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Easy Handling FINS WindTamer Braided Line
Fishing with superlines has become a huge market
segment with many manufacturers
developing lines for both fresh and saltwater applications, and even some more
niche situational ones. One such company, FINS, out of Erlanger, Kentucky,
specializes in braided line products and has continued to introduce new braids
specifically targeting bass anglers, including situational braids like the new Windtamer Pitch
Black Braid. |
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Serving Aces with PowerPro's Hollow Braid
PowerPro entered the market a
few years ago not only making the product more accessible, but offering it in
strengths that are more in line with what bass fishermen would use. In an effort
to perfect my leader connection game, I finally dove back into the hollow braid
game and PowerPro's Hollow Ace was the impetus. |
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Super Premium, Super Slick, PowerPro's 8 Strand Braid Take 2
Next to Fireline, PowerPro is the earliest braided line product I can recall, and technically, Fireline
isn't a braid - it's a fused line. Yet for all that time out on the market, I
can't recall every really spending much time with Power Pro. I think that's
because the original product was a 4 strand braid and notorious for being rough
and noisy through your guides... |
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Samurai in Training? Daiwa's J-Braid Grand is Ready for Battle
Running Daiwa's J-Braid Grand in 50lb test through
my fingers, I can feel it and a smooth finish that's very reminiscent of Samurai
braid. It is smooth without being waxy - a very important trait in our search
for braided lines. |
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Berkley's Unique, Nine Carrier Braid
Berkley's X9 touts 9 strands of polyethylene fibers to increase tensile strength and resistance to abrasion while maintaining traditional diameters. I can understand the resistance to abrasion claim, but I'm not sure how this translates to better tensile strength unless your diameters are actually smaller than the competition. But I'm just splitting polyethylene fibers.
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The Lowdown on Seaguar's Smackdown Braid
When I think of Seaguar fishing line, my thoughts immediately go to one line type, fluorocarbon. Their Tatsu fluorocarbon line remains a top choice among TackleTour Editors since we started fishing it over six years ago. Just a couple years ago at ICAST 2018, the company introduced a renewed take on their braided line product, Smackdown. Let's take a look! |
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Is SpiderWire's Ultracast Ultra-Good?
SpiderWire describes Ultracast X8 as being made with 100% polyethylene fibers. Where some manufacturers use a branded polyethylene product like Spectra, Dyneema, or other, SpiderWire
is likely relying upon their own formulation or another non-trademarked brand... |
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Sinking Braid? YGK's G-Soul WX4 F1 OhDragon SS140 Hybrid Braid/Fluorocarbon Line
Everything from rods to reels
to lures to hooks are all designed with specific techniques in mind. It was only
a matter of time before this approach of technique and application specificity
reached one of the more critical components of your arsenal - fishing line.
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Cranking It Up with Sunline's Crank FC
When it comes to fluorocarbon fishing line, there are few manufacturers that can rival the catalog of options offered by Sunline. From Shooter to Sniper to Assassin and various leader options, Sunline
has a fluorocarbon product to suit a host of different fishing styles and
budgets. Now the manufacturer even has specialized fluorocarbon for flipping and
cranking. |
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Putting Finatic's Pro Series FC to
the Test
Finatic
Tackle is practicing the millennial model of conducting their business through social media. As a result, you won't find their fishing line on any tackle store shelves or pegboards, so if you haven't already had experience with their line through personal experience or a buddy that uses it, the only way to get your hands on product is to buy it on faith.
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YGK's Tour Grade FC Has Soul
YGK is the latest of the former
JDM exclusive fishing line companies to find their way to the North American
Market and here now is our look at their 100% fluorocarbon product. Introducing
YGK's G-Soul Tour Grade Fluorocarbon. |
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A Quality FC Line from Hi-Seas : 100% Fluorocarbon
On a recent discussion with Jeff Kriet, he was touting the fishability of the company's fluorocarbon product. Kriet knows I'm pretty picky about my fluorocarbon line and he assured me the product from Hi-Seas is quality. I took him up on the recommendation and here now is our detailed look at Hi-Seas 100% Fluorocarbon fishing line. |
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Sunline's Best Selling Fluorocarbon In Our Sights : Sniper
If you read our rod and reel reviews closely, you can generally tell what line reviews are in the works. When it comes to the subject of today's review, those hints may have been easily missed since it already is Sunline's most popular selling fluorocarbon. Better late than never though is our motto, so here now is our long overdue look at Sunline's FC Sniper fluorocarbon line.
