Kanzen
Seaguar
420 Lexington Avenue – Suite 2510
New York, NY 10170
www.seaguar.com
I spooled my Penn Squall Star Drag with 60-pound-test Seaguar Kanzen braided line this spring. The line was incredibly limp and smooth. It cast easily on the conventional reel, gliding through the guides and helping me land my “eight-and-bait” right into the stripers’ feeding lanes off the beach. I also spooled a Shimano Stradic 4000 with 30-pound-test Kanzen, and loved how the line casted on a spinning reel as well.
Other important qualities in a braided line are abrasion resistance and knot strength. As I’ve mainly used the line on sandy beaches, I can’t speak to its abrasion resistance, but I did put my 60-pound-test Kanzen’s knot strength to the test with the very first fish I caught on it.
After two good long runs, I was in a stalemate with a 4-foot bass right behind the shore break. The bass would inch off line with each receding wave and I’d gain it back with as the next swell hit the beach.
Finally, I jammed my thumb into the spool, and as the wave receded, my rod torqued into an unholy bend, the leader stretched, and the knots in the Kanzen held. Suddenly, the bass was in water too shallow for its large body and when the next wave broke, it delivered the big fish to my feet. The Kanzen did, and continues to do its job for me in the surf and in the boat.
do you tie a particular knot with this braid?
[…] It seems like every year I encounter more large stripers into the upper- 30-inch class in areas that used to hold just schoolies. Part of this is probably just a reflection of the greater striper population – at the moment, the size distribution of bass is a bit skewed toward larger size classes. You’ll also find more large stripers arriving with each passing day in the early spring as migrating bass spread north, making their way along the Massachusetts Coast into New Hampshire and southern Maine. If you want to try and target the biggest of the backwater bass, look to waters that harbor herring runs, or seek out menhaden schools. These bigger bass will be a handful on the aforementioned tackle, but can certainly be landed on 30-pound-test braid. […]