyce]

I totally agree Brandon. Once I learnt how to tie the bimini I have much more confidence in it than the plait.
My reasons are this, 1- a bimini is faster for me to tie, 2- I think a 2" bimini has more strength than 2" of plait and 3- I find the plaits bunch a little at the main line end making for an untidy knot.
Once I learnt the bimini I have never again used the plait and dont think I ever will.

Good to see old posts like this pop back up, It show how much this site is such a great resource.

[Kris Taylor]

For the bimini twist i read an article on the braid knot strengths
the results were very interesting (http://www.sportfishingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=43572). the guy found that the less turns the better. theres also very interesting results for the actual strength of various braids and various types of knots (doubles, braid to leader, ect). the whole article starts at http://www.sportfishingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=43557.
Kris

[Brandon Khoo]

Kris - if you do a search, you'll find this topic has been discussed before.