Tatsu 15/20# Recommendation

[GARRIGA]

I'm looking to take advantage of the Labor Day sales and purchase Tatsu for my Daiwa Z2020H. I have the RCS 2014 shallow spool that holds 100m of 0.310 line and considering either spooling that with 15# Tatsu (0.330) or the stock spool with 20# Tatsu. For either line it works out fine since I should get at least two spools of the same size per purchase.

I've never fished Fluoro as a main line and have always used 20-100# Seaguar Leader as strictly leader material so I'm not 100% sure what to expect. I fish South Florida where any pond can have a 14 lbr and buying this line specifically for a few neighborhood ponds with crystal clear water to 15-20 feet. I typically fish braid and experience no issues getting bites but these particular ponds are specially tough. One gets constant pressure and I know there's bass because I see them plus I've caught several up to 5-6 lbs.

I'm fishing these from shore throwing 4-6" paddletails, contact baits I drag on the bottom and spinnerbaits. I'll continue to use top water with braid and a mono leader. My main reason to go straight Fluoro versus braid/Fluoro is to avoid the L2L connection plus some of these community ponds are basically coral pits dug out to create foundations for the community houses. Lots of jagged rocks and looking for the abrasion resistance of Fluoro.

I know Fluoro is not the invisible line many have claimed but it is less visible then braid and most mono/co-poli lines. Im not interested in the other options out there and have decided on Tatsu based on my research just not sure if the 20 is too stiff to cast 3/8-1.5 oz lures versus the 15 which should be plenty strong for what I plan to do. Just prefer the best option of this particular line for what I'm planning on doing. Don't plan on throwing into to heavy matted structure and prefer to go with 15 if possible. Would go 12 but prefer to put that on my Zillion Type R down the line. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[GARRIGA]

No one has experience with the 15 or 20 to recommend? My biggest concern is getting the heaviest that will be manageable. Don't want to have 20 springing off the spool and getting horrible birds nest to the point I have replace the entire line or clip and replace a large portion.

[Pen3]

i though about it but decided to try dragoncall in 18lb and i love it so much i ditched the idea of trying out tatsu. maybe one day i will give it a try.

[SPAZ]

Never tried the 20# but the 15# line is very strong and abrasion resistant. If you are going to be around a lot of rocks and wood you might consider the 20 but in my honest opinion the 15# all around would suffice. I was able to bring in 4-5lb bass in the boat just by using the line and one night caught 10+ in that range and never retied once that night and had no issues. Not that I recommend not retying but just as an example the line holds up very well.The line is the real deal.

[GARRIGA]

Never tried the 20# but the 15# line is very strong and abrasion resistant. If you are going to be around a lot of rocks and wood you might consider the 20 but in my honest opinion the 15# all around would suffice. I was able to bring in 4-5lb bass in the boat just by using the line and one night caught 10+ in that range and never retied once that night and had no issues. Not that I recommend not retying but just as an example the line holds up very well.The line is the real deal.

I hadn't recieved a response yesterday in time so I just ordered the 15#. Based on what you've said and others, will most likely get the 20# for the stock spool and heavier structure applications.

How manageable is the 15# with slack line conditions like when Senko fishing. Probably my biggest concern that line tangles around the tip or comes flying off the spool.

[SPAZ]

Never tried the 20# but the 15# line is very strong and abrasion resistant. If you are going to be around a lot of rocks and wood you might consider the 20 but in my honest opinion the 15# all around would suffice. I was able to bring in 4-5lb bass in the boat just by using the line and one night caught 10+ in that range and never retied once that night and had no issues. Not that I recommend not retying but just as an example the line holds up very well.The line is the real deal.

I hadn't recieved a response yesterday in time so I just ordered the 15#. Based on what you've said and others, will most likely get the 20# for the stock spool and heavier structure applications.

How manageable is the 15# with slack line conditions like when Senko fishing. Probably my biggest concern that line tangles around the tip or comes flying off the spool.

The line is pretty manageable. More manageable than Toray super hard and about as manageable as Trilene 100%.

[GARRIGA]

Thx. Should be here tomorrow and hoping to try it out this weekend.

[GARRIGA]

I used the 15# for an hour and a half throwing 5.5" LFT LMS on an Owner 1/4 oz swimbait hook and it was very impressive. Did get one massive backlash when I backed the brakes off to almost zero because I had got to confident. Horrible type that required spool removal and aggressive use of my trusty scissors. I blame myself for this because I put too much line on the spool plus I've never fished fluoro main line before and not familiar with all it's properties or weaknesses. Once it was properly trimmed and brakes on full, it was zero backlashes and not even a hint of one developing. The line was loaded on an RCS 2014 spool in a Z2020SHL and thrown on a Zillion 7'4" swimbait rod. I also pitched this same lure without problems and was getting adequate distance.

As I recovered my confidence, post mother of all backlashes, I went from Max to Long Cast on the 3D settings with brakes on full. Since I was getting 40 plus no hassle yards, saw no reason to tempt fate again with less brakes. Really no need for it and prefer a stress free outing versus the maximum cast that can be. I think the Z has more to do with this then any skills I bring.

Tried a few dead stick attempts to see how the line managed on slack and it was perfect. No coiling on my tip and the line behaved like good mono would. At this point, don't see a reason to bother with line conditioner.

Hopefully time will show how manageable the line stays. For now, I'm impressed enough to get a spool of 20# for my bigger swimbaits and 12# for my 100 size reels. Unless time saids otherwise, I would definitely recommend this line and worth the extra penny or two it costs. I must say that I have spzero experience with fluoro and this is my first attempt at using it as a main line. Have been using the leader material since the late 90's and this stuff is much kore manageable but nit sure how tough.

Would love to report how fish felt on it but this lake is crystal clear with heavy pressure and they are hard to get to bite. Perhaps a trip to the Big O is needed.

[zodiak311]

Thanks for the info. I have been looking for some new flouro as well after my 15lb abrazx snapped on me
while power drop shotting. I thought about moving up to twenty pound test, but with such thick line, doesn't the "stretch" factor of the line become less of a factor? I would think that abrasion resistance would be paramount in these cases, and one could save some money and purchase a less expensive fluoro, that has good abrasion resistant properties.

Does anyone know if Tatsu is stronger than other fluorocarbon lines that have equivalent lb test? I've been thinking about picking up 15 or 20lb Tatsu as well.
Please update us on any findings Garriga, and enjoy that beautiful reel.

[GARRIGA]

Thanks for the info. I have been looking for some new flouro as well after my 15lb abrazx snapped on me
while power drop shooting. I thought about moving up to twenty pound test, but with such thick line, doesn't the "stretch" factor of the line become less of a factor? I would think that abrasion resistant would be paramount in these cases, and one could save some money and get a less expensive fluoro, that has good abrasion resistant properties.

Does anyone know if Tatsu is stronger than other fluorocarbon lines that have equivalent lb test? I've been thinking about picking up 15 or 20lb Tatsu as well.
Please let's us update us on any findings Garriga, and enjoy that beautiful reel.

On Seaguar's website they have a link to their online catalog which has a chart showing the different properties of their various fluoro main lines and leaders. Normally, I just go based on diameter. Tatsu 20# is .37 and should be just as strong as any other fluoro .37.

I'm going to go out this afternoon for a few hours and throw 6" weightless Senko plus other lures to see how the line behaves. This will my first attempt at throwing the RCS with upgraded OS 7 with the Z that has OS 7 bearing. Not sure if it will make a difference but I'll soon find out.