Australian Plait
A woven double built by plaiting three strands rather than twisting two. The plait distributes load across a long section instead of a short compressed one, so it survives repeated shock loading better than a twisted double — at the cost of being slow to build and impossible to inspect once it is bedded.
Advanced · Monofilament / Fluorocarbon / Braid
Connection card
Australian Plait
For line → loop (fixed end loop), double line → leader.
This card does not say how strong the knot is. A retention figure comes from a bench, in one material, at one diameter, tied by somebody who ties it all day — and the line in your hand is none of those. What it does tell you is whether the thing you have just tied is the thing the record describes.
What this plate is telling you
A woven double built by plaiting three strands rather than twisting two. The plait distributes load across a long section instead of a short compressed one, so it survives repeated shock loading better than a twisted double — at the cost of being slow to build and impossible to inspect once it is bedded.
Save this as a picture and it works with a dead signal and a nearly dead battery, which is when a joint is most often tied badly. The rest of this page — the steps, the seating sequence, the failure modes and the bench — is for the evening before.
Before you start
- ·Animated Knots describes it as an alternative to the Bimini twist for a double-line leader used in a loop-to-loop connection.
- ·Plait length depends on line class: NetKnots gives 2.5 to 4 cm (1 to 1.5 in) for 6 lb and under, rising to 20 cm (8 in) for 50 lb and above.
- ·Leave a tag long enough for the whole plait plus about three more plaits for the finish. A plait cannot be lengthened once made.
- ·NetKnots notes the finished knot has a low profile and passes easily through the guides or rollers of the rod.
Step 1 of 4. Double the line into a loop as long as the double you need, leaving a long tag end to plait with.
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
swipe to step
01
Double the line into a loop as long as the double you need, leaving a long tag end to plait with.
A long doubled loop with the tag end hanging free beside the standing line, clearly longer than the plait you plan to make.
Leaving the tag too short for the plait your line class needs. The tag runs out before the plait reaches its length, with nothing left for the finish.
Fix: Unpick the plait and start again with a longer tag. A plait that is too short cannot be lengthened once it is made.
Why: NetKnots sizes the plait by line class, from 2.5 to 4 cm (1 to 1.5 in) in the lightest line to 20 cm (8 in) in the heaviest. The tag has to cover that length plus a few more plaits for the finish.
- Too short a double to plait tightly — Cannot be locked; walks on the first load. The double has to be long enough to plait and lock.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — Australian Plait
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Australian Plait itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 01 / 4
Double the line into a loop as long as the double you need, leaving a long tag end to plait with.
You should now see: A long doubled loop with the tag end hanging free beside the standing line, clearly longer than the plait you plan to make.
If it goes wrong: Leaving the tag too short for the plait your line class needs. The tag runs out before the plait reaches its length, with nothing left for the finish.
Fix: Unpick the plait and start again with a longer tag. A plait that is too short cannot be lengthened once it is made.
Why: NetKnots sizes the plait by line class, from 2.5 to 4 cm (1 to 1.5 in) in the lightest line to 20 cm (8 in) in the heaviest. The tag has to cover that length plus a few more plaits for the finish.
If wrong: Too short a double to plait tightly — Cannot be locked; walks on the first load.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Australian Plait itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 02 / 4
Wrap the tag back around the main line and between the two strands of the loop, then keep plaiting with alternating over and under wraps, pinching the plait and keeping tension on the main line.
You should now see: A tight, even plait growing along the base of the loop, each crossing the same size and no loose strand bulging out.
If it goes wrong: Missing an alternation or letting the main line go slack. The plait shows a loose or doubled crossing and spreads open when you stop pinching it.
Fix: Unpick back to the last tight, even crossing and plait on from there, keeping tension on the main line and the plait pinched.
Why: The plait holds because each wrap of the tag squeezes the two loop strands together. A loose crossing lets the strands slide, and the double can pull out under load.
If wrong: Loose plait that is not a double — Unravels in the guides.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Australian Plait itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 03 / 4
Fold the tag into a small loop, plait about three more times with the doubled tag, then pull the big line loop through the small tag loop.
You should now see: The big loop passed all the way through the small tag loop at the end of the plait, with the tag loop still open.
If it goes wrong: Pulling the tag loop shut before the big loop has gone all the way through it. The finish closes on nothing and the end of the plait starts to open.
Fix: Open the tag loop again and pull the rest of the big loop through before tightening anything.
Why: Closing the tag loop around the doubled line stops the plait unravelling from its end.
