SPRO Finesse 8x Braided Line Product Review #spro #sprofinessebraid #sproline

Line Review

Spro Enters the Line Market with Their Finesse Braid 8x

Date:	6/20/22
Tackle Type:	Fishing Line
Manufacturer:	SPRO
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 7.50 - GOOD

Introduction: Despite their Japanese roots, SPRO has been a kind of under the radar brand building solid, great performing product but not quite reaching the celebrated fanfare of rivals Lucky Craft, Megabass, and Evergreen International. Recently, the manufacturer has been branching out and expanding their product offering beyond fishing lures. They now have a full line of tools, storage options, and terminal tackle. 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.

SPRO Finesse 8x Braided Line Specifications
Line Type	8 carrier braid
Colors Available	Flash Pink & Lime Green
Colors Tested	Flash Pink & Lime Green
Line Weights (Gou)	#0.8, #1, #1.2, #1.5, #2, #2.5
Line Weights (lb)	6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16
Line Weights Fished	#0.8 (6lb), #1 (8lb), #2 (14lb)
Origin	Made in Japan
MSRP	$32 (150m spool)

Background: While I've fished some finesse braid product in the past from YGK and Sunline, admittedly, I have a lot of catching up to do. In the past, when it came to finesse applications, I simply spooled my reels with a straight shot of quality fluorocarbon - usually Seaguar Tatsu FC. It's a strategy that has worked for over twenty years, so why change, right? However, after the evolution of my leader game led to the refinement of my big bait and conventional tackle fishing line setups, I decided it was time I do the same with my finesse setups.

Introducing Spro's Finesse Braid 8x

Impressions: Perusing the virtual shelves of TackleWarehouse, I discovered SPRO's entry to the finesse braid game and immediately ordered some spools to check out. For those stuck in the old ways of referencing line specifications, SPRO offers their finesse braid in strengths from six through sixteen pound (6-16lb) test. For those who have adopted or are in the process of understanding true finesse braid ratings, this line is available in gou #0.8 through #2.5. Gou (also listed as goh), for the initiated is a Japanese standard for fishing line referencing the product's diameter and is very similar to how we use gauge ratings for electrical wire. In this case, the smaller the number, the thinner the line.

SPRO's Finesse Braid is described as an eight (8) carrier product consisting of "Japanese fibers."

SPRO's Finesse Braid is described as an eight (8) carrier product consisting of "Japanese fibers." Other than that, here is no specification of the material. It is offered in 150 meter spools and in two colors, pink and chartreuse. Off the spool, it has a relatively smooth feel but just a hair more coarse than I'd expect from an 8 carrier braid.

A close-up of the line

Real World Tests: Initial tests with Spro's Finesse Braid were conducted with the gou #2 (~14lb) spooled on my Abu Garcia Revo EXD and a leader of ten pound (10lb) Sunline Maboroshi FC connected via an Albright knot. Subsequent tests were conducted fishing the line on a variety of different reels with just as many leader options. I've laid out this information in a table for easier reference.

SPRO Finesse 8x Braided Line Installations for Testing
Reel	Spro Finesse Braid Gou #	Leader Brand	Leader Strength	Connection Knot
Abu Garcia Revo EXD	#2 (~14lb)	Sunline Maboroshi FC	10lb	Albright
Abu Garcia UltraCast BF8	#.8 (~6lb)	Spro FC Finesse Leader	6lb	Albright
Abu Garcia Zenon Spinning	#1 (~8lb)	Sunline Maboroshi FC	5lb	Uni to Uni
Limited Edition Okuma GT 4000 (spinning)	#1.2 (~10lb)	Spro FC Finesse Leader	6lb	Albright
Daiwa 2004 Yellow Pixy	#1.2 (~10lb)	Sunline Maboroshi FC	8lb	Albright
Daiwa 2005 Red Pixy	#1.0 (~8lb)	Sunline Maboroshi FC	8lb	Albright
2003 Shimano Aldebaran BFS	#.8 (~6lb)	Varivas Infinity x8	5.6lb (#0.2)	Uni to Uni

Among the reels I spooled with Spro's Finesse Braid

Casting: Spro's Finesse Braid comes with an interesting coating that helps with handling characteristics. It's slick without being too slippery and does not flake off during use. You can always tell when a braid has "that" type of coating on it because soon your reel will begin to turn color.

There is nothing that annoys me more with a coated braided line than when that finish flakes off onto one of my reels. The other type of coating that annoys me is that which makes the line waxy and a little sticky hurting casting performance. Spro's Finesse Braid has neither of those qualities and comes off both spinning and casting reels smoothly and naturally making it a joy to cast with.