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Visiting a Renewed Old Friend : Berkley's Fireline Ultra 8
Berkley's original Fireline is
actually the very first superline I ever used and it was my go to choice for
several years, so when the manufacturer came out with this new, eight (8)
carrier version, I was very anxious to check it out. Here now is our review of
Berkley's 8 carrier Fireline. |
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Phenix Spreads Their Wings Into the Line Market with Hydra Braid
Hydra Braid is actually one of three braided line products Phenix Rods offers. Ironfeather Elite Braid is a soft, lightweight braid designed for situations where stealth is a premium (like targeting trout species) and Phenix also offers a sixteen strand hollow core braided product. Hydra is available in three colors and in weights from twenty through two hundred
lb. test! |
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An Average in Strands, But Not Performance : Finatic's Pro Series Braid
Every year, a handful of new manufacturers reach out to us with the goal of finding out how their product stacks up. During the Fall of 2018, one such company, Finatic, introduced themselves by sending us spools of their brand new fluorocarbon and braided fishing lines. Today, we take a look at their braid which features a unique, six carrier weave. |
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An Extended Look at Sunline's FX2 Braided Line
Braided lines are a mainstay of anglers around the world and over the last several years, these lines have become more sophisticated and specialized. Sure there are braids made for general purpose applications, but now there are braids made for finesse fishing, braids with a special formulation so they actually sink, braids for flipping and pitching and so on. Today, we take a look at a line especially developed for the latter... |
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Our Long Overdue Look at Seaguar's Tatsu Fluorocarbon Line
We could go on and on about the pluses and minuses of fluorocarbon but the fact remains, it is the current wonder material for those seeking high performance in their fishing line - it's not the best at everything, but the better versions have benefits that far outweigh the shortcomings. Case in point? The subject of today's review is quite possibly the most wondrous fluorocarbon line to date. |
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The Best of Nylon and Fluoro Combined? Yozuri Hybrid Copoly
It's been a very long time since I've fished this line, so it was nice to get reacquainted with it for the purpose of this review. I spooled both 10lb and 12lb test on some casting reels, and 6lb test on a spinning reel for a recent trip to the California Delta... |
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Going Old School with PLine's PF Original Copoly
Twenty five to thirty (25-30) years ago, PLine was the first "exotic" brand of line I came across. At that time, their PF Original was relatively new and touted as being thin, yet strong. I bought it on recommendation of the owner of my local tackle shop and really enjoyed the performance of the six pound (6lb) on my spinning gear. It's about time I revisit this line and put it through our new line test regimen.
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A Nylon Mono for Enthusiasts? Shooter Defier Armilo
Sunline's original Shooter Defier nylon monofilament is a high end mono. This sounds like a bit of a oxymoron since "high end" is not something anyone normally associates with nylon monofilament, but it's true.
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Does Berkley Trilene Big Game Still Stack Up?
When it comes to fishing line, few brands are as popular as Berkley Trilene. Yet, within Trilene, there are several choices, 100% Fluorocarbon, XL, Cold Weather, TransOptic, BigCat, the list goes on. Here at TTHQ, one Trilene brand stands tall and that's Big Game - the go to line for our Editor in Chief, Zander.
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There's Nothing Mysterious About Sunline's Super Natural
We try, as much as possible,
when testing different rods and reels to delineate our line choices so our
readers can extrapolate any pertinent information as it applies to their
situations and how we're using the tackle in question. If you pay attention to
these details, you'll have noticed the mention of Sunline Super Natural Nylon
Monofilament quite often over the last few years.
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America's Best Selling Fishing Line? Trilene XL
If our previously reviewed Stren Original is the prototypical nylon monofilament, the subject of our next nylon monofilament line review is its twin. Berkley's Trilene XL, now under the same parent company umbrella as Stren (i.e. Pure Fishing) is just as popular if not more so than Stren. Touted by Berkley as America's best selling monofilament, it's only natural that we follow up the previous review with a look at Trilene XL.
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The Baseline Nylon Monofilament : Stren Original
Stren Original nylon monofilament has been in existence since 1958 and is a benchmark when it comes to an affordable, reliable fishing line. It's been around so long, it's place on the store shelf is often taken for granted. We thought we'd take a closer look and see how this industry standard stacks up in our new MCPI.
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A Stark Contrast in Fishing Line : Berkley's Iron Silk
What comes to your mind when
you think of a "monofilament" fishing line? Usually, it's something clear, or
even translucent if colored, correct? Well, Berkley Fishing's Ironsilk is
marketed as a monofilament, but instead of being clear or translucent, it's 100%
opaque - and a strange, kind of milky green color at that. |
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Is Maxima Ultragreen Really the Best by Test?
The struggle for relevant line
review content is what spawned our Fluorocarbon and Braided line Performance
Indices (FPI & BPI), and now we're finally ready to put our Mono and Copolymer
Performance Index (MCPI) to use in an actual review. First up? A very popular
mainstream if not under the radar fishing line - Maxima's Ultragreen Copolymer.
