Retrying the first 8-strand braid I fished with (Varivas Avani Sea Bass Max Power PE X8) to see if it’s as good as I remember
They say that you never forget your first love, and the grey-coloured Varivas Avani Sea Bass Max Power PE X8 braid was the first, “proper” 8-strand braid I lure fished with. I don’t want to guess how long ago it was when I first spooled a spinning reel up with this particular mainline, but it was a good few years ago now. Way back when a friend of mine kindly sent me a spool of this braid to try and I can still remember leaving it on a shelf for at least six months before I plucked up the courage to go bass fishing with a mainline that was so thin and silky-smooth…………….
From memory I was probably fishing with something like PowerPro braid at the time, so to go from something which was relatively agricultural (but bloody strong) to something so different and refined was a big step for me. I don’t need a new mainline for my lure fishing by the way, not with how much I rate the premium Sufix 131 and cheaper Berkley Sick X8 braids especially, but I have fished for extended periods with so many different braids over the years - and I got to thinking that it might be interesting to go back to the first 8-strand I tried to see if it really is as good as I remember.
Because from memory I never had anything close to a single issue with this Varivas Avani Sea Bass Max Power PE X8 braid way back when. I absolutely loved the stuff and I fished with it for a long length of time. I have now fished with a bunch of different Varivas braids over the years, but something about the first one I tried has always been there for me. There is now an incredible array of 8-strand, 12/13-strand and even 16-strand braids on the market for such a wide range of prices, but if your first experience of something different is a really good one then I’d suggest that something about it is always going to sit in your head.
I can’t remember what this Varivas Avani Sea Bass Max Power PE X8 braid cost when I first tried it, but it was never a cheap mainline, and at around £45 for a 150m spool of it, it’s definitely not a cheap mainline now! I remember how well it lasts though, and I am very much into reversing the braid on my spinning reel after a year or so of use to get more fishing time with it. I have been fishing with it a few times already, caught a bunch of bass, and so far this Varivas Avani Sea Bass Max Power PE X8 braid is easily as good as I remember. I will report back in due course…………………
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