Product Review- Daiwa Braided Lines

Braided line has come a long way in the last 5 years with the availability of some new materials, and better manufacturing processes. Now I am definitely no expert on braided line, but I think I can help give some information so a better informed decision can be made when purchasing line.

There is certainly no right or wrong answer for which braid you use, but it normally comes down to personal preference, user experience, fishing style, and even budget. But what I would say is, that making a few informed decisions about braid will definitely enhance your fishing experience if so desired.

There are three main braid types that you should probably be aware of, and they are all based on strand count, which in general relates to performance and cost.

Choosing a better suited braid for your fishing adventures, can certainly help with things like, casting distance, bite detection, abrasion resistance, and even lure depth.

So braided line is made up of multiple strands of PE (polyethylene), wrapped together to form your main line. The three most common available braids are a 4 strand or (x4), 8 strand (x8) and 12 strand (x12).

The aim for braid manufacturers is to try and get the roundest profile line with the most uniform thickness they can, as that is what performs the best. 12 strand braid (x12) gives a much rounder final profile than say a 4 strand (x4), and so that is generally why it will perform better, coming off the spool easier when casting and generally having a smaller overall diameter. But this is why it will cost a lot more to purchase. Simply put, with braid you definitely get what you pay for.

But lets take a step back, while the more expensive braids definitely have benefits, a lot of fisho’s may not want or warrant that bit of extra casting distance, or sensitivity. If the fishing technique is simply soaking a few baits, or bottom bashing some reefs, thinner more expensive braid is essentially not required. So definitely keep that in mind for you are choosing braided line for yourself.

Daiwa have a great range of braids that really do suit everyone’s style and budget. From the J-Braid X4, J-braid Grand X8 (My personal favourite) right up to the best of the best with Saltiga Ex 12.

J- Braid Grand is made with a slightly different PE than the other Daiwa braids, using a IZANAS based PE construction which has much greater abrasion resistance than other PE’s. I do a lot of structure based fishing, hence why J-braid Grand is one of my favourite lines to use.

Because I chase so many different species with my light tackle, I have it set up so I can effectively use it on different species. For example historically I would run 4lb braid on all my reels as I mainly chased bream and trout. But 4lb is way too light for chasing EP’s, bass, snapper and yellowbelly around timber.
So now I pretty much run 8lb J-braid Grand on all my 2000 size reels, and 8-12lb line on my 2500 reels, so I can use them in any situation. I find casting distance is not really affected at all with the newer braids, and I would prefer the extra strength and abrasion resistance. Leader choice and size is in my opinion is going to be more important when changing from species to species.

All my baitcasters (which I predominantly use for chasing natives in impoundments) are spooled with 50lb J-braid Grand. Again, I am after maximum strength and abrasion resistance, as my line  is constantly being pulled through and over timber with the way I fish.

Hopefully this has cleared up a few questions you may have had about fishing with braided lines.