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Introducing Sunline's New P-Ion Assassin FC
Several
years ago, Sunline managed to align themselves with the proprietors of one new
technology: A professor at the University of Tokyo Institute of Technology found
a way to use plasma, the 4th state of matter, to alter both nylon and
fluorocarbon materials in a way that enhances their performance as a fishing
line.
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How Does 832 Stand Up to Sudden Impact? It Might Just Make Your Day
If you read the piece about our
new FPI
(Fluorocarbon
Performance Index),
you already know
we've reformatted
and standardized our
line review metrics
per line type, and
today we debut our
BPI (Braid
Performance Index)
with a look at
Sufix's popular 832.
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Introducing TackleTour's FPI - Fluorocarbon Performance Index
In case you hadn't noticed, we've been in a bit of a hibernation mode regarding line reviews. With our acquisition of The Machine, we're looking to change that starting right now. Over the last several weeks, we've been in deliberations back at TT Headquarters developing a method of testing line, evaluating data, and translating all the results... |
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The
Tackle Doctor: Professional Angler Aaron Martens Details the Albright Knot
When it comes to tackle on the professional bass fishing circuit nobody is more detailed than Aaron Martens. Because of
this affection for the finer details in tackle and his ability to customize and
mod his personal gear Aaron Martens is known as the "Tackle Doctor" amongst his peers.
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Three Way Premium Braided Line Showdown
Premium braided
lines have been
showing up on store
shelves touting more
carriers (actual
individual strands),
smoother
performance, and
better color
adhesion. How do
these lines actually
perform? Let's take
a look right now. |
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A Double Threat From Triple Fish International
Today, we bring you
a closer look at two
of their more
mainstream product,
the original Triple
Fish Camo-escent monofilament, and the abrasion resistant X-Line copolymer. |
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Sunline's Machine Gun Cast - A
Misfire of Sorts
With positive
experiences with two
of their product
already in the
books, Sunline makes
it easy to want to
sample more. Today,
we take a look at an
older generation
line from Sunline, their Machine Gun Cast Copolymer. |
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Toray's Premium Nylon : Bawo Superhard Polyamide Plus
Our second look into the fishing line product by Toray brings us to their Bawo Superhard
Polyamide Plus line,
a 100% nylon product
touted as having low
stretch and high
sensitivity. These
claims sound great,
but really, they're
in complete
contradiction to
what we've come to
expect from a nylon
line. |
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Top Flight Japan Bass Pro Morizo Shimizu's Take on a 100% Nylon Line : Sunline Shooter Defier
We had heard very
good things about Sunline's 100% Nylon line, Shooter Defier, and since we already a favorable impression of this company's product based on experiences with the Shooter Fluorocarbon, taking the leap of faith to try this new line was not difficult... |
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A Fishing Line Worthy of the Title "Enthusiast": Toray's SuperHard Upgrade 100% Fluorocarbon
Today we take a look
at what was once
their flagship
fluorocarbon
product. Yes, that's
right, while this
premium fluorocarbon
is still in
production, believe
it or not, it has
been supplanted as
Toray's top end fluoro. Introducing Toray's SuperHard Upgrade Fluorocarbon. |
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Filler-Spool Line Review: Sugoi Fluorocarbon
Next up in our filler-spool style round up of fishing lines is the fluorocarbon product from Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Sugoi Fluorocarbon. Interestingly enough, this is almost a tale of two lines. For the last several years, I was under the impression, the Sugoi
FC was only produced
in one color,
gray... |
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New 2009 Fishing Lines by Berkley, Spiderwire, and Stren
With ICAST 2008 is just a little more than a month away
it is preview time
here at TackleTour Headquarters
as we break stories
on upcoming products. Here
is a first look at some of the new 2009 fishing lines by Berkley, Spiderwire, and Stren. |
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Blackwater International Brings to North America, Toray Fishing Lines
Thanks to Blackwater
International, there
is yet another
battle for "best"
ready to take place
at a waterway near
you. Here's a brief
synopsis of the
premium brand
fishing line product
brought to us by
Blackwater
International,
Japan's Toray
fishing line. |
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Filler-Spool Line Review: Gamma Edge 100% Fluorocarbon
We're introducing
some abbreviated, filler-spool line reviews to quickly get the data and our impressions out to you, our readers, and help with your decisions amongst the vast array of line products available. First up? Gamma Edge 100% Fluorocarbon. |
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How Does Berkley's Latest Attempt at a 100% Fluorocarbon Line Stack Up?
