Fishing Line Reviews - Stren, Trilene, Berkley, Maxima, Spiderline, Silver Thread, Cortland

Latest Featured Articles

	Follow the Leader : A Look Into JDM Options Given the accessibility and affordability of so many nylon monofilament brands, you’d think finding one to rely upon for my leader game would be easy but for one specific application...
	Shimano Readies Mastiff Fluorocarbon Line with Nanoarmor Tech Shimano has been in the line game for a while now with their PowerPro brand of braided superlines, and this season is introducing a new fluorocarbon line called Mastiff. Designed and manufactured in Japan, Mastiff is engineered with a technology called Nanoarmor, which incorporates nano-sized ridges to deliver several performance advantages.
	Sunline's New Marboroshi FC Leader Sunline's Maboroshi FC Leader comes in typical, small spool sizes of fifty yards. It's available in a variety of strengths from five through twenty pound test. The line is not precision wound onto the filler spools, but when a sample length is pulled out, you can feel how smooth and consistent the surface is.
	Sunline Introduces More JDM Leader Options Bass angling is a game of adjustments. Whether it's your rod, reel, line, bait, terminal tackle, boat position, or other, to be successful, you have to be able and adapt. The latest area where anglers are fine tuning their plan to catch more fish? Leaders.
	Spro Enters the Line Market with Their Finesse Braid 8x With our returned focus to finesse applications this year, I was investigating finesse braid options and discovered SPRO had recently introduced their take with an eight strand line manufactured in Japan. Here's our look at SPRO's Finesse 8x Braided Line.
	Ready to Level Up Your Finesse Braid Game? Introducing Varivas Our "insight" articles are more detailed than a preview not as action packed and full of carnage as an autopsy, but not considered a review because there is no score involved. Today is such an occasion. With our unofficial, official focus on bait finesse tackle this year, here is a look at some premium finesse braid by Varivas Japan.
	Soft Steel's Manageable Fluorocarbon Line, Instinct FC Established in 1992, Soft Steel is a sister company of Okuma and was originally established in support of saltwater anglers, and now offers a full array of fishing line product. Today, we take a look at Soft Steel's fluorocarbon mainline, Instinct.
	Far from Hollow, Off the Deep End with Seaguar's Threadlock Though hollow braid has been around for quite some time, the use of the product in bass or other freshwater fishing is just beginning to take a foothold because until recently, the line has not been available in diameters that are conducive to smaller reels and leader sizes twenty pounds and under...
	Striking Gold : Seaguar's Fluorocarbon Leader for Enthusiasts Off the spool, the best way I can describe Gold Label is it feels buttery when you run the line between your fingers. The surface is very smooth and seemingly consistent yet the line doesn't feel overly stiff and wiry like I expected a fluorocarbon leader to be. Honestly, it doesn't feel like it would handle much differently than Tatsu...
	Is This Seaguar's Most Popular Fluorocarbon? AbrazX Seaguar is a bit of an anomaly in the fishing line market. Their specialty is fluorocarbon. Their parent company, Kureha, is one of the very few companies in the world with the resources to manipulate the raw fluorocarbon resins.
	Is It A 4, Is It An 8, No It's SuperBraid, by Yo-Zuri There was a time when Yo-Zuri Hybrid was the only line I fished. While there have been other line products to come and go for the manufacturer, that copoly is surprisingly still around. Then again maybe not so surprisingly since it is a good product. On a recent search for some new lines to try, I decided to check in with Yo-Zuri and was happy to find a new-to-me braid product...
	SpiderWire's 4-Strand Braid Offers a Stealthy Option for Fishing Through Vegetation SpiderWire's braid comes from the Pure Fishing portfolio and is available in more colors than any just about any other braid I've seen. They range from the standard moss green and hi-vis yellow to a pink camo and even an American camo. SpiderWire Stealth is a 4 carrier braid made from Dyneema polyethylene fibers.
	Tough and Strong, Sufix's Advance Fluorocarbon Fishing Line More naturally suited as a material for leaders, fluorocarbon needs extra processing when extruded for use as a main line. Each manufacturer has their own strategy to achieve this goal and at a previous ICAST, Sufix debuted their latest strategy. Here's our look at Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon.
	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.

Additional Articles


	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.
	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...
	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.
	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.
	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!
	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...
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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!
	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.
	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...
	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.
	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...
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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...
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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...
	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.
	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...
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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"
	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.
	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!
	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!
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.