The gou #2 on a non-finesse rod fishing jigs

Abrasion: With braid, resistance to abrasion has a lot to do with diameter of the line. Given this is a finesse braid and only available in very thin diameters, abrasive environments are not really the line's intended fishing waters. Nor his this line something you would use to cut through vegetation as you might use a flipping or punching braid. Additionally, given I fished this line with a leader to reduce visibility under water in finesse situations, the braid is simply not introduced to anything remotely abrasive - the leader takes all the bumping and rubbing against whatever is at the bottom.

Spooled on an oversized spinning reel fishing paddletails

Noise: As an 8-strand line, Spro's Finesse Braid has a slightly rough texture to it that you can sometimes hear coming through your guides. It depends a lot on how much tension you have on the line but the noise is still less than traditional 4-strand braids. It's something I noticed at the outset of the day but soon forgot about or was able to ignore. It certainly did not bother me. This noise is one of the reasons I typically do not fish 4-strand braids.

Jigs on a heavy powered rod

Impact/Knot Strength: The most critical element for me with any braid is how well my connection knot holds up. For the past five or six years, I've been attaching a leader to all of my braided line setups. Whether it is really needed or not, a leader just gives me better peace of mind in terms of visibility and resistance to abrasion. Shock absorption is a tertiary benefit, but certainly welcomed.

Spro also offers a finesse fluorocarbon leader material to pair with their braid

In order for the leader to work, obviously, my connection knot needs to hold up. While I am continually searching for a knot I can tie reliably, I seem to have settled upon either a Uni to Uni knot or an Albright (or some variation of this knot tying technique). With all my leader connections, I start with the Albright, for it's smaller profile, but if I have difficulty, then I will switch to the Uni to Uni. The latter knot always holds for me, but I am not fond of the larger profile. I also, on occasion, will use the FG knot but only with larger diameter braid to leader connections.

Finally an actual finesse application

The first step in this challenge is getting that knot to hold reliably on the tie. The second test is whether or not it holds out on the water with a fish at the end of the line. Of course, a lot of this test is how well I, myself, actually tie the knot, as opposed to how well the line holds up. Nevertheless, Spro's Finesse Braid, for me, ties very reliably and holds up during fishing, so this is a good thing!

It's our job here at TackleTour to use tackle in unintended ways. Through it all, Spro's Finesse Braid held up well in both conventional and finesse applications

Longevity: Another benefit of this line seems to be the way in which it holds up after several trips out on the water. There is no fading or fuzzing of the line. This surprised me really. The two finishes Spro provides with this line are rather bright and I just assumed would fade with time, and they still might, but after a handful of trips out in the sun and with varying amounts of use, so far, so good. This probably has to do with the non-flaking nature of that finish I mentioned earlier.

Ratings:

SPRO Finesse 8x Braided Line Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	A relatively smooth braid that comes with a reliable, non-flaking finish	8
Performance	Casts well and even holds my unreliable connection knots!	8
Price	~$30 a spool is not outrageous but also not something I'd consider value driven	7
Features	Whatever the coating is, it holds up and improves handling	7
Design (Ergonomics)	Available in two bright colors and good, finesse diameters for bass fishing	7
Application	Good in just about any application you need a thin, bright braided line	8
Total Score		7.50
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable! For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus	Minus
+ Finish does not flake off	- Not available in spools larger than 150m
+ Handles extremely well	- Only available in bright colors
+ Holds knots well

Conclusion: Spro's Finesse Braid kind of snuck up on me. I was not expecting this line to handle as well as it did nor did I expect it to hold up as well as it has over a handful of trips out on the water. The only downside I experienced with this line was the size of the filler spool when I wanted to line my Okuma 4000 GT. Of course, that reel is not within the line's targeted demographic as it is large and likely designed for saltwater use, but you know, it's our job here at TackleTour to use tackle in unintended ways. So to accomplish my goal, I simply used a different braid as backing on the 4000 GT, then topped it with the Spro Finesse Braid and then attached a leader - mission accomplished.

If you're searching for a braid to up your finesse game with, Spro's solution is definitely worth checking out

Otherwise, through it all, Spro's Finesse Braid really handled well in my casting and spinning setups. It served me especially well during this finesse focused year where I needed a line to use on my finesse tuned casting reels. The bright colors help with visibility although it'd be nice to have a dark blue or maybe black option too just to switch things up. But really, with such a thin line, visibility is the key and to that end, the bright colors are indispensable. If you're searching for a braid to up your finesse game with, Spro's solution is definitely worth checking out.

Looking for SPRO Finesse 8x Braided Line?

Try TackleWarehouse