I currently am using mostly Daiwa J-Fluoro Samurai line on most of my setups. It ranges from 12 to 18lb test. On my big swimbait rod I have 25lb InvizX. 
I haven't really thrown anything else and am happy with the Samurai (haven't thrown the invizX enough to know). My question is is Tatsu or Shooter worth the money for the upgrade? 

I have a few friends that swear by it (Tatsu) and if it's that much better I don't mind spending the money but wanted to ask.

Would have to define better. I like sniper, tatsu has more stretch than sniper so to me sniper is better. For others that might prefer more stretch tatsu better.

Hmmm....I'm not too sure about that claim.  All fluorocarbon line stretches.  It's a key feature of fluorocarbon line. So comparing the stretch of FC against FC - especially higher-end FC - the difference is barely measurable. I doubt you'd know the difference when fishing them.  

 

That said, Tatsu is limber, easy to cast, and has higher abrasion resistance and knot strength than Sniper due to it's slightly larger line diameter (0.011 vs. 0.010) and double-structure formula.

I tried Tatsu once and it’s a really good line, but I didn’t see much difference between it and Samurai. So IMO it wasn’t worth the extra money.

I will say no because I have had the same pound of Tatsu, Shooter and J-Fluoro on three reels concurrently and the J-Fluoro has consistently handled the best out of all three even on year two and three.

 

Tatsu might be better with abrasion resistance, and Shooter is known to excel there but I rarely have issues with 16lb line so I'm not the best test bed for that.

 

I see no reason to change from J-Fluoro Samurai, especially at its price point.

Is it great line? Yes. Is it worth the $50 they are charging? Probably not but if you can catch it on sale, then it might be worth it depending on what you get out of it. For me, I can get multiple seasons out of Tatsu. I just changed a reel that had it on there for 3 years and it would still be on there if I hadn't hit a tree over my head on a cast and backlashed it all the way down to the spool. With other lines, like Invizx, I might get one season in before its time to change it. For most mono lines, I might get 1 month or less out it. So for me, using Tatsu is worth it simply because its great line and I'm not wasting time and money change it out. 

12 hours ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

Would have to define better. I like sniper, tatsu has more stretch than sniper so to me sniper is better. For others that might prefer more stretch tatsu better.

Someone tested stretch in lines a couple years back. I do believe Sniper was the best fluorocarbon, but the difference between the rest was not really significant either.

Go braid to leader and the cost is spread out over a longer period of time.

16 minutes ago, FishTank said:

With other lines, like Invizx, I might get one season in before its time to change it.

This is a good point.

 

I tried some Invizx on my crankbait reel, and I probably got about a season and half before the line was pretty beat up and I ultimately changed it before I broke off. Of course, with 12# line that is more common but this wasn't fished heavily over rocks or anything either. Still good line.

 

I've ran J-Fluoro Samurai since it came out, and I believe I've had it on my Steez SV since June of 2023 and it's still going strong (I had to respool after I snagged on a laydown and was had to cut off a lot of line). If J-Fluoro didn't exist, I might run Tatsu or Shooter because they hold up too because I'm lazy and would not rather change line if I don't have to and can refrain from hitting a tree.

5 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

This is a good point.

 

I tried some Invizx on my crankbait reel, and I probably got about a season and half before the line was pretty beat up and I ultimately changed it before I broke off. Of course, with 12# line that is more common but this wasn't fished heavily over rocks or anything either. Still good line.

 

I've ran J-Fluoro Samurai since it came out, and I believe I've had it on my Steez SV since June of 2023 and it's still going strong (I had to respool after I snagged on a laydown and was had to cut off a lot of line). If J-Fluoro didn't exist, I might run Tatsu or Shooter because they hold up too because I'm lazy and would not rather change line if I don't have to and can refrain from hitting a tree.

 

I've tried multiple spools of clear J-Fluoro and didn't care for it. It didn't last and I kept getting break offs in random places.  It also stiffened up over time (a few months maybe). On the other hand, J-Fluoro Hidden Concept was great. It was a totally different line to me. It casted well and held up for a whole season. I ordered all of what I used from The Hook Up Tackle at the same time. 

10 minutes ago, FishTank said:

 

I've tried multiple spools of clear J-Fluoro and didn't care for it. It didn't last and I kept getting break offs in random places.  It also stiffened up over time (a few months maybe). On the other hand, J-Fluoro Hidden Concept was great. It was a totally different line to me. It casted well and held up for a whole season. I ordered all of what I used from The Hook Up Tackle at the same time. 

