From Passionable Fishing, our Japanese-language journal.

The rods I still own

  • Morethan 119 MMH.
  • Morethan 1010 MML. My personal impression: perhaps just a little softer than I would like.
  • Morethan 94. Yes, this one may be just right.
  • Morethan 91.5, two rods. I cannot quite put my feelings into words, but I do own two.

The 8.6 ft Lateo is an excellent rod. My wife still uses it as a working fishing rod.

Rods that have moved on

The Morethan 1010 MMH felt like a fully realised design. It did a tremendous amount of work for me. The MML I still own comes from the same period and also feels well resolved, but personally I would like just a little more firmness through the belly.

I also had a jigging rod—was it 9.6 ft or 9.7 ft? I remember it as a fairly ordinary jigging rod, reasonably easy to use.

There was also the longest Lateo. It broke during a cast. Yes, really! That rod felt to me as though its length had been pushed too far; the belly seemed very weak.

I tried both premium and more affordable rods for chinning, or lure fishing for black sea bream. I gave both away. I also tried premium and more affordable surf rods, then sold both.

I used a standard Gekkabijin as well, but… to me, its performance was quite poor. I think it could have been brought up a little further, even at that price.

What stands out

My overall feeling about the Daiwa rods I have used is that the Morethan series was good.

With Shimano, I have only used inexpensive rods. I have used about six Yamaga rods. The ones I still have are the 103 Plug Special for pelagic fish, and the 65TZ and 82F for ajing.

Originally published on our Japanese-language site, Passionable Fishing, on 14 Aug 2025. Translated for Avantgarde Fishing. These are the author’s personal observations at the time of writing. Product availability and fishing conditions may have changed.
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