If wrong: Incomplete lock at the plait end — Unlocks on the first load.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Australian Plait itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 04 / 4
Wet the knot and tighten it by pulling the tag steadily. Give the double a hard pull, then trim the tag.
You should now see: The tag loop closed tight around the base of the double at the end of the plait, the plait still firm under a hard pull on the double, and a short tag.
If it goes wrong: Tightening fast and dry. The finish sits loose and the end of the plait opens under the test pull.
Fix: If the tag loop closed on nothing or the plait loosened, cut the plait off and tie it again. Pull hard on the double before trimming the tag.
Why: Pulling the tag smoothly draws the last plaits tight behind it.
Watch the tie
How to tie a plaited double knot with Paul WorstelingClub Marine TV · Opens on YouTubeExternal video from a creator we follow — not produced by us. Nothing on this page loads from YouTube until you follow the link.
Seating sequence — where failures are born
The step list compresses the finish. Run these phases in order, one at a time.
01 Moisten
Wet the structure before any load reaches it.
Zero. Nothing tightens yet.
02 Load
Take up slack slowly until the wraps begin to gather.
Light and even — both ends moving together.
03 Dress
Watch the wraps stack in order; stop and back off if any cross.
Hold, do not pull. Correction happens here or not at all.
04 Set
One continuous pull to full seat — no sawing, no jerks.
Firm, single direction, standing line against the terminal end.
05 Trim
Cut the tag square, leaving a short stub proud of the knot.
None. Never trim under load.
Finished structure — what correct looks like
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
- ·Completed join or loop structure
- ·Fully seated
- ·Tags short and correct path
- ·Even, no crossings
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Completed join or loop structure
- 02Fully seated
- 03Tags short and correct path
- 04Even, no crossings
- 05None
- 06australian-plait
Field notes — dark, cold, gloves
- ·Retie by feel first, light second — the seat is a tactile event, not a visual one.
- ·Gloves off for the dress phase. Fabric hides a crossing wrap.
- ·Wrong twice in a row means the material or the hardware is fighting you. Change one, not your technique.
Australian Plait — finished-state checks, on the shared reference layout
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
A load-bearing loop of doubled line, locked so it cannot crawl back.
- !Twists or wraps not packed before the lock
- !Lock that crawls back into the double
- !Uneven legs — one side takes the shock
- !Plait left loose, so the loop strands slide and the double pulls out under load
- !Tag loop closed on nothing, so the plait unravels from its end
- !Finish tightened fast and dry, so it sits loose and the end of the plait opens
Loose plait that is not a double
Unravels in the guides
A plaited double is density plus a lock, not three loose strands · step 02
Too short a double to plait tightly
Cannot be locked; walks on the first load
The double has to be long enough to plait and lock · step 01
Incomplete lock at the plait end
Unlocks on the first load
An unlocked plait end is unfinished · step 03
Plait loosens under load
Check
- ?Plait density
- ?End lock
Then
- →Rebuild tighter
- →Use Bimini when conditions allow
Finished check failed — Loose plait with gaps
Check
- ?Plaited double-line section uniform
- ?Locking finish secure
- ?Legs share load
Then
- →Retie. A gappy plait concentrates load on one leg and fails early.
Loose plait that is not a double
Check
- ?Unravels in the guides
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Too short a double to plait tightly
Check
- ?Cannot be locked; walks on the first load
- ?Inspect step 01
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Incomplete lock at the plait end
Check
- ?Unlocks on the first load
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.
Get it right with everything in your favour0/5 clean
Good light, dry hands, a table. Until the sequence is automatic here there is nothing for the harder rungs to test — you would only be learning that difficult conditions are difficult, which you already knew.
How · Tie it, check it against the list, log it. Five clean and the ladder opens.
Nothing marked. Log it clean, or mark what happened first.
Not ideal for
- ×Quick bankside reties
- ×Beginners without practice
Strength, and where the number comes from
91.9% of the weaker line
Measureda single entrant's plait, three samples, in 30 lb PowerPro braid, as a percent of the single strand's measured unknotted break — NetKnots' claim of '100% line strength' for this knot is a bare assertion and this is the measurement that exists instead
The Strongest Double Line Fishing Knot — Sport Fishing (Doug Olander)
Percentages come from published tests on their own line, their own knot-tyer and their own pull rate. Yours is a different system. Treat a figure as a reason to test, not as a result you already have.
- NetKnots — Australian Plait
Field practice (double-line family)no link on file
- Hook the Horizon — Australian Plait
Recovered from the same record’s historical Hook the Horizon resource URL.
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Australian Plait
Hook the Horizon
- How to tie a plaited double knot with Paul Worsteling
Club Marine TV
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.