Louisville, KY (March 2023)
The Japanese Domestic Market, known as JDM, has a reputation for innovative products with extreme detail developed for the best performance. This is true of many industry segments, including fishing, where products that originate in the "Land of the Rising Sun" are highly sought after by serious anglers looking for something different that performs at a higher level than mainstream products.
Seaguar, the brand that invented fluorocarbon fishing line in Japan in 1971, has announced that three products previously only available in Japan will now be available to North American anglers. R18 Fluorocarbon mainline, PEX8 Lure Edition Braid and Grand Max Fluorocarbon Leader will be available at retail stores this March, starting at the Bassmaster Classic.
This decision came, in part, at the request of enthusiast anglers. "Many of these products are known to North American anglers who follow the Japanese bass scene," said Seaguar General Manager Gerry Benedicto. "These are existing products that have been designed to get the best performance out of lures in highly pressured fisheries in Japan. Now, anglers here can fish these unique JDM lines and experience them firsthand."
Two-time Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year Brandon Palaniuk has aligned himself with several Japanese-based brands. He has also spent time fishing in Japan and learning about the fishing culture, and he's excited that American anglers will have a chance to see these innovative lines.
"The biggest thing about the products that originate in Japan is the attention to detail and how they make small changes to get big results," shared Palaniuk. "There are quite a few bass anglers in Japan and not as much access to fisheries as we have here, so their bass are extremely pressured. Their product designs are out of necessity; they are very forward-thinking to enable them to catch more fish in those situations, and that's what you see when you fish these three lines."
R18 fluorocarbon is a line designed for excellent casting and performance and with Seaguar's exclusive double-structure process with two custom Seaguar 100% fluorocarbon resins to create a line with exceptional knot and tensile strength. It's incredibly soft and supple for excellent casting distances. R18 is offered on 100-meter spools, which is 109 yards and available in 4 through 20 lb. tests, including nontraditional sizes: 5, 7, and 14 lb. tests.
Palaniuk says the real-world applications for this line are endless, but he's found it exceptional for moving baits like suspending jerkbaits. "You get extreme strength, but it's still soft and manageable at the same time," he began. "I've found that you can go down one size and still have the strength of a higher-rated line. Using a smaller diameter line is critical with jerkbaits so you get better-cutting action, more roll and flash from your bait, and you'll also get another foot of diving depth."
PEX8 Lure Edition micro braid is a high-performance 8-strand braided line with exceptionally thin diameters. Compared to other braided lines, it is 22 percent thinner. Its coloring is high visibility Passion Pink with contrasting lime green segments every meter, allowing anglers to gauge lure depths and detect bites by watching the line. It's offered in 200-meter spools, which is 219 yards and comes in six unique pound test sizes, including 12, 16, 18, 21, 24, and 33 lb. tests.
The first thing that Palaniuk noticed when spooling up PEX8 was how thin it was. "This stuff is incredibly thin and you have to change your thinking and look at the diameter of the line instead of just the pound test on the box," he said. "I've bumped up to 18 and 21 lb. test sizes for PEX8 where I would have normally used 10 or 15 lb. test braid. It's that much thinner."
The diameter of a braided line is crucial, according to Palaniuk, for many different fishing scenarios. "The smaller diameters have many benefits, especially when fishing with techniques like mid-strolling while watching your forward-facing sonar," he began. "For one, the bait moves correctly with a more natural action because there's less resistance. It also eliminates the bow in your line that happens with thicker braids, so your bait will get to those fish you see on your screen much faster. Eliminating that slack leads to much better hooksets, so you'll also land more fish."
Seaguar Grand Max is a specially formulated leader material with low stretch and excellent strength and sensitivity. Created in Japan in 1999, Grand Max is a class of its own for leader material and made with Seaguar's exclusive double-structure process, which creates small diameters and exceptional knot and tensile strength. Spooled onto pocket-thin spools, it fits anywhere and multiple spools can be snapped together for added convenience.
Palaniuk's initial thoughts on Grand Max had nothing to do with the line itself; instead, they were about the spool design. "The spools are awesome and way more compact. I love how you can stack them together in a much more manageable size," he said. "The line is phenomenal as a leader material with such thin diameters. I also like the addition of the 7 lb. test because sometimes 6 is a little too light, and you want something thinner than 8 lb. for those pressured fisheries with clear water."
Grand Max comes on 60-meter spools, which is 66 yards and is available in sizes from 2 lb. to 40 lb. tests, including unique pound test sizes: 3, 7, 17, and 35 lb. tests.
For more information, call 502-883-6097, write Kureha America Inc., 4709 Allmond Ave., Suite 4C, Louisville, KY 40209, or visit us at www.seaguar.com or on Facebook.