Daiwa J-Fluoro Samurai - Line Review

[fishballer06]

Recently, Daiwa released their newest high end fluorocarbon, the J-Fluoro Samurai. I throw mostly all fluorocarbon so I naturally had to buy a spool to try it out. For reference, my normal go to fluorocarbons are P-Line Tactical and Sunline Sniper & Shooter. I also use Seaguar Tatsu as well when I can get a deal on it. 

 

First Impressions
The line I purchased was the 16lb version. One thing that immediately stood out to me was how smooth and supple the line felt. I also noticed that the diameter of the line is thinner than my usual lines that I use (pound for pound). Good impressions to have right out of the gate. Other things to note about the packaging that were a nice touch. 

• 220 yard spool rather than the standard 200.
• There is a firm, but flexible, plastic sleeve that wraps around the spool inside the packaging to keep the line from unraveling after you've used it.
• There is a sticker on the line at the halfway point of the spool. This lets you know how much line you've used and have left.

 

All that being said, I spooled up two of my reels before hitting the water. These reels being a Shimano Bantam and a Shimano Metanium. I had about 10-15 yards of line left after filling these two reels up. Which is nice to have a little left over in case I need some leader line for some of my reels spooled with braided line.

 

On The Water
I had my Bantam mounted on a Dobyns Chamption 734c and was throwing a 3.3" Keitech on a 1/4oz jighead. My Metanium was mounted on a Dobyns Extreme 704c and was throwing a Zoom Super Hog on a 3/16oz Texas rig. I tied these baits on using a San Diego Jam knot and they cinched down tight with no issues on the first pull through. 

 

The very first thing I noticed with this line was the casting distance. WOW. I felt like I was getting 25-40 feet extra over my normal lines. This could be attributed to the smoothness and the smaller line diameter I assume. I quickly realized that I had to tighten my spool tension knob a hair and turn my external braking dial up one number. Once I got that dialed in, this line was super manageable to cast and the distance I was getting was phenomenal. 

 

I threw the swimbait around thick weed lines and caught 3 fish on the outside edges of it. All of these fish never came off as I fought them back to shore through the thick weeds. I had great hook penetration through the top of the mouth on all of those fish, which impressed me considering I was hooking up at the end of long casts. 

 

Once I worked my way to some deeper, rockier water, I started dragging the Texas rig around. I ended up catching 4 fishing doing this and I experienced the same hookup results. Great hook penetration through very boney parts of the mouth. The line was very sensitive and I had no issues feeling whether I was in grass, rocks, mud, sand, or whenever I had a bite. Despite dragging the bait through a very rock bottom, I never got any knicks in my line or felt the need to retie. My knot held tight and I was very impressed. 

 

Final Thoughts
My first outing with this line was very impressive. I'm curious to spend more time with this line and learn more of its nuances. The casting distance, handling, knot strength, and suppleness were all very top notch. So far, I would have no problem recommending this line to anyone. Even though it may be sacreligious to put Daiwa line on a Shimano reel, they worked like a match made in heaven. 

[islandbass]

Great report. Thanks!

[mrpao]

I have only tried the 6lbs test and really like it.

Maybe just me, but I found it very similar to Seagur invizix.

[Junger]

2 hours ago, fishballer06 said:

• There is a sticker on the line at the halfway point of the spool. This lets you know how much line you've used and have left.

 

Such a nice feature.

[RichF]

54 minutes ago, Junger said:

 

Such a nice feature.

Totally agree.  How have other line manufactures not done this yet!?

[FishTank]

I have tried the 14lb and really like it.  Based on the price, I might start using it instead of Tatsu.   We will see how it lasts. 

[fishballer06]

On 6/7/2021 at 1:53 PM, RichF said:

Totally agree.  How have other line manufactures not done this yet!?

I bought some Fluoro from another manufacturer (I forget who now), but they colored the line blue for 3 feet at every 100 yards. But yes, the sticker is a very nice touch. 

[king fisher]

Great Review, but admitting you put a Diawa line on a Shimano reel could get you in big trouble.  It doesn't hurt to omit incriminating details in a review.  The Bass Police may reading this.

