G. Loomis 843c MBR or 844c MBR for jigs?

[Rodney Smith]

I have been used to fishing with an NRX 853c for jigs. I bought the new Conquest 843C for fishing mainly 3/8 jigs with some 1/2 (and the occasional 1/4 or 5/16) jigs. I will also use it as my soft plastics rod. The MBR tip is softer than I’m accustomed to, but I’m sure I will get used to it. I bought the 843c because it thought it would cast a little better and would also double as a good Senko rod. I’m second guessing myself for not getting the 844c. What are your thoughts?

[DaveT63]

I'm not much of  a jig fisherman, but would feel comfortable throwing those size jigs on my NRX MBR843.  But if you got a hankering to throw bigger, I think you would want the 844.  And you are correct, the 843 make a great Senko rod.

[smalljaw67]

The 843 you have is fine, it is just a different action from what you've become accustomed to using.

[rangerjockey]

Back when I fished Loomis I tried to keep it pretty simple . I used the 803 for 5/16 finesse jigs ,the 843 for 3/8 and spinnerbaits and the 844 for 1/2-5/8.

 

 

 

[Poolshark]

1/2 ounce range to me is in 844 territory, but if you are going to use it for plastics and senkos as well than I think you made a good choice with the 843. It will handle it just fine.

honestly if it were me, I'd let the amount of cover I was normally fishing to decide. 

I've been guilty of over complicating rod selection too much in the past. the 843 mbr in any variety is one of the most versatile rods out there. 

[Jig Man]

I have 844c and 843c rods.  I find I use the 843c rods a lot more than the 844c.  Either will work well with 1/2 oz jigs.  I  don't like the 844c with anything less than 1/2 oz.

[roadwarrior]

The 844C has a firmer tip which I think you might like better.

 

[kickerfish1]

The 843 is exactly the rod you want of the two for everything you listed except the 1/2 oz jigs. Maybe in a pinch you could do it but the rod will be taxed to the limit. A 1/2 oz jig and trailer will pretty darn close to 3/4 oz depending upon what trailer you pick. That 3/4 oz is the upper limite of the 843.

 

Weightless senkos, 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8 oz jigs, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits with trailers will all fish just about perfect on the 843.

 

Two me these techniques would be two rods.

 

Are you only limited to one rod? Do you have the luxury of bringing along a few more rods?

[Rodney Smith]

I have another rod that I could fish the 1/2 (or heavier) jigs, but with a nice rod like the Conquest, I like to fish with it as much as possible. I have a rod that I use for frogs and Carolina Rigs. I could use that for the heavier jigs. I did go out this morning and catch some fish on a 1/2 jig. You are correct. It is pushing the upper limits. The 844c would not work well for weightless Senko’s, t-rigged worms with 3/16-1/4 ounce weights, etc, would it? 

[kickerfish1]

Try it with those baits. 1/4 is the lower limit of the 844. Having a very subtle easy casting line and a good reel will help with that weight range on the 844.

 

I fish a custom TDZ 100m on my MBR 844. I can throw the 1/4 oz stuff on it just fine though the rod doesn't want to load that weight range as well so the release point when casting it is slightly different. Also when fishing into the wind (it is always windy here in the Midwest) casting distance is not that great.

 

If your desire is to use that rod as much as possible then just fish everything under the sun you desire and see what you think it does best at. I am basing my experience with older IMX / current GLX MBR lines. While I am sure the taper is similar you won't many of us willing to pay that sort of coin for a rod especially with as mixed of reviews as there are on it and some even saying it was more comparable to a GLX.