FINS Windtamer

BBS Tech has been developing and producing high-quality fishing lines since the start of the Superline category in 1994. They have produced more than a dozen brands for today’s leading fishing products companies.  Now, they are sharing their expertise directly by bringing the angling community a truly superior collection of Superlines under their very own brand, FINS.

FINS WINDTAMER is also 100% Spectra Braid, but with additional processing. Windtamer Braid has been treated by means of a proprietary process resulting in a compacted round and smooth structure with a firm body. This enables Windtamer to pack very well on reels without pulling into itself and cut through the wind to cast without air knots and rod tip wrapping. Saltwater inshore fishing is a situation where Windtamer stands out. Windtamer is great for those who find it difficult to use Superlines in windy conditions. Its firm structure allows the line to slice through the air with minimal arching. It packs on the reel to minimize backlashing and FINS Windtamer Braid offers the best strength-to-diameter-ratio of any line. Great for both bait and spinning reels.

While using the Windtamer in the bay of Key Biscayne and throughout South Florida, I noticed the difference almost immediately as you have to make slight adjustments to your casting for optimal use. Not only does the Windtamer cut through the wind much more efficiently, it also allows for a much further cast in the process. Obviously, this allows for a stealthier approach to some of the most “spookish” species of inshore angling on the flats anywhere in the world. While spooling the Windtamer, the wax-like build up does not accumulate on the guides or the line tensioner on a spooling machine as most brands seem to have this problem. FINS has resolved this issue by coating each one of the four fibers of Spectra and the final braided line as well, allowing the line to be hydrophobic and does not absorb water. Some of the dye in the line may bleed but amazingly, it seems to not affect the color as most braids tend to fade. BBS TECH has gone the extra mile with FINS and the evolution of Super Braids has taken the next step in braided line technology and has brought it to the world.

The Broussard’s, Cajun Phil and Kevin, host of “Outdoors and Fishing with Cajun Phil and Kevin” and Winners of the 2009 Redfish Cup Team of the Year states, “What we love about FINS is the consistency, haven’t had a mystery break yet, and the line doesn’t pull down into itself on our reels.” Please visit www.finsfishing.com for colors and details or contact me at Hai305@tackletester.com with any questions or comments. Stay tuned on tackletester.com as I test and write about each of the Situational Braided Lines from FINS.

A new era in fishing line with Berkley Nanofil

For years fishermen only had access to monofilament lines. While this still serves a purpose for millions of anglers globally, the invention of braided fishing line opened up new ways of fishing and secured there position as a must have peice of fishing kit. Thinner, lighter, stronger, it had everything you could need and more.

Well make way braid, there is a new player in the game. Berkleys new Nanofil claims to be not a monofilament, not a braid and not a fluro, but a whole new line called unifilament.

6 years in the making, Nanofil is made By molecularly linking and shaping hundreds of dyneema filaments to create a world first “unifilament”

This world first unifilament creates a thinner, Farther casting line that is designed for ideal use in spinning reels. Zero stretch and zero memory makes it the complete package. One of the team here at tackle tester will be giving some a real water test soon so stay tuned.

Fins PRT – The spectra staple

Fins PRT has always been what I consider a staple braid. It might not be anything fancy, but it sure does work well. It ticks all the boxes.

One of the most appealing aspects of Fins PRT is the price. At around $65AUD its a very affordable USA made braid. Most USA spectra’s are of reasonable quality and fins is no exception. Its reasonably thin, with 30lb PRT equivalent to 8lb mono. I have found the breaking strains to be very accurate and it ties well. The softness is thanks to quality spectra and its urethane coating. It casts well and in the event of a wind knot, usually untangles itself quite easily due to the smoothness.

 

I’m not saying go out and buy a spool to put on your Stella, but if your looking for a low priced braid that performs well then Fins PRT is pretty hard to go past.

New Berkley Fireline Exceed fused PE braid preview

Berkley is tackling PE braids head on, by combining the technology used in the normal Fireline fused braids, with the versatility of PE. After having a quick play with Fireline Exceed the other day, it was, as advertised,noticeably thinner. Original Fireline has always taken a few trips out to get rid of that stiff, out of the box feel. Fireline exceed however has seems to have fixed that problem somewhat and had a “worn in” kind of feel to the sample I was shown. The all new Fireline just about to hit Aussie shelves and is available in the new Hi Vis “Blaze Orange” colour making it ideal for low light situations.

I have yet to test any on the water, but if it can stand up to what normal fireline could, but with these added improvements, no doubt it will be a hit amongst anglers. Stay tuned.

Fireline Tournament Exceed fills the needs of cutting edge tournament
techniques that demand the highest performance braided lines.
Tournament Exceed’s Incredibly Thin Diameter improves casting
distance, provides greater contact and control for subtle detection of
structure and strikes, delivers superior lure performance, improves
drag capability and increases reel capacity.
Berkley Advanced Fused Braid Technology retains the high knot
strength, manageability and abrasion resistance anglers expect from
Fireline, now with a super thin diameter. Source – PureFishing

Yamatoyo Famell SW Super PE

Not exactly new to market, but worthy of mention none the less, Famell SW Super PE by Yamatoyo is a must have PE line in your kit. This supple PE braid line is Japanese made and maintains the quality manufacturing process that most high quality JDM lines go through.

It has a fine diameter making for superb reel lay and excellent castability. Soft to touch, its super smooth outer layer reduces line noise when going through runners. Ideal for light tackle lure fishing Famell SW Super PE is available now and retails for around $60AUD.

