One thing fishing line sellers never tell you!

A viewer of my YouTube channel asked me about the thickness of the line, so today I’m going to look into something that many anglers misunderstand and something that fishing line sellers never disclose.

Most anglers make their decisions when purchasing line based on the lake or pound rating. They particularly value the strength of the line, but there’s a significant misconception here.

It is a well-known fact that our country’s modern fishing culture was introduced from Japan, and in particular, the standards for the length of fishing lines are based on those of Japan.

Then, let’s continue the discussion by looking at how Banax, Shimano, and Daiwa, the representative fishing tackle companies in Korea and Japan, indicate the specifications of the PE rods they sell.

What we commonly call tensile strength is expressed as strength by Banax, while Shimano and Daiwa use the expression strength.

 

Shimano

 

Is this simply a difference in translation?

Absolutely not.

The meaning of strength and power of fishing line are completely different, and although Japan recommends indicating strength, Shimano, Daiwa, and other fishing line manufacturers rarely indicate strength.

So, let’s look at the difference between the two and why intensity is not indicated in Japan.

In 2010, the Japan Fishing Tackle Industry Association voted on a proposal to require fishing lines manufactured according to established standards to be sold with a certification mark attached, but the proposal was defeated due to opposition from many companies.

In Japan, the strength of fishing lines is expressed using two criteria: strong (强力) and strength (强度). The strength we commonly use is expressed as strong in Japan.

So, as we saw before, Shimano and Daiwa also indicate it as powerful in their specifications.

So what does intensity mean?

As you may know, the standard diameter of nylon line No. 1 is 0.165 mm, No. 0.8 is 0.148 mm, and No. 1.2 is 0.185 mm.

Therefore, if the line has a diameter between 0.149mm and 0.184mm, it can be sold as No. 1.

In Japan, the load when a No. 1 line of various thicknesses is cut randomly and both ends are pulled until it breaks is called strength, but we commonly call it strength or tensile strength.

In contrast, the strength that is referred to in Japan refers to the inherent strength of the material used to make fishing lines, and this can only be calculated by knowing the denier, which indicates the thickness.

Before the standard diameter of synthetic yarn was established in Japan in late 2010, the denier had to be indicated when selling synthetic yarn, and the standard for No. 1 was 200d.

And many people don’t know, but there are also standard denier standards for nylon and carbon fiber lines.

Denier is expressed as 1d when the weight of 9,000 meters of thread or fiber is 1g, so 200d, the standard for No. 1 ply yarn, means that 9,000 meters weighs 200g, and if you divide this by the strength of the fishing line, that is, the tensile strength, you can get the strength referred to in Japan.

Therefore, regardless of the thickness of the thread or fiber, the inherent strength is not because the diameter of the fishing line is thick, but because the material itself is strong. This is a measure that shows that thick = strong, but thin is also strong, but no company discloses this.

Except for one Japanese company.

There’s no need to reveal the name of this company, right?

If the tensile strength of 100d is 10kg and the tensile strength of 200d is 10kg, the strengths are 0.1 and 0.05 respectively, so you can see that the line made with 100d is thin but strong.

Another thing is that it is natural that the thicker the fishing line, the heavier it is, so revealing the denier reveals the quality of the product, so companies are reluctant to reveal this information if possible.

Okay, now let’s conclude today’s discussion.

The reason why the thickness of the fishing line, especially the braided line, varies greatly from company to company is that in Korea, where there is no standard diameter for braided lines, the Japanese one is used, but unlike Japan, the denier that can be used to determine the strength of the braided line is not disclosed.

Furthermore, even if the thickness is measured with a micrometer, there is a constant problem that the measured area is pressed due to the nature of the composite yarn, resulting in a thin measurement. Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to disclose the denier of the yarn and fiber used as raw materials for line manufacturing in order for consumers to make a reasonable judgment.

The fishing lines we sell don’t need flashy advertising like they’re thin and strong, made with the best technology. Simply revealing the denier would be enough. Sales would skyrocket if we just revealed that. Which company would be the first to do so?

I will start promoting it extensively.