I've seen quite a few posts and replies asking for feedback on this model so I thought I'd let you know how they compare between these two Loomis lines.
I've had my IMX-PRO since 2020 and got my NRX+ earlier this year, just before our local opener in May. I got the IMX-PRO after hearing Matt from TacticalBassin raving about it for finesse jigs, and at the time I was still trying to figure jigs out. Here in Portugal most of our fisheries are highland reservoirs, with steep banks and rocky to muddy bottom, some vegetation but never anything overwhelming, and finesse football jigs seemed like the best place to start. The places where I grew up fishing have lots and lots of crawdads, specifically Louisiana crawfish which was introduced here in the 70s, and together with bleak (think shad but slightly more sardine-like, of the alburnus alburnus species) is the two main types of forage for bass.
I started fishing with the 844 in 2020 and it took me almost a year to figure jigs out. Since last year they've become my go-to bait and - to be quite honest - my favorite way of catching them. When the NRX+ came out I got the 822S dropshot rod, so I had to see for myself how much better the MBR was.
Both rods are paired up with the Curado MGL (151HG, lefties rule) spooled with 50lb Sufix 832 to a Sunline Sniper 12 to 15lb leader, depending on what I'm throwing and where.
By now you've probably all heard how good the taper on these things is. I've thrown jigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, smaller S-Wavers, walking baits, small frogs, and even a crankbait or two when I was beating the bank and travelling light. If you want one rod to do almost everything, this is it.
As a jig rod with braid to leader, it's amazing with football jigs. However, if I'm fishing 1/2oz pitching jigs with a heavier trailer I feel like I'm hitting the upper limits of this thing's comfort zone. I mean, I'll fish them, and they don't overwhelm the rod, but you get the sense that maybe - just maybe - a heavy JWR might handle it slightly better.
The IMX-PRO at the time felt like a huge jump up from what I was using - a first gen Curado 7'2 heavy and an old 853C JWR Mossyback (more like an 843 because I'm an idiot and broke about an inch off the tip but managed to fix it with the original tip guide). The IMX-PRO feels so much better than those. It balances great, too. I started out by pairing it with a regular Curado 201HG, which is on the heavier side nowadays but it balances great, but since I got the MGL to replace it I haven't gone back. This one time I even had to put the MGL 71HG on it when I backlashed so bad I couldn't recover, spooled with 30lb regular PowerPro to a 12lb fc leader, dragged a 1/2oz Bass Patrol jig with a Rage Chunk trailer, and caught this one.
You can feel the bumps and ticks, but you can also feel the type of bottom you're hitting - especially with braid to leader on a tight line. You can make out logs and grass and hydrilla, it all has a distinct feel on the IMX-PRO.
The NRX+ is all that but better. Now, don't expect a night and day difference here, because with these rods you start noticing the law of diminishing returns in practice. Everything is just a bit sharper. It casts better because of the way it bends, but it recovers slightly faster, too. Not enough to act like a JWR, it's still clearly a Mag Bass taper, but it snaps back into place faster than the IMX, as you'd expect from a higher end blank material and all that Shimano tech Loomis borrowed for the NRX+. It also takes slightly, just slightly, less pressure to bend the tip, which really helps when casting the light stuff.
In short, if you want to dip your toes in this sort of gear, the IMX-PRO is a great, great rod. Don't feel like you have to have the NRX+ to enjoy the MBR and to have a "proper" Loomis. If you can, go for the NRX+, sure. But don't for one second think you're missing out with the IMX-PRO. I have both and I have no intention of selling it or getting rid of it. I love them both, and if I happen to have the IMX with me instead of the NRX+ I'll fish the exact same stuff the exact same way.
Hope this helps the terminally indecisive guys like me out there!