While the Berkley
Vanish & Vanish
Transition Fluoro
lines didn't do so
hot in our
Fluorocarbon
Showdown, Berkley
went to the drawing
board and produced
the Trilene 100%
Fluorocarbon. We
acquired several
spools and put it
through our own
batch of tests to
see if it's worthy
of the name
"Trilene" |
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A Tri-Colored Web of Line : Hi-Seas Black Widow Co-Polymer
When news of our
Fluorocarbon
Showdown articles
broke, we were
flooded with
inquiries from
fishing line
manufacturers
wanting in on the
frey. One of these
companies, Hi-Seas
and today, we look
at their tri-colored
product, the Hi-Seas
Black Widow
Co-Polymer. |
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Sunline's Top End Offering: Shooter Fluorocarbon
The long awaited first official review following our Fluorocarbon Showdown parts I and II is finally here. Let's start with a line I've been using for the better part of almost two years now, here is our take on Sunline Japan's Shooter Fluorocarbon! |
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TackleTour's Fluorocarbon Showdown Sequel!!
It was becoming more
and more obvious
that there were some
remaining, nagging
issues that required
our attention after
our March 2007
article. Like how
about our claim that
fluorocarbon lines
have as much
stretch, if not
more, than our
baseline
monofilament; or our
use of the Polamar knot to assess knot strength; and how about the whole visibility issue?
Let's find out! |
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Presenting the Much Anticipated and Highly Overdue TackleTour Fluorocarbon Showdown!!
We receive countless
requests for tests on
fluorocarbon lines and
our response is always,
"we're working on it."
Well, the wait is
finally over. Here are
our findings from an
investigation into this
seemingly simple, yet
ultimately mysterious
market segment.
Presenting TackleTour's
Fluorocarbon Showdown. |
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Spooled and
ready to roll
for the 2007
season, Pure
Fishing appears
to have a
winning hand
When it comes to
lines there is
no company
bigger than Pure
Fishing. Their
portfolio of
line brands is
staggering, and
boasts names
like Trilene,
Stren, and
Spiderwire. We
had the
opportunity to
preview what
will be
introduced in 7
days at the
upcoming ICAST
show. |
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Sufix’s new G2
Precision Winding process helps reduce memory on the premium Elite fishing line
The Sufix Elite is a premium monofilament that not only takes on a
new winding process to eliminate memory, but uses a high-tech process to build a
better and higher performing fishing line for anglers. |
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Just how strong is Trilene Big Game 50lb? We put it to the test in our lab
and against Tuna
Trilene Big Game is among the most well known offshore
lines and the company makes some pretty bold statements on their website
including "In key tensile
strength tests, Trilene Big Game outperforms Ande®" We decided to put that
assertion to the test. |
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P-Line's Spectrex IV capitalizes on the
qualities of Spectra to offer a durable, sensitive, and easy casting braid
PLine
Spectrex IV is an advanced Spectra Braid that is designed to be easier to cast,
exhibits virtually no stretch, is extra sensitive, and more durable. |
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PowerPro's braided execution gets you through the nastiest
situations
Choosing a fishing line today can be a daunting task, with the sheer number of
choices available to anglers. Braided lines went from being a fad, to becoming a
extremely popular line choice for many unique fresh and saltwater applications. |
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Hook up
with invisible Maxima Ultragreen fishing line
Even though fishing lines of today
have become more complex than ever, mono lines are still a favorite
among the majority of anglers who turn to the reliability of mono. Maxima
developed the Ultragreen fishing line to deliver superior performance while
still maintaining the reliability of mono |
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Sufix
Tritanium Plus, an advanced copolymer line with super anti-abrasion
characteristics
Through the process of
copolymerization Sufix has produced a super abrasion resistant fishing line that
performs well above expectations in specific techniques. |
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P-Line
Floroclear, a perfect blend of copolymer and fluorocarbon for the best of both
worlds
Many anglers yearn for a line that is as easy to cast as standard mono, but are
as invisible as pure fluorocarbon. P-Line develops their new Floroclear
copolymer line to be a single line that exhibits the most desirable attributes
from both copolymer and fluorocarbon. |
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Sufix DNA, does this Copolymer line stand up to the extremes?
Sufix
manufactures a wide range of quality fishing lines that are quickly making its
way onto reels worldwide. TackleTour first examines one of their many
offerings, the Sufix DNA fishing
line. |
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Maxima Perfexion, an ultra line for your ultralight tackle
When fishing with ultralight tackle it helps to use high
quality fishing line. The Maxima Perfexion is a premium monofilament line
that has many benefits such as durability, high abrasion resistance, and a
very fine diameter. |
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Seaguar's Invisible
Fluorocarbon, does it give anglers that extra edge?
We take a look at the original designer of 100%
fluorocarbon, Seaguar, and see if their invisible leader gives anglers that
extra edge to land more fish. |
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Consistent fighting
power for trophy sized fish, Trilene Big Game
Trilene Big Game is touted as a performance line for trophy fishing, and has
found a huge following among offshore and inshore anglers alike. |