JS8588

It's a very good rod. Better guides & a better reel seat than the Ardito. The Ardito is definitely a lighter medium light & casts a little better & is a bit more sensitive blank. Made in S. Korea vs the Ardito Made in China. Caught a half dozen bass & 2 bluegill on the Traveler Thursday morning. Buy it. You'll be happy.

Buy a good travel rod & you'll find yourself fishing with it a lot more than just for travel. I keep 2 setups in my car at all times. 7'6 ML XF Daiwa Ardito Penn Clash 2 2000 Spooled with 6lb Stren Magnathin 7'0 ML F TFO Traveler Penn Battle III DX 2500 Spooled with 8lb Stren Magnathin Funny thing happens when you keep fishing gear in your car. You find a lot of time to fish all of a sudden. Spend the extra $30 & get the Ardito. You'll enjoy it.

Shimano Calcutta 400. If this wasn't limited to baitcasters, then a 1000 or 2000 sized Daiwa Exist. While I technically can afford one, I'd never pay that for a trout/panfish reel. Give me one for free & I'd use it all the time.

It's a post ~2016 Penn. It's sturdy, not THE smoothest reel I've ever spun (which is to say it's not a Daiwa or Shimano), but it feels like it'll get the job done & not need to be babied (in other words, the reasons I buy a lot of Penn products). Freespool is a lot nicer than I'd have anticipated. That's really all I can say until I get some line on it. The reviews that are out on the Fathom low-pro line are pretty much universally good. So far, I see why. I may have ordered an Okuma Komodo 471 while buying the Tatsu. Decided I need a new Party Boat setup. Ya know what? I just might spool it up with braid. Anyone have an opinion on the Berkley X9 stuff? Since you're considering the Penn Fathom LP, apparently Daiwa just came out with this: https://thebasscast.com/daiwa-launches-lexa-tw-300-400/ It never ends.

Tatsu has been ordered. Thanks for the input, everyone!

At my local spots I'll watch guys throwing spinnerbaits, bass jigs, etc on MH gear & then complain about getting skunked. I'll fish 1/8th oz spoons, small lipless cranks, and small swim jigs on medium light spinning tackle and always walk away having caught at least a few bluegill. Looking forward to wetting a line for an hour or two after work this evening.

Usually channel cats up to 10-ish lbs & bullheads. Flatheads are around but not generally where I go. I do have a bead on a local spot that might have em, though. At the moment I live in Eastern PA. We'll be moving south of the Mason-Dixon after the little guy gets here.

I've pretty well settled on Tatsu for this setup as well as for the Penn Fathom 300 LPHS (which is also being paired with a 7'6 Daiwa Ardito MH. Yeah, I prefer to go with travel rods assuming the overall quality is there). Once wife gets back into swing of things, they'll function nicely as a his/hers setup. Just going to see if Amazon offers anything worthwhile on Prime day before I hit "order". I get that it may not be ideal for catfishing, but neither is the higher gear ratios on those reels. If it's causing too many breakoffs, well, I can always work out something else (Daiwa Luvias LT 4000D-C with a 7'6 Avid Trek, maybe?) Thanks for the input, all. I'll be posting another inquiry on an ultralight rod sometime in the coming days.

My wife is able to use spinning, but baitcasters are still above her skill set & she fishes with me when she's not 8.5 months pregnant. Her abilities were taken into consideration for this setup.

I've fished 40lb mono on Spinfisher V 10500s from the beach. I understand why you feel that way, though. This Daiwa is actually replacing a Spinfisher V 6500LL I had spooled with 15lb Trilene Big Game. Reel weight is 1/3rd that of the Penn. I fished it on a cheap Ande 7'6 rod I picked up when Sports Authority went out of business.

The Daiwa Kage LT MQ 4000D-CXH should hold ~280 yards of 12lb Sunline, Tatsu, or 17lb Nanofil. Leaning towards the Tatsu as of now since I also need to spool up a Penn Fathom 300 LPHS and if I'm shelling out $$ for the 1000 yard spool anyway...

Yes, line strength. It's a notion I got in my head as a kid when Spiderwire was just about the only game in town for braid. Again, I'm sure I'll get over it & try it eventually. At age 33, God willing, I've got a lot of years left to fish. Spent 3 hours out this morning at the local pond & caught zip. Should have run down to Nockamixon. Maybe I'll have some time tonight...

Never said it was rational. I'm sure I'll get over my bias & try it eventually.

Okay, so, new to the forum. An advanced novice when it comes to fishing. I've fished off and on all my life. Having my first kid next month so I guess I decided this was the year to start practicing escapes from the house. ? Just bought myself a Daiwa Kage LT MQ 4000D-CXH. (Shoutout to Tomo's Tackle out of Salem MA. 1st class customer service & they shipped it to me in 2 days) My first "luxury" reel. Pairing it with a 7'6 Daiwa Ardito MH. The colors match perfectly & the setup balances surprisingly well. I've always fished mono & I have a personal bias against braid. Always felt like cheating to me. I know, I know. Get with the 21st century. Lately, as I fish more often (2-4x a week) I've been noticing the downsides of mono (stretch, buoyancy, lack of sensitivity). I've decided to try something different for this rig. Maybe. Looking at these options: 12lb Tatsu 17lb Nanofil (double palomar knot aka "nanofil" knot required) Or just saying "screw it" and spooling it with 12lb Sunline Super Natural Mono The setup will be used for soaking bait at night for catfish, some light saltwater duty when I get the chance, and plugs/jigs for bass. I'm not -primarily- a bass angler & this won't be my go-to daily driver, just another arrow in the quiver, so to speak. Been lurking here for a while. Figured this is as good a place as any to get some input.