Platypus Pre-test IGFA Braid

Australian line manufacturer Platypus has recently released its new Pre-test IGFA rated braid.

Let’s be honest here, it’s no surprise that the IGFA don’t want Fireline entering comps when I’ve seen 50lb lines that really break over 100lb! Well Playplus’s new pre-test braid does away with the inconsistency, with braid that they ensure breaks as close as possible to the rating given.

With the obvious advantage of braids capacity, no doubt many game fishing will jump at a chance to give this pre-test braid a go.

We have constructed the braid to be ultra smooth and extremely soft, allowing longer more accurate casts, this braid just zings through the guides of your rod.

Platypus Pretest Braid’s ultra thin diameter assures that you will fit more line on your reel, cast further and catch more fish. We recommend that you use Platypus Stealth Leader or Platypus Hard Alloy as leader when fishing with Platypus Pretest Braid.

Precise Strength – Computer monitored braiding achieves an ultra tight weave of 100% Ultra High Molecular Weight PE (Dyneema™/Spectra™) gelspun fibres, stronger than steel.

Ultimate Confidence – Each batch is tested to ensure conformity to IGFA specifications.

Ultimate Sensitivity – 100% Ultra High Molecular Weight PE fibres with engineered with near zero stretch creates sensitivity that monofilament can’t match.

Source – Platypus Australia

YGK Nitlon Trout Nylon Review

These days it’s all braid, braid, braid. But there is still a few circumstances where mono/nylon lines still come in to play. Trolling being the most notable of the uses, but I’ve grown a fondness of keeping things simple when it comes to freshwater fishing.

On a recent trip to the sweet water I decided to give some YGK Nitlon Trout line a go, and was impressed to say the least. I was after a supple, castable mono that retained its strength and the Nitlon Trout seemed to grab my attention.

YGK have designed the Nitlon Trout to handle the cooler water temperatures. No more kinking and stiffness with this stuff. Even though we don’t have the coldest of waters here in Australia you can still notice the difference immediately.

The line casts well and lays nicely on the reel. Strength wise it held up well around the unforgiving structure. Not to mention its knottability compares to that of a lot more expensive Japanese lines.

While there was not any monsters off the deep so to speak, it still performed flawlessly on the hordes of Redfin and snaggy territory that surrounds them. Overall I was impressed with the bang for buck, and if your after a freshwater mono that seems to tick all the boxes, check out Nitlon Trout.

Liquid Casting Braid preview

Castalia outdoors have released a few innovative products over the years, including their new Liquid Casting braid. As the name suggests, the braid goes through a liquid laminating process layer by layer, which gives off a smooth, rounder and tighter packed finish. For more info check out http://www.castaliaoutdoors.com/

Our proprietary liquid lamination process interlocks super line strands through a layering and in-line lamination creating the perfect blend of line roundness, smoothness and strength. The resulting smooth finish and ultra-small diameter of Liquid Casting Braid allow for longer, more accurate casts and excellent lure presentation. And the low stretch allows for just the right finesse sensitivity and quick hooksets.

Liquid Casting Braid from Castalia Outdoors

Available in Hi-Vis and Lo-Vis Green, 125 and 330 yard spools, 8 – 40 lb. test. Great for both spinning and baitcasting applications.

• Ultra-small Diameter
• Liquid Laminated Smooth Finish
• Molded Round Diameter
• Interlocking Super-line Fibers
• Layered Durability
• Finesse-bite Sensitive
• Low Stretch, Quick Hooksets
• Low Spool Memory
• Rod Guide Friendly
• Resists In-line Knots and Rod Tip Wraps

Rovex Mono Leader Material

Rovex’s new range of braids and mono’s are complimented by a full range of leader material. This includes monofilament leaders and flurocarbon. Today I’m having a quick look at the 40lb Rovex Mono Leader Material.

There are two things that make up good leader material. The first thing should be quite obvious – Performance. But a second deciding factor for me, is ease of use, which includes but not limited to dispensing.

Rovex has taken this into account with well though out packaging. This is done by an outer plastic ring that slides over the spool. Your leader is dispensed evenly and steadily and there is not a tangle in sight. Its simple, yet effective and saves a whole lot of elastic bands.

Now onto the performance. The material itself is quite a stiff leader, which I would bring down to the fact its designed to have a very high abrasion resistance. This does make knot tying a bit more difficult but in saying that, a bit of lube never goes astray when pulling knots up tight.

After numerous trips out using this leader on a snells, bottom rigs and big soft plastics, it held its own well. Not only did the snells survive the likes of Small black tip sharks, it was supple and flexible enough to to work plastics too.

Rovex Mono leader material is brutally tough but light on the wallet, and well worth a look in if your after performance leader at a lower price point.

Watch out Fireline, here comes Sufix Fuse

Rapala has launched an attack on Pure Fishings Berkley Fireline with the release of Sufix Performance Fuse. Sufix has even gone as far as advertising containing phrases such as “Hotter than fire”.

So whats Fuse all about? Here’s a quick blurb from a Sufix Pro fisho Capt. Rick Murphy..

“Sufix Performance Fuse is hotter than fire. The unique thermal fusion bonding technology and higher weave count create a round braided line with enhanced smoothness and superior casting. Unmatched ultra-fine diameter gives me near zero stretch for instant hook setting power and confidence”

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