Interesting. Mine has yet to stiffen up on me. My youngest kid has some on two reels that I believe is also season three and no issues there either.

 

I had a spool of hidden concept as well, that seems identical to the regular Samurai just green colored to me.

 

In the past I've gotten mine from ebay at the end of the year for $20 a pool until a couple years ago I just bought large spools from TW's black friday sale

I'm a Tatsu and Sniper user for the most part. I'd say that Tatsu is about 10% better in terms of manageability than Sniper for twice the price. Yes, Tatsu should only cost 10% more - but for certain applications - I'll spend the extra 100% in cost for 10% better manageability. 

21 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

Interesting. Mine has yet to stiffen up on me. My youngest kid has some on two reels that I believe is also season three and no issues there either.

 

I had a spool of hidden concept as well, that seems identical to the regular Samurai just green colored to me.

 

In the past I've gotten mine from ebay at the end of the year for $20 a pool until a couple years ago I just bought large spools from TW's black friday sale

I tried it in 6, 10, 12, and 14lb in the clear version.  All had the same issues. I tried 12 and 14lb in the green.  It fished totally different for me. 

 

On a side note, with all that said, I like Sunline Invisible better than J-Fluoro Hidden Concept and I'm starting to like R18 LTD better than Tatsu. 

I said I was going to try Tatsu, but when I saw the price! Soo I’m using Daiwa Samurai clear & Hidden Concept. Good stuff. I have a Zillion spooled up with Shooter and it’s pretty manageable. Honestly, it’s only slightly better than Yo-Zuri Hybrid and I’m so loaded with that line & as far as sensitivity, 100% FC is marginally better. I use to love Triple-Fish in Camo made in Germany and loved it but Portugal makes it or bought it. 
Perlon was good stuff for mono. 
 

Mark Menendez won on Pickwick using 8 pound and a Smithwick Rouge Jerkbait but it’s not the same now. 

9 hours ago, FishTank said:

I tried it in 6, 10, 12, and 14lb in the clear version.  All had the same issues. I tried 12 and 14lb in the green.  It fished totally different for me. 

 

On a side note, with all that said, I like Sunline Invisible better than J-Fluoro Hidden Concept and I'm starting to like R18 LTD better than Tatsu. 

What do you like better about the R18 LTD compared to tatsu?

First off, thanks to everyone for the awesome feedback.

I’ve only been fishing for about a year now, and Samurai is what I ended up going with. It’s been working well for me, though I do use line conditioner (I usually give it a squirt once a month or so — KVD Line & Lure). Not sure if that’s helped my results or not.

Overall, it’s performed really well. I was just curious how it stacks up against some of the other high-end fluoros. If Tatsu is noticeably better, I could see myself switching once I run out of Samurai. Might even try to grab some if I catch it on sale just to see the difference.

For InvisX, I’ve mainly used it on my big swimbait setup with 25lb test. At that strength, I’m not sure if there’s really much difference between lines. That rod only sees action in the spring and fall anyway.

I'm basically a nerd when it comes to gear and what not and this question was really peaking my interest!!

10 hours ago, FishTank said:

I tried it in 6, 10, 12, and 14lb in the clear version.  All had the same issues. I tried 12 and 14lb in the green.  It fished totally different for me. 

 

On a side note, with all that said, I like Sunline Invisible better than J-Fluoro Hidden Concept and I'm starting to like R18 LTD better than Tatsu. 

I'm definitely interested in hearing your opinions on R18 and why?

 

Tatsu is a great line but super stretchy. I ran it for a while alongside Invizx but just couldnt get used to the stretch, so I moved on. I prefer stiffer lines.

1 hour ago, woolleyfooley said:

What do you like better about the R18 LTD compared to tatsu?

 

It seems to cast better. It seems like it's made to be something in between Invizx and Tatsu. Like you get the best of both worlds. 

2 hours ago, NothingButDinks said:

I'm definitely interested in hearing your opinions on R18 and why?

 

I have been using it since last year and in the grand scheme of things, I like to think I am still figuring it out which is why I said "starting to like". 

 

So reasons I like it.....

 

1. It's soft like Invizx but tough like Tatsu.

2. Casting with it is excellent. 

3. It has the right amount of stretch. To me Tatsu has some stretch but R18 works great for crankbaits and it's not as stretchy as mono. 