[Fishingmickey]

I've been very pleased with the performance of the Samurai too. 

FM

[webertime]

(Pull out credit card) "Dang it!"

[NavyVet1204]

How much did you have to spend on that Daiwa line?

Edit: I just priced it on TW and it was $33.99 for 220 yards of 14lb….?

 

good lord. I’ll stick with my tried and true Seaguar Red label lol

I do appreciate your report friend. If I manage to find some on a good sale I will no doubt give it a fair shake.

[Boomstick]

This review is 100% spot on the money with my experiences as well. I can't comment anything as to abrasion resistance, line strength, longevity yet other than no premature failures. I have this line in 12# and 16#, also new to me this year. My youngest son has 12# Invizx and my oldest has 12# Shooter on a reel, and the J-Fluoro handles better than both. I've only fished the 16# a couple of times so far but it did not disappoint.

11 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

How much did you have to spend on that Daiwa line?

I bought myself a 16#, 20# and 12# on ebay in late 2020 for $20-22 each on ebay.

 

I got another 16# earlier this year and the best price I could find was $30.

[fishballer06]

14 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

How much did you have to spend on that Daiwa line?

Edit: I just priced it on TW and it was $33.99 for 220 yards of 14lb….?

 

good lord. I’ll stick with my tried and true Seaguar Red label lol

I do appreciate your report friend. If I manage to find some on a good sale I will no doubt give it a fair shake.

Fluorocarbon is definitely a "get what you pay for" type of thing. 

 

In my personal experiences, if Red Label was the only fluorocarbon available to me, I would be buying braid. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Okay so not a review for this exact J Fluoro type, however I just picked up the Daiwa J Fluorocarbon Samurai Hidden Concept 

Daiwa J-Fluoro Samurai FC Hidden Fluorocarbon Line - Tackle Warehouse

 

I bought this particular line specifically for Jerkbait fishing, and after an afternoon of fishing it I was blown away by it.   This is some seriously impressive, and cool line!  

 

It's like the best version of Sniper or Invizx you could imagine, it takes that suppleness that both of those are known for and surpasses it by noticeable amounts.  Casting distances from the first cast are further, and from the spool up you realize just how much more user friendly this line is, it's not flying off the spoil, twisting on the first guide.  That, and the brilliant Daiwa spool design really takes away the headache that many Fluoros cause on spool up. 

 

Stuff is extremely gucci, just looks cool on the reel, and if you thought premium Fluoro couldn't get anymore translucent in the water, give this a shot.   

 

I paid $32 + tax for a spool of 12lb/220yd.    The Spool has all the fly features that OP already pointed out, half spool sticker, and a really great spool design that allows you to spool very easily.    It's a $36 at TW, either way this stuff is at the top of the price points for high end Fluoro, Tatsu is more, and Shooter is about the same IIrc.   It's about $10 more than Sniper or Invizx, but at least for Jerkbaits, I think it's worth the extra money over Sniper or Invizx.   

[F14A-B]

I’m bumping this. I just spooled up and went to work with the 22 pound version of Samurai. I got the regular Samurai (clear) version and paid 29$ for 225 yards. Reel was a Metanium 100 JDM , deep spool, brass gear version. Mounted on a Loomis GLX 895 F&P rod. I haven’t tried a 100% FC line since the late 90’s. However I was convinced that I could extract just a bit more feel out of this big stick which is already quite good for its rated use. The line is very manageable yet hard, easy to use on the Met, feel is fantastic and exactly what I was hoping for. I drug a 3/8 jig repeatedly thru rocks/sand/pea gravel and you know it. Mud weeds grass pretty much the same. No strikes in an hour of fishing but I have no doubt about its effectiveness in that department. Same clip, sticker as OP stated. I have a Bantam A on a 844c with 12 pound YO on it and it will stay that way. Probably just easier to say everything else is rigged as I wanted except this flipping rod/reel. Now if the durability is there, I’ll be trying the fancy colored version next. It’s made me happy. 😃 

[webertime]

(Pulls credit card out again...)  dang it!