Team Daiwa Product Review - 5
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I was very excited to try the new fluorocarbon line Daiwa has just put out. It is spring time and I put the line to a real good test. The line was spooled onto a Daiwa 2500 Capricorn reel. I used 8lb test monofilament as my backing. I practically used the entire 125 yard spool to fill my reel over the backing. The rod I was using was a 6 foot medium/light power rod.
Steez Fluorocarbon Line - 12 Pound Test
The lake I chose to fish at was in Connecticut. The water temperature ranged from 57 degrees in the morning to 61.5 degrees in the afternoon. The lake has an average water depth of 20 feet and a maximum depth of 48 feet. Air temperature was in the low 50’s in the morning but hit the upper 70’s by the afternoon. Winds were steady out of the south at 15 mph- 25mph. The fish were in a pre-spawn stage. When targeting pre-spawn bass I prefer to use fluorocarbon lines that offer a faster sink rate and higher resistance to abrasion. The low visibility of fluorocarbon also helps to produce more strikes in clear water.
My plan was to target smallmouth bass using the new Daiwa Steez Fluorocarbon fishing line. I focused on areas that had a hard bottom with large boulders and gravel. After using the line for a while, I found it to be super soft and super strong. The line was more flexible and cast-able than other fluorocarbon lines that I have used in the past. I was using 1/16 ounce finesse tubes and 1/16 ounce hair jigs in water between 3 and 15 feet deep. The bass were extremely active that day and I caught over 50 smallmouth bass ranging from 1 to 3 pounds. I had no trouble making long casts into the wind and pulling these hard fighting smallies from the rocks. I was very impressed with how well this fluorocarbon line stood up to the abuse I was putting it through. During the day I only needed to re-tie about 10 times due to severe scraping of the line. I did not lose 1 fish due to line failure
Another quality this fluorocarbon line possesses is its ability to be seen easily above water, however it was nearly invisible below the surface. Daiwa Steez Fluorocarbon is very sensitive and I was able to detect even the slightest strikes. I would have to say that the best feature this line offers is its durability. For example I hooked a three pound smallmouth that ran straight in into a rock pile, yet I was still able to land the fish successfully with minimal damage to the Steez fluorocarbon. There were several occasions where the line came in direct contact with rock surfaces, however I did not break off a single fish.
The one downfall I observed was with the memory of the line. I had to keep checking my reel because the line was not staying spooled properly. This happened throughout my entire day of fishing. Regardless of that fact, the line still held up very well to the abuse of over 50 smallmouth bass and was still cast-able the next day.
Ranking 1 – 10
(1 = poor, 10 = Excellent):
Castability: 7
Low Line Memory: 5
Abbrasion Resistance: 9
Breaking Strength: 8
Low Stretch: 8
Sensitvity: 8
Durability: 10
Overall Ranking: 8
If you would like to to learn more about the Daiwa Steez Fluorocarbon, check out their website... learn more
