PRODUCT FOCUS: J-Braid – Darren Weda

Looking for some new braided fishing line? In Depth Angler give a run down of Daiwa’s latest well priced, battle ready “J-braid“, and let you know how it’s been performing for us.

Daiwa J-braid Specifications
Type	8 Ply braided line
Material	PE
Colours	Chartreuse and Multicolour
Diameter	0.06 to 0.43mm
lengths	150, 300, 1500m spools
Strengths	6-80lb
MSRP	$34.95 for 150m

 

INTRODUCTION/IMPRESSIONS

With E-honda (oldschool Streetfighter video game character) on the J-braid’s packaging, Daiwa’s “Be a strong fighter” message is portrayed clearly, and definitely sets the tone for the type of product J-braid is. “Made in Japan” is also prominently displayed, showing Daiwa is keen to keep up with its great reputation for their high quality made products from the company’s mother country.

Features

• 8 ply weave
• PE construction
• low stretch
• round profile

 

 

APPLICATIONS

J-braid is, as with most braided lines on the market, a good all round line for majority of fishing applications. As we predominantly only lure fish we can only comment on that, but assume that the great sensitivity of this braid would make it a great bait fishing line also.

Smooth round braided lines like J-braid do lend themselves best to lure casting.  It comes off the spool with ease, is nice and strong, and also has good abrasion resistance. All traits I look for in a braid.

Aimed at everyday fisherman and the budget conscious angler, J-braids price point makes it an easy purchase to make and gives some serious value for money. You can easily pay over twice as much for many other good quality braids, but are they really twice as good? I don’t think so!

Coming in a range of sizes from 6-80lb’s it really does suit every fishing style and species you can think of from shallow stream trout to deep water jigging for Kingies.

 

CONSTRUCTION & FINISH

While not the thinnest braid on the market, J-braid is still a nice diameter that lends itself well to good casting distance but also good abrasion resistance. Sometimes the thinner braids will cast better and further but lack that ability to withstand a bit of rubbing on the structure that the species we love chasing like to frequent.

J-braid is an 8 ply braid made from Poly Ethelene, has a nice round profile, and is soft and supple, making line management nice and easy.

IN THE FIELD

In the field we have successfully used J-braid in 6lb (0.06mm) and 10lb (0.15mm) strengths, chasing Bream, Perch, Mulloway and Trout. Casting distance has been great and knowing I have that extra bit of abrasion resistance has given me confidence to fish even closer and deeper into structure where the bigger fish love to hide.

Wind knots can be a issue with all braid brands especially in the lighter strengths, and while the J-braid was still susceptible to a few wind knots at times, it was no more or no less than the other cheaper and more expensive braids I have used in the past.

So far the longevity of the line seems to be really good. Having used the line solidly for over 10 months now, we can see that it is not going to need to be replaced once a year like some lines, keeping in mind our reels and lines get used much more than the average fisherman too.

 

CONCLUSION

Soft, Supple and Strong, J-braid for us has been a good braid that suits our lure fishing applications to a tee. With numerous reels to spool up, a braid that is priced well but gives us all the things we need for serious lure fishing will win out every time.

J-braids “Be a strong fighter” sums the braid up well, with a braid you we feel confident using while chasing those hard and sometimes dirty fighting estuary, river and lake species.

PROS & CONS

PRO	CON
+ round profile good for casting	– not the thinnest braid going around
+ Good abrasion resistance for its diameter
+ Well priced

 

WHERE TO BUY

J-braid can be purchased from any good tackle store or Daiwa dealer. A list of Daiwa stockists can be found here.