How I tie my Bimini Twists

[Atlantaking]

In response to the Alberto knot thread and the questions about the Bimini Twist, here’s my way of tying the Bimini Twist. It’s not pretty; working the camera with both hands tied up (pun intended ) isn’t easy. Anyhow, this isn’t the only way, nor am I saying this is the best or quickest, but I can tie one easily within a minute. It’s just my way that requires only your two hands, a rod and a reel (my lovely Blue Yonder, in this case). The line I’m using is 20lb Ande in the “Envy Green” color for the highest visibility on camera. I'm using 20lb Ande because I do use it for surf-fishing, and the shock leader knot system I use is a short loop BT with a no-name. Some of the pics are rather dark, and I brightened them up as best I could. Enjoy.

OK. As promised, two hands, a rod and a reel. Well, and line, of course Thread the line through the rod, all the way through the tip and all. Pull down enough to reach the reel, plus around a couple feet extra. Put the reel in gear and tighten the drag.


Make a loop, leaving about 12” of tag end. Hold the standing end and the tag end with one hand, and the loop with the other.


Make 20 twists however you can (I use 20 for mono, and 40 for braid). I just “twirl” my left hand and each time it goes around, it makes a twist, so I go 20 times. This part is hard to explain without a video camera so you’ll just have to think about it.


Now, here’s the part that gets people…”what do I do now that I have a loop in one hand, two strand of line in the other?” and “just how in the !@@#%^$%@^ am I supposed to pull the standing end straight, the tag end at a 90 degree angle, and push the twists up to form the bimini twist portion?” Well, here’s the answer, as was mentioned before: loop the loop onto the reel. This frees up a hand to push the twists up towards the tag end while allowing the other hand to hold the tag end at a 90 degree angle. After you’ve looped the loop onto the reel, crank down the handle so that it tightens up the standing end and keeps it all tight. Keep your grasp on the tag end this whole time!!!


Now, at this point, if you’ve been following the directions, the rod and reel should just be sitting there in your lap or in a rod holder, a slight bend in the rod because the line is tightened down, and your hand holding the tag end. Your other hand should be free, and the knot thus far should not fall apart.

Start the twists by pulling the tag end up at a 90 degree angle to the rest of the line. Keep holding the tag end!


While still holding the tag end, stick your finger between the crook formed by the twists between the reel and the main body of twists. Push (or pull, depending on your angle) the “crook” towards your hand holding the tag end, letting the first few wraps coil onto the main body of the twists. Don’t worry too much about it being loosely spaced, just get the “barrel twists” on top like in the left portion of the pic where the tag has collapsed back onto the twists and is forming more twists on top of the existing ones. Make sense?


Still with me? Still holding the tag end? Good. Let’s proceed. As the first few twists form up, you can push them together to form the tight “barrel twists” in the body by keeping one finger of the pushing hand in the crook, and pushing with the thumb and fore finger of the same hand. Basically, you want to make the barrel twists tight and neat, while keeping twists under it. After that’s done, finish making the barrel twists on top of the body until the loop of line on the reel has no more twists, as seen in the picture.


Here’s a picture of the body of the Bimini Twist close up. Note that the barrel wraps are smooth and tight against each other, with no gaps, and the two legs of the loop are straight. The lines under the barrel wraps are still crossed several times and are locked in by the barrel wraps; this is what contributes to the integrity of the knot. Keep holding the tag end!


Tie a half hitch around one leg of the loop. Now, you can let go of the tag end because the half hitch locks in the body of the BT so it won’t come undone. Some folks like to put a half hitch around the other leg, and then one around both legs after. If it strikes your fancy, feel free. Hey, it’s your line!


To finish the knot, you make a loop with the tag end, and bring the tag inside the loop around the two legs 4-6 times.


Now, slowly draw it down until the big loop is gone, but still loose. Lube it up generously with spit, and in one quick, smooth motion, draw it tight against the body of the BT.


Tighten and trim the tag end.


Here’s the finished product. You should have a nice, small neat knot and then a loop. The loop is the double line portion of my shock leader knot and the Bimini Twist is what forms it. Depending on the initial size of the loop, you can make the finished loop bigger or smaller. If I'm tying a long bimini in mono, I usually will make as many turns around the body of the reel as needed before making the 20 twists (by passing the tag end around the standing end 20 times). Then, continue as above.


Here’s a close up of the knot.

[MrBill]

Excellent pictures and description Atlantaking. Did you take those by yourself while tying the knot. If so, you are a man among men.

[Bret]

Very nice.. thats a lot better explanation than I could have done.. its hard enough to do it by yourself, much less take photos of the process..

[SkeeterRonnie]

on a side note. How do you like the cork grips as opposed to hypalon for salt fishing? Nice knot and description.

[Basil]

Excellent...

[TeamOso]

I do what you do....25 wraps cinch down cept to hold the knot I do a half hitch on the left then a half hitch on the right, then a half hitch around the whole loop....is this alright?

[Fishhead56]

Excellent...........

Six kids in my mom's familey (2 left handers) and we still all tie our shoes
different..........sp............?

[fishr1989]

great description!!

very easy to understand

[Ragman]

Very nice and thanks for posting!

[lite-liner]

Thank you Atlantaking. I now have a full understanding of what is done.
gonna try this & the "alberto" tonight.
One question.........
How the hell does one tie this knot AND scroll my mouse down to
read the directions, all while holding the tag end?

welcome to 360.tuna!
-Brian