4. The 6lb to 10lb I have tried seems to be geared/formulated towards finesse fishing and crankbaits The 12lb to 16lb I have used seems to be geared towards jigs and worms. I have noticed this with Sunline Shooter as well. 

5. Knot strength is really good.

6. Makes for excellent leader material. I had about 20 yards of 10lb left over and used it for leader just to see how it holds up. I actually like it just as well as Seaguar Gold Label. It binds really well to braid. 

 

Downsides....

 

1. The 6lb I used on my BFS gear is not strong as Sunline Invizible. 

2. If you backlash, Tatsu recovers better. 

20 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

I have been using it since last year and in the grand scheme of things, I like to think I am still figuring it out which is why I said "starting to like". 

 

So reasons I like it.....

 

1. It's soft like Invizx but tough like Tatsu.

2. Casting with it is excellent. 

3. It has the right amount of stretch. To me Tatsu has some stretch but R18 works great for crankbaits and it's not as stretchy as mono. 

4. The 6lb to 10lb I have tried seems to be geared/formulated towards finesse fishing and crankbaits The 12lb to 16lb I have used seems to be geared towards jigs and worms. I have noticed this with Sunline Shooter as well. 

5. Knot strength is really good.

6. Makes for excellent leader material. I had about 20 yards of 10lb left over and used it for leader just to see how it holds up. I actually like it just as well as Seaguar Gold Label. It binds really well to braid. 

 

Downsides....

 

1. The 6lb I used on my BFS gear is not strong as Sunline Invizible. 

2. If you backlash, Tatsu recovers better. 

 

20 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

It seems to cast better. It seems like it's made to be something in between Invizx and Tatsu. Like you get the best of both worlds. 

Thanks. So you think tatsu has a lot of stretch compared to other fluoro? I never felt like it was excessive, but maybe I just haven’t used any low stretch fluoro.

 

21 hours ago, Kasrkin said:

Tatsu is a great line but super stretchy. I ran it for a while alongside Invizx but just couldnt get used to the stretch, so I moved on. I prefer stiffer lines.

 

Over the years, there's been a metric ton and a half of threads here

where the topic revolves around which FC line is better or is this FC line worth it?

The answers vary wildly—they always have, and they always will.

However, there's often one recurring theme, which involves

some type of comparison to Seaguar Tatsu. 

Almost like it's the standard that all other FC lines are compared to.

Interesting.

Btw, I use Tatsu almost exclusively on all of my casting reels.

Because when I do, my line is never an issue or a concern.

Which allows me to focus my attention on everything else. 

YMMV.

A-Jay

22 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Over the years, there's been a metric ton and a half of threads here

where the topic revolves around which FC line is better or is this FC line worth it ?

The answers vary wildly - they always have and they always will.

However, there's often one reoccurring theme which involves

some type of comparison to Seaguar Tatsu. 

Almost like it's the standard that all other FC lines are compared to.

Interesting.

btw- I use Tatsu almost exclusively on all of my casting reels.

Because when I do, my line is never an issue or a concern.

Which allows me to focus my attention on everything else. 

YMMV.

A-Jay

I’m with you on that. I use tatsu exclusively. I have been curious lately though about shooter/sniper. 
 

Would stiffer line = more slack/semi slack line sensitivity?

16 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

I’m with you on that. I use tatsu exclusively. I have been curious lately though about shooter/sniper. 
 

Would stiffer line = more slack/semi slack line sensitivity?

All my experience is with Seaguar.

But for me Stiffer (than Tatsu or InvisX) =

Less Manageability.

Also, any line's ability to transmit vibration peaks and my own ability to 'feel' what's going on, or not going on, takes over.

Feel confident my ability trumps my line in most situations. I grew up fishing Mono because that's all there was.So while it's not always the best choice, when it is, I am perfectly comfortable using it. 

The only bass fishing tackle that I have ever purchased because it was truly more sensitive is tungsten weights. 

A-Jay

4 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

I’m with you on that. I use tatsu exclusively. I have been curious lately though about shooter/sniper. 
 

Would stiffer line = more slack/semi slack line sensitivity?

I think it all comes down to personal preference. I couldn’t really tell a difference in sensitivity with Sniper, but I also don’t own any high end rods or finesse fish. I live in 15lb-20lb FC 90% of the time

I bought one spool of Tatsu several years ago and was impressed. It was manageable and lasted longer than others. It felt new for a long time. However the cost is insane. The only flouro I’ve fished the last 3 years is Trilene 100% and it’s been a good line for the cost when you factor in how often